Keep this so you won’t forget me. Your friend, Kate.
And he had kept it, for about twenty years. Kate laughed as she wiped away her tears. What man holds onto a crayon picture for twenty years?
Brock.
The next package contained a framed photo of her with him and his family at Christmas. She was beaming up at him, hugging him as they all posed while Aunt Stella repeatedly tried to figure out how to take a photo with a phone. She’d gotten confused so many times that by the time this particular photo had been taken, everyone in the picture was laughing. Even Brock’s father, who had a hand up in the air as he called out instructions to Stella. On the back of the frame, Brock had written, “This is where you belong. With us. Please, don’t leave me here with them.” Kate chuckled.
She ripped the wrapping off the next gift and was intrigued by it. He’d given her a Kindle. She read the note attached to it twice. “Where do I want to go with you? Everywhere. Anywhere. Look over the travel books I’ve downloaded. Pick a place, and that’s where I’ll take you. I don’t care where we are, as long as we’re together.”
There was a time when she would have dismissed Brock’s notes as just words that meant nothing more than a desire to change her mind. However, those words, when sent along with the other gifts, rang true to her. He wasn’t showboating for her. He really would go anywhere with her.
The next box held a gift certificate for dance classes and a note that read, “Because you love to dance, and I don’t think you let yourself do it enough.”
As for the last box, if her heart hadn’t already melted completely, its contents would have done it. In fact, had it been the only gift he’d given her, it would have been enough. It was a written apology from the man she’d dated in high school, the one with the sweaty hands who had chased her around town and earned her the nickname Untouchable Kate. He said he had no real excuse for his behavior back then outside of being young and stupid. He explained he was married with a daughter now, and he finally understood how wrong he had been. He said Brock had demanded he write the letter, but he should have written it a long time ago.
Brock had hunted down the man who had humiliated her in high school and had gotten Kate the apology she’d never dared demand for herself. There was no denying anymore that Brock loved her.
Kate went to the kitchen and retrieved the last present she’d received from Mr. Elf. She opened the box and cocked her head to one side as she read the product name. Mini nipple suckers? They were tiny, pink rubber thimbles. There was no note. There didn’t have to be. Had she opened it the day she’d received it, she would have texted Mr. Elf for instructions on how to use them. Instead, she read the description on the box. Use with lube during foreplay to make nipples more sensitive.
She placed the gift from Mr. Elf on top of the gifts from Brock. With Brock, she could have a sweet, caring partner during the day and a naughty, adventurous lover at night.
This isn’t about Brock as much as it’s about me. I have to believe that he could love me.
Me.
Untouchable Kate.
The outcast. The trophy wife.
I could have what Angie has—a man I love who loves me back just as much—if I believe. Kate looked at the nipple suckers and smiled. Even at his worst, Brock had still been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Who would believe such a conservative-looking man could have so much kinkiness in him?
Kate grabbed her phone. She’d just realized she had a problem. “Angie, I’m going to dinner tomorrow night with Brock. What do I wear?”
Chapter Eleven
The next night, dressed in a sexy new red dress, Kate sat nervously at a table in one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Brock had said he would be waiting there for her, but although a table had been reserved under his name, he was nowhere to be seen.
Had he changed his mind?
Should I have called to tell him I was coming?
She fiddled nervously with the small box she had brought with her. In it was the photo she’d found of her and Brock as children. Although it didn’t compare to the gifts he’d given her, she wanted to show him she’d also kept memories of him.
The waiter refilled her glass of water, and Kate thanked him. She caught a woman at a nearby table looking over at her sympathetically, probably wondering, just as Kate was, if she had been stood up on Valentine’s Day. Kate met her eyes briefly, then looked away.
Love is a leap of faith, and I’m jumping in with both feet. Brock loves me. He’ll be here. And if he doesn’t come, it won’t shake my love for him or my belief that he loves me. He may have been held up at work. He may have thought I wouldn’t come and stayed home.
Our relationship is so much more than one event, one secret. I see that now, and I’m ready to tell him that.
Kate checked her phone. No messages.
As she looked around the room, she realized how much being with Brock had changed her. Before him, she would have been mortified by the way people were staring at her. Now she found she didn’t care. Let them look. They don’t know me. They don’t know how wonderful Brock is. What they think of me no longer matters.
Thank you, Mr. Elf, for that confidence.
And Brock . . . sensitive, loving Brock . . . thank you for loving me no matter how many times I pushed you away. I’m sorry I was so stubborn. I’ll make it up to you.
Just show up.
Please.
A low chatter spread through the restaurant. Kate looked up from the table and saw Brock, dressed in a ridiculously large set of white feathered angel wings and a jaw-droppingly small white loincloth. The maître d’ was blocking his entrance, but Brock met her eyes over the man’s shoulder and winked at her. He said something to the man, gave him what must have been a substantial tip, and walked around him.
