The Dare (29 page)

"I came for my wife."

"You're married!" Char shouted, launching
herself at Jace.

He held up his hands in panic. "Not yet!"

"You have a freaking fiancée!" I shouted, my
voice carrying across the giant house like a firecracker.

"Oh, I feel faint. I do feel faint." Grandma
patted her head.

Char swayed on her feet next to Grandma,
turning an interesting shade of white before passing out in Jake's
arms.

"Hospital!" he yelled.

"For the last time, I'm not pregnant!" I
countered.

"BUT CHAR IS!" He all but screamed in my
face.

"Yay!" Grandma did a little dance. "I knew
those beads would work."

"A little help?" Jake motioned to Jace, who
was already opening the door and grabbing flip flops for Char.

She was starting to come to. I was too
worried to do anything but pray. Why hadn't Char told me? She could
only be a few weeks along!

"I took a taxi," Jace said in clipped
tones.

"Garage." With his free hand, Jake dialed the
garage pad, and it opened.

If I hadn't been in such a panic, I probably
would have passed out. He had more cars than a dealership, and they
all looked expensive.

Which one were we supposed to take?

Jace ran to where the keys were hanging,
grabbed a pair, and unlocked a new Mercedes SUV.

"Get in," he barked.

I got in the front while everyone else piled
in the back.

Tears burned at the back of my throat. "Is
she awake? Coherent?"

Jake's voice cracked, "Yeah, her eyes just
opened. Baby, are you okay? Talk to me. Do you know where you
are?"

Grandma reached up to the front seat and
patted my shoulder. "She'll be alright, honeybug. This sometimes
happens."

Jace pulled into the closest hospital in
record time. I didn't even realize I was holding his hand until I
tried to sit down and realized I'd have to sit on his lap with how
close I was leaning against him. Abruptly, I let go and shook the
familiarity of his touch away.

Wife? His wife?

The man was quick. Two weeks, and he was
moving on?

Jake went back with Char, while Grandma left
to call Travis and Kace.

"She'll be okay," Jace said confidently.
"She's strong."

"Yeah."

"I don't have a wife," he added a few minutes
later.

"I don't care."

"You do," he said confidently. "I meant you,
by the way."

"What? We're secretly married?"

"Not yet," he said smoothly, "but we will
be."

"What gives you that idea?"

"Well, first of all, I love you."

My breath caught in my throat.

"And second? I didn't walk away."

"I know, I know. I did. But you didn't give
me a reason, and then you denied everything in front of the news!
What was I supposed to do?"

"Stay." He turned in his chair and grabbed my
hands. "You were supposed to stay."

"But
—
"

"I didn't walk away."

"So you keep saying." I tried to jerk
free.

"Ten minutes. That's all I need. And then I
will walk away. If I can't convince you in ten minutes, then…" his
face fell, "then I'll go if you want me to."

"Is that why you're here? To plead your
case?"

"I'm here because I wanted to make the big
gesture. I wanted you to see that I wasn't going to run with my
tail between my legs. But the minute I got back, I had some things
to fix, some choices to make. I wanted to make sure I had those
firmly in place before I talked with you. I wanted to be sure you
knew that I was fully committed."

Okay, so as far as speeches went? His was
pretty dang good.

"It was your white dress." He framed my face
with his hands as we touched foreheads. "It fit you so perfectly.
The way the lights danced across your body
—
hell, I thought I was seeing an angel. And then
those eyes." He muttered a curse. "They were like a drug. I
couldn't look away. I'd always believed in this silly little
fantasy that when you found the one you wanted to spend the rest of
your life with, you'd experience this incredible pull toward that
person. You'd just know
—
things would
just click. It was that way for my parents. And my mom, from the
day I could understand her nonsense, convinced me it would be that
way for me too. So when I saw you that night, I knew."

"Knew what?" I whispered.

"I knew I wanted you. I knew I wanted to
marry you. I knew I wanted to spend my life watching that smile,
gazing into those eyes. Then again, I was only sixteen and stupid,
so I can't totally blame it on love at first sight. We'll just call
it lust. I wanted to touch you so damn bad that my hands were
shaking."

