The Marriage Bargain (20 page)

Her lower lip trembled.

Maggie’s hand tightened on hers. “Do you still love him?”

She choked on her response. “I’m afraid I can’t do it anymore.”

Maggie’s eyes burned with a fierceness that shot sparks. “Yes, you can. You can do it again, and again, and again. If you love him enough.”

Her husband stepped down from the mic and made his way toward her. The carefully built wall rocked on its foundation. “It was always you. You made me whole again.”

And then, he knelt before her and placed his hands against her belly.

“My baby,” he whispered. “I was afraid I had nothing to give. But I do. And I want to give it all to you.”

The wall trembled with a shattering force and crashed around her.

Alexa made her choice.

She pulled him up and stepped into his arms. He held her close, his mouth to her ear, his hands around her back, as he whispered his promise to never hurt her again. A round of applause broke the silence, with loud hoots and high fives.

Maggie grinned. “About time you came to your senses, big brother.”

Nicholas grabbed his sister and brought her into the embrace. His face reflected a lightness and peace Alexa had glimpsed before, but never seen burn bright.

“I hope you know I intend to be godmother of this baby.”

Alexa laughed. “God help us all if it’s a girl. She’ll be dressed in baby leather and brought to underwear shoots.”

“And if it’s a boy, I’ll teach him the proper way to make a woman happy.”

Nick placed a kiss on his wife’s lips. “Oh, you’ll get both, Maggs. I think I’ll take my wife home and start practicing on a second.”

Alexa’s eyes widened. “A second? First I have to get past the morning sickness and weight gain and labor.”

“Piece of cake. I’ll be there through the whole thing.”

“Only if you wear that Mets jersey.”

Nick smiled. “Actually, I’ve thought about your arguments on the subject. Maybe you’re right. Maybe the Mets deserve another fan in their arena.”

She lifted her eyes up to the sky.

“Thank you, Earth Mother,” she whispered.

Alexa made a mental note to give the book of spells to Maggie. Something told her Maggie’s life was about to change. And she’d need all the help she could get.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Nick kissed her. “Let’s go home.”

She wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to lead her back to the light.

Acknowledgments

Writing can be a lonely business. Fortunately, the community of romance authors are giving, dedicated professionals who are always willing to encourage or kick your butt on a deadline.

Thanks to my Twitter friends who make me laugh and keep me social, and all the wonderful authors on the loops who take the time to help promote a colleague.

I’d like to give a special shout out to the 4BadMommies group. We all need a safe place to fall, and this group of mommies is the best. Wendy S. Marcus, Regina Richards, and Aimee Carson – you guys rock. And to last year’s roomies at RWA National in New York: Abbi Cantrell, Maggie Marr, Maisey Yates – we had way too much fun. Let’s do it again this year.

About the Author

Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She makes her home in upstate New York with the whole crew. Her two young sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.

She is the author of both sexy and erotic contemporary romance. Her credits include
Heart of Steel
; “
Masquerade
” Secrets Volume 11;
The Tantric Principle
;
Sex, Lies and Contracts; and Catch Me.
She has also written a children’s book,
Buffy and the Carrot
, co-written with her twelve-year-old niece, along with a short story about a shelter dog,
A
Life Worth Living
. She is thrilled to share her new series,
Marriage to a Billionaire,
with Entangled readers.

All of her books are available at her website, http://www.jenniferprobst.com. She loves hearing from her readers so drop her a line or stalk her on Facebook and Twitter!