The restaurant fell silent. Brock was a good-looking man in regular clothing, but dressed as he was, he was H-O-T hot. His wide muscular shoulders were accentuated by the heavenly wings. His perfect abs and toned legs belonged on a gladiator. And that loincloth . . . it hid just enough to be decent, but was small enough that Kate wondered if every woman in the restaurant was thinking the same thing she was: Holy hell, I want to tear that off with my teeth and then lick him from one end to the other.
A few of the men mocked him as he walked by, but he didn’t acknowledge them. He never took his eyes off Kate as he walked up to the table where she sat.
A man at the next table said, “Can you believe that guy? What a joke.”
The woman across from him slapped his arm and said, “Shut up. That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Brock stood in front of Kate, those wild white wings boldly flanking him on either side. “Kate Hale, I love you.”
Kate looked around and blushed. “You’re a little crazy, you know that? Nothing embarrasses you, does it?”
He stood and pulled her up into his arms. “Let them look. You’re the only one here who matters to me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. No amount of time I wouldn’t wait for you. Say you forgive me.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, really?” a man asked loudly.
A woman near him said just as loudly, “If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
“Hey, you’re with me,” another man said.
“Exactly,” the woman snapped. “When have you ever done anything like that for me?”
“Why would I? That guy is—”
“A dream come true, if you ask me. And she is one lucky woman.”
Kate pulled Brock down and murmured against his lips, “I am, you know. Very lucky. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but yes, I forgive you. And I’m sorry for everything. I love you, Brock.”
“Excuse me, sir? You’re going to have to leave now,” the maître d’ said.
Brock kissed Kate softly on the lips and said, “That’s okay, because I think everything we want to do can’t be done here.”
Kate laughed. “Yo
u’ve got that right, Cupid.”
Hand in hand, they walked out of the restaurant, laughing with the same uninhibited joy they’d shared as children. Once out of the building, Brock kissed her soundly and swung her around. Kate felt lighter than air and happier than she could ever remember being.
When he stopped spinning, he hugged her to him and asked, “Did you know there is a hotel across the street?”
Kate laughed. “And you just happen to have a room reserved there?”
Brock laughed with her. “I thought it would be a shame to waste this outfit. If you’ve ever wanted to be with Cupid, here’s your chance.”
In the light of the moon, Brock looked very much like a gorgeous fallen angel. “Is he anything like an elf?”
Brock swung her up into his arms and walked across the street, not caring that cars slowed and honked as they passed. “He’s even better. You should see his arrow.”
Kate groaned at his joke, but that didn’t phase Brock in the least. He carried her through the foyer of the hotel and into one of the elevators as if it were the most normal thing to do. Some men would have been embarrassed by the way people stopped and stared at them. Others might have strutted around like peacocks, enjoying the attention.
Brock did neither. His attention was focused on her, and that made him even sexier. Kate couldn’t keep her hands off him. He was a dream come true—her dream.
Inside the elevator, Kate waved her purse. “I hope Cupid knows what to do with nipple suckers, because they look like fun.”
Brock’s eyes darkened, and Kate felt him harden against her side. “What Cupid doesn’t know, he enjoys figuring out.”
Just outside the hotel suite, Brock lowered Kate to her feet. “I meant every word I said in the restaurant. I love you, Kate. And if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
Kate took his face between both of her hands and said, “You don’t have to prove anything to me anymore, Brock. I believe you. And I’m so sorry it took me this long to figure that out.”
A serious expression crossed Brock’s face. He put a hand on the doorknob and said, “What you’re about to see is a little over the top. I know it. If you don’t like it, say so. But I wanted tonight to be special, and the guys helped me decorate the suite.”
Kate almost laughed at how concerned he looked. “What did you put in there?” He swung the door open. Kate stepped inside and fell even more in love with him. Everywhere she looked shouted Valentine’s Day. There were red flower petals leading to the bed. The bedspread was covered with hearts. Next to the bed was a heart-shaped swing suspended from some rigging. Champagne. Chocolate. Flowers. It was all there, and in such abundance that Kate turned and threw her arms around Brock’s neck and pulled him down for a wild kiss.
“You like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” she said between kisses. “And I love you. This is amazing.”
He plucked a feather from one of his wings and said, “It only gets better, Kate.” He ran the feather lightly down one side of her neck and across the swell of one breast. “Feathers aren’t just for flying, you know.”
Kate looked behind him and said, “I’m guessing that swing isn’t just for swinging, either.” Then she cleared her throat. “Brock, I didn’t mean what I said about vanilla sex being boring. It was beautiful. Just like how the other stuff we did wasn’t too much. I was angry with you and I wanted to hurt you. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
He hugged her to his chest. “I deserved it. I never meant for my stint as Mr. Elf to go as far as it did. I was an idiot and thought I could use what we were doing in the texts to make you fall for me. It was stupid, and I should have told you the truth when we started dating. Let’s put all that behind us.” He leaned down and growled in her ear, “Except for having me wear women’s perfume. You owe me for that one.”