I shuddered as he moved his hand to my neck
and rubbed softly. "I promised myself that I'd dance with you. I'd
ask for your name and that would be that."

"But you kissed me."

"I couldn't help it," Jace whispered,
brushing his lips across mine. "You tasted so good. I was hooked
the minute my mouth met yours, and then I panicked. Again, I was
sixteen, so let's give me a little credit. I didn't want to get the
shit beat out of me by the other football team, so I left."

"You walked away." I sighed dejectedly.

"I came back," Jace argued. "But I never made
it."

"What do you mean?"

Jace closed his eyes. "Remember when we
jumped off the cliff?"

"Yes, I thought you were dying."

"And you almost did a belly flop."

"Jace…" I warned.

"Fine."

His warm chuckle made my stomach flip.

"When you kissed me, for some reason, it
jolted a memory, one I'd forgotten until now. My dad, who, by the
way, can give Grandma a run for her money any day, told me what
really happened that night. I ran home, told him I'd found the girl
I was going to marry, and quickly got into my car and drove
headfirst into another vehicle after running a yellow light."

I gasped, putting my hands over my mouth as
the tears welled in my eyes.

"You see…" e smiled sadly, "there was this
pretty girl with bright green eyes that I really wanted to see
again. I wanted to kiss her and tell her how gorgeous her dress
was. I wanted to apologize for being an ass, and I wanted to tell
her just how good we would be together, if she'd only give me a
chance." He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Instead, I woke
up three months later from a coma."

Warm tears slid down my cheek.

"So here's the thing, Beth. Your whole life
has been based off thinking you didn't have a charge, assuming guys
weren't into you, wrongly assuming I had walked away
—
when the very opposite was true. I almost died
trying to get to you, and the truth?" His voice shook. "I would go
through it all again, as long as I knew you'd still be waiting for
me on the other side."

With a sob, I threw my arms around his neck,
letting the tears spill over my cheeks. "You could have died!"

"But look," Jace squeezed me tight, "I'm
right here. And I'm waiting."

"Waiting?"

Jace pulled away and, with a grin, took off
his long black trench coat, revealing a tux. "For the last dance we
should have shared. For the moment that was taken. I want a do
over. Because, maybe, in this cold senator's chest, there's a heart
hat believes in second chances, and quite possibly the
fairytale."

"You're re-creating prom?"

"Kind of," Jace winked, "minus all the lusty
teens with acne. I hadn't really planned on dancing with you in a
hospital."

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I took his
hand and started swaying with him.

"I'm sorry," I said, wrapping my arms around
his neck, holding on for dear life. "I'm so sorry."

"You did nothing wrong. Hell, all you did was
look pretty, and I was lost."

"And then I opened my mouth, and you wanted
to smack me?" I teased.

"Nah," Jace's gaze turned serious, "you
opened your mouth, and I fell in love."

"Sorry." Grandma dabbed her eyes. "I just
love that part." She blew her nose loudly and shook her head. "It
seems true love finally does win in the end, doesn't it, Gus?" She
stood and yawned. "Lovely talk. We'll have to do it again
sometime."

"Sit."

"But I told you everything I know."

"Sit. Now."

Grandma rolled her eyes but sat.

"The ending. I need to know where this story
ends, because where this story ends tells me where you end. In
prison? Or in the free world."

Jace

I would be content holding her for the rest
of my life. It had taken me awhile to work out the kinks. After
all, taking more vacation? After being gone for a week? It wasn't
sitting well with people, but I'd worked my ass off the last
fourteen days, so I could do this with her, so I could go to
Seattle and sweep Beth off her feet the way she deserved.

I was planning on staying until she relented.
I went as far as to buy a Thor costume in hopes it would sway her
plan. If that didn't work, I was going to have to resort to wine,
and lastly Benadryl.

"What's going on?" a female voice
demanded.

I pulled away from Beth and smiled as Grandma
slowly walked into the waiting room.

