A Deal With the Devil (35 page)

He stepped toward her. “What else did you hear?”

“Nothing; I left right after. I didn’t want to disturb you and in all honesty, I’m not sure I’d ever have the nerve to look Max in the eye again now that he knows the truth.”

He stood in front of her. “You missed the best part,” he said softly, tipping her chin up until her eyes met his. “You missed me telling Max I want to marry you for real. You missed me telling him you’re the love of my life. And you missed him telling me in his most know-it-all-voice, he already knew that part.” Jake grinned and brushed her hair from her cheek. “I meant what I said at the party, Amanda. I want this thing between us to be for real; to be forever.”

Her heart thumped. “But, I heard you say the deal was off—”

“The deal is off,” he said. “I don’t want a fake engagement, a fake marriage or a fake anything else with you. From this point onward, I’ll only settle for the real deal.”

Her mouth dropped open.

He bent onto one knee and picked up her left hand, pulling off the over-sized Tiffany engagement ring that had become a despised symbol of their outlandish deception. He tossed it onto the sofa without a glance and pulled a ring out of his pocket.

“Jake,” she said. “That ring—”

“That ring is going right back to Tiffany’s tomorrow morning. I don’t want any reminders of the past week.”

A smile tugged at her lips as hope bloomed in her heart.

“Amanda” —he cleared his throat and gazed up at her . He held a delicate ring between his fingers— “this is my grandmother’s wedding ring. My grandfather gave it to her almost fifty years ago and now I . . . we both . . . want you to have it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and even that won’t be enough.” He held the ring at her left finger. “Amanda Wilson, will you marry me?”

Amanda’s hands flew to her mouth.

“I know after everything we’ve been through, after how I ended things last year, after the way I’ve behaved this past week,” Jake said, “I know I have no right to ask. And I know I have a lot to prove to you in terms of my ability to make a commitment. But I promise you, if you’ll just say yes, I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for all of it.”

She nodded; feeling like her heart might burst.

Jake’s face broke into a broad grin and he slid the ring onto her finger. Then he stood and pulled her into his arms. She melted against him and rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes. Kate was right. Dreams really can come true.

After a while, Jake pulled away and reached into his pocket, pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to her. She glanced down at it and then up at him. “What’s this?”

“Paris.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges.

“I’m not going to Paris. The deal is off, remember?” She shook her head. “Besides, I have to get back to work. Fun and games time is over and it’s back to the office for me.”

“We’re going to Paris.” He fanned the papers to display two boarding passes. His eyes searched her face. “That is, if you’ll let me go with you. I’m hoping you do, but mostly, I want to make sure you get that year in Paris you and your mother always dreamed of.”

“No.” She shook her head more vehemently. “I don’t need Paris. I have everything I need, more than I ever
dreamed
of having, right here with you.”

“The best things in life aren’t about
needing
, remember? They’re about wanting.” He set the tickets on the coffee table and pulled her close. “Someone I love told me that not too long ago.”

She picked up the boarding passes and her brows shot up in surprise. “This flight leaves in five hours!”

He grinned. “Yes, it does. Your dream comes true in just five hours.”

“Jake, I told you. Paris isn’t important to me anymore. It was just a silly girlhood fantasy. It’s not practical and I need to get back to work and—”

“It is important to you. It’s
always
been important. It’s a dream your mother placed in your heart; a dream to be cherished and its worth moving heaven and earth to accomplish it—especially since she’s gone.” He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t ever say it’s not important, ever again.”

She blinked back tears as she looked up at him. “It
was
important. But you’re
more
important. I already have more than I ever dreamed of.”

He frowned. “You make it sound like you need to choose between me and Paris. You don’t,” he said. “The dream meant enough for you to hold onto it your entire life, until you lost them. It was just six months from becoming reality when your parents died.” He shook his head and tipped her head up so she looked him in the eye. “You’re going Amanda. You
have
to. And I’d like to go with you, because if something—
anything
—matters that much to you, then it’s important to me, too.”

A lone tear slid down her cheek and her lips quivered.

He looked at her in concern. “What’s wrong? I thought this would make you happy.”

Her voice was thick and as a few more tears weaved a path down her cheek; she brushed them away. “I
am
happy.”

“You’re sure?” He looked confused. “I can cancel the tickets.”

“I want to go.” She brushed the last of her tears away. “I do, if you’ll come with me.”