Kate smiled mischievously at him. “That was bad of me, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was. You’ll have to think of a way to make it up to me,” he said, and wiggled his eyebrows.
Kate whispered in his ear. “What do you want, Cupid?”
Brock looked seriously into her eyes. “You. Just you, Kate.”
Kate dropped her dress to the floor. “Nothing more specific than that?”
A grin spread across his face. “Well, now that you ask . . .” He swooped down, lifted her into his arms, and carried her off to the bedroom. He removed his loincloth but left the wings on, and gave Kate a feather-flying night to remember.
Epilogue
“Do you think Mike would watch the boys on Thursday nights?” Kate asked while walking with Angie one evening the following week.
“Maybe. Why?”
Kate tried to keep a straight face as she said, “Everyone has been talking about how Brock dressed up as Cupid for me.”
“I hear about it wherever I go.”
“Well, the radio office manager asked me if I wanted to talk about it on the air. He said he’d give me a shot at doing a talk show about relationships and how to make them work. I told him I’d only do it if you could cohost with me. Would you?”
“Are you fucking serious?” Angie burst out.
Kate put a hand on one hip and teased her friend. “I am fucking serious. Come on, Angie, we could do this. You say you want something to think about outside of the boys. This is your chance. Look at how much you helped me. This would be fun.”
Angie stopped pushing the stroller for a moment and said, “Let’s do it. Thanks to you, my marriage is a whole lot happier. Why couldn’t we help other people?”
“The manager suggested we start our show off with a bang. Something no one would expect and would get everyone talking. So, I was thinking, what if we brought a single guy on the show and tried to find him a love match?”
With a huge smile, Angie said, “Oh, my God, I know just who we should ask. Tyler. He is notorious for saying he’ll never settle down.”
“Would he do it?”
“He would if his friends pressured him to.”
Kate said confidently, “I could get Brock to ask him.”
Angie laughed. “Mike would definitely help. So we’re really doing this?”
“Oh, yeah.”
THE END
Did you enjoy the Temptation Series? Check out my other series.
The Legacy Collection is a moderate heat level romance series full of sexy, alpha men and the strong women who tame them.
Maid for the Billionaire
Book 1 of the Legacy Collection
Dominic Corisi knew instantly that Abigail Dartley was just the distraction he was looking for, especially since having her took a bit more persuading than he was used to. So when business forces him to fly to China, he decides to take her with him, but on his terms. No promises. No complications. Just sex.
Abby has always been the responsible one. She doesn’t believe in taking risks; especially when it comes to men – until she meets Dominic. He’s both infuriating and intoxicating, a heady combination. Their trip to China revives a long forgotten side of Abby, but also reveals a threat to bring down Dominic’s company.
With no time to explain her actions, Abby must either influence the outcome of his latest venture and save his company or accept her role as his mistress and leave his fate to chance. Does she love him enough to risk losing him for good?
To read this book for FREE on Amazon, click HERE
The Andrade series, is a spin off s with a heat level somewhere between the two. Trust me, you'll never look at a hot air balloon the same.
Come Away with Me
Book 1 of the Andrade Series
Gio Andrade:
Rich, powerful, sexy. A man who thinks he has everything . . . until he meets Julia.
Julia Bennett:
Sweet, spontaneous, and desperate to sell her jewelry line in New York City. She takes a night job as a security guard to pay the rent.
Sparks fly when she mistakes her boss for an intruder.
He can’t get her out of his head. She can’t find the strength to deny him.
Will lies bring them together, or tear them apart forever?
To read this book for FREE on Amazon, click HERE
Other Books by Ruth Cardello
The Legacy Collection:
*Also available in audiobook format
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire (available at all major eBook stores for FREE!)
Book 2: For Love or Legacy
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 4: Saving the Sheikh
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire
Recipe For Love, An Andrade Christmas Novella
Lone Star Burn Series:
Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred
Book 2: Tycoon Takedown (Pre-order now! Releases 03/10/15)
The Andrades
Book 1: Come Away With Me
Book 2: Home to Me
Book 3: Maximum Risk (Pre-order now! Coming 01/27/15!)
Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way (Coming 05/26/15!)
Temptation Series
Book 1: Twelve Days of Temptation
Book 2: Be My Temptation
Holiday Bundles
Naughty & Nice: featuring Twelve Days of Temptation
Ten Christmas Brides: featuring Recipe for Love, An Andrade Christmas Novella
Other Collections:
Taken by a Trillionaire (Pre-order now! Releases 02/10/15)
About the Author
Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She spent her young adult years moving as far away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, New York—then came full circle and moved back to Rhode Island. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.