"Dancing." Beth sighed happily.

I kissed her head.

Grandma's eyes narrowed. "And you two are…
reunited?"

"Yes," I answered for both of us.

"And the child?"

"For the last time, I'm not pregnant!" Beth
shrieked.

"But, honey bear, do you even remember your
night with this one? For all you know, he could have put on a
raincoat and chanted around the bed before he rutted
you
—
"

"Oh, good Lord, did you say Rut?" Jace half
whispered.

"It's what animals do, and we are
animals."

"NO." Beth shook her head. "No, we
aren't."

"At any rate, I'd get checked." Grandma
sniffed. "Besides, I need more great-grandchildren."

I wasn't about to explain that technically
they wouldn't be her great-grandchildren I had a feeling that there
wasn't a way I was going to permanently exorcise her from our
lives, so I may as well go with it.

"Oh" Grandma clapped, "and I'm happy to
announce that Char is just fine! Low blood sugar! Pregnancy messes
with you."

"So, she is pregnant?" Jake was probably
scared shitless.

"Yup." Grandma beamed. "Grandchild number
one, though I gave good ol' Travis an earful about how he clearly
isn't doing things right in the bedroom, if Jake and Char are
breeding first."

"Breeding?" Beth repeated under her
breath.

"At any rate. I'm sure he's just fine now. I
explained a few of the mechanics that I'm sure he was confused
with. After all, a Grandma knows these things. To think he wasn't
even aware of the best positions for conception! I sent him
pictures."

"Of?"

"Kama Sutra." Grandma nodded "From the
Google."

"Aw hell," I muttered.

"What?" Grandma shrugged innocently.

"Since everything's okay, I guess Beth and I
will just go
—
"

First thought? Drink wine, followed by sex,
more wine, more sex, no unplanned pregnancies, and hopefully I'd
finally get to pull her hair. Thank God.

"Well, the media is having a frenzy. They
watch poor Jake's house like it's Netflix. The story's already been
leaked, wouldn't want you guys getting caught up in it."

"Oh." Beth's face fell.

"But never fear." Grandma straightened her
jacket and smirked "I've got a plan." She turned the full force of
her frightening gaze to me. "How good are you with driving
vans?"

"So you're saying he kidnapped himself?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"No drugs involved?"

Grandma shrugged. "That van has many uses. I
may have hid the rufies under the seat to keep them from the feds,
but really, Gus? I panicked!"

"So where is the senator? A reporter saw the
van drive off. They saw you get in the van."

Grandma rolled her eyes. "Of course I got in
the van. I promised them I'd take them to the airport!"

"The airport?"

"Yes." Grandma yawned. "Really it has been
such a pleasure, and I do mean that, Gus, but I have better things
to be doing rather than sitting here telling you love stories. If
you don't believe me, call this number. I think by now," she
checked her watch, "yes, by now the rest of the three days are
up."

"Three days?"

"Of course." Grandma stood. "Jace promised
Beth six full days of the fairytale, and she only got three.
They're in Hawaii, you ass."

Jace

"You sure you're ready for this?" I asked,
gripping Beth's hands in mine.

"Yes." She beamed. "I am."

"It's a big risk."

"It's worth it," she whispered.

"Well, then I guess there isn't anything more
to say." I grinned. "Shit, shit!"

The donkey moved forward with Beth atop it.
Perfectly content that if he were in a race with a turtle, he'd
lose by a long shot. He made his way down the small aisle.

I decided to walk alongside Beth and the
annoying little ass. It seemed right that it wouldn't be her
walking toward me or me waiting for her, but us traveling on the
journey together. Because sometimes, that's how love is. It isn't a
man chasing a woman, it isn't a man storming the castle, and it
isn't the girl waiting for love to happen.

It's two people making a commitment. It's two
people realizing that they hold the keys to their own happiness in
their own damn hands. The problem? Most people forget that they
have the power to live the fairytale. I'd forgotten I had the
power, and in the end, I'd been willing to walk away from my
future.