“Of course, I’ll go with you,” he said. “I’ll just go back and forth while I get the business started. But I’m sure I can coerce Kate into coming over and staying awhile after the baby is born.”

She smiled up at him. “Thank you, Jake.”

“Don’t thank me.” He shook his head. “Paris has always been part of the deal.”

She smiled and kissed him. “I never expected our deal to make my dreams come true.” She kissed him again. “But it did.
You
did.”

He laced his fingers at the small of her back and the look in his eyes curled her toes. She never believed he’d look at her like that, ever again.

“You’ve fulfilled dreams I didn’t even know I had.” He pulled her close and kissed her until she felt breathless. “I love you, Amanda. I never stopped loving you. You lived beside me every day in Iraq. I couldn’t have made it through without you.”

She looked up at him. “You’re right.”

He frowned. “About what?”

“It’s hard for me to ask for or accept help. It’s hard for me to admit I can’t do everything myself. I realized that today. You’ll need to be patient with me.” She melted into him for a long time and then finally, pulled away, laughing as a thought occurred.

He gazed down at her. “What?”

“I was just thinking.” She giggled. “After you ditched me and left for Iraq, I started to think of you as the devil.”

He pursed his lips and gazed up at the ceiling, appearing to consider her words carefully. “I’ve been called worse,” he said as his blue eyes locked with hers. “By
you
, if my memory serves.” He arched a brow. “Chauvinist, ass, devil; did I miss anything?”

She giggled. “I’m sure I’ll come up with a few others down the road.”

His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. “No doubt, but I’ll do everything I can to prevent you from needing to.” His lips captured hers. After a few breathless moments, he pulled away. “What about now? Do you still think of me as the devil?”

She bit her lower lip, tilting her head as she gazed up at him through her lashes. “Yes, I believe I do.” Her gaze shot down the hall toward the bedroom. “But it kinda works for me.”

He chuckled. “Tease.”

“Does the devil wanna come out to play? Or should we spend the next few hours packing?”

“To hell with Paris,” he declared. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Now you’re talking.” She winked at him.

Jake’s blue eyes grew dark and he gave her bottom a playful little swat. Amanda yelped and giggled as she sprinted off toward the bedroom with Jake in hot pursuit.

Their engagement deal was no more. What they had now was the
real
deal. A forever deal.

Check out more great stories from Abby Matisse.
Visit www.abbymatisse.com to stay up on all the latest.

***

The Sweet Home Chicago Series Continues

A romantic comedy series about a group of Chicago-based friends and the mayhem, mishaps and misadventures they encounter on their journeys toward love.

What Happens in Paris (Sweet Home Chicago #2) Available February 2013

Jake and Amanda are about to discover that a lot can happen between yes and I do. Especially when so much has been left unsaid. Follow Jake and Amanda's journey as they venture to Paris, plan their wedding and once the post-engagement glow fades find themselves dealing with the aftermath of a year spent apart, their sudden reunion and the family dramas and personal demons that tore them apart in the first place. In their case, what happens in Paris will most definitely not stay in Paris.

Everything She Wants (Sweet Home Chicago #3) Available July 2013

This prequel to A Deal with the Devil features Amanda's best friend, Kate Montgomery. She's a strong-willed and feisty southern belle from an eccentric but upper crust, Birmingham family who finds herself having to choose between the rich and rakish investment banker she's always lusted after and the handsome, but penniless young attorney she's finding it impossible to resist. In the process, she must decide whether she'll dutifully follow the path expected of her or find the courage to forge her own.

***

Introducing The Princesses of Las Olas

A new series featuring the pampered, fabulous women of Las Olas Boulevard and the unexpected twists and turns of fate that help them discover who they are, what they want and how to carve out a life that really matters.

Caring for Cressida (Princesses of Las Olas #1) Available Soon!

Cressida Ann Wentworth had it all. Or, so she thought. Until her skirt-chasing, money-hiding, slime ball of a plastic surgeon husband walked out on her, that is. Alone and fearful, it doesn't take long to realize that in the pampered and posh Southern Florida enclave of Las Olas she's just committed the trifecta of unforgivable sins. She's penniless, single and on the wrong side of thirty-five. Now facing the harsh reality of carving out a new life on her own, she'll discover who she is, what she's made of and what she really wants now that she's no longer the well-tended wife of Dr. Calvin Wentworth. In the process, she';ll learn that improbable as it may have seemed at the time being dumped wasn';t the end. It was just the beginning.