“Oh, no. I think you’ve had enough.”
She turned toward him. “I haven’t. Really. I just think we should stay till the end. For Riley.”
He nodded. “Can I get something in exchange for the sacrifice?”
“Such as?” she asked, leaning in close and looping her arms around his neck.
He pulled her into the nearest room and shut the door behind them. “This.” He slid his lips over hers and took her mouth, kissing her as if he hadn’t seen her and made love to her earlier this morning.
“Mmm. What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason to kiss my soon-to-be wife?” he asked.
“Nope.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and refastened her lips over his.
Her tongue glided over his mouth, pushed inside, and she moaned, pulling tighter on his hair and not letting him get away. Not that he wanted to.
With a moan, she finally separated from him. “I’ve been thinking.”
“About?”
“What kind of wedding I want.” Before today, Madison had been putting off making a decision on anything to do with the actual ceremony.
Not because she had any doubts but because she didn’t know how to have something traditional when her life was anything but. Still, spending the day with a lot of married women talking about babies and families had her ready to make a decision.
Alex grasped her waist in his hands. “Anything you want, it’s yours.”
She swallowed hard. “I want to be your wife, but I don’t want a big wedding with a lot of people. I don’t have parents and—”
“No explanations necessary,” he assured her.
“I don’t want to walk down the aisle alone or with someone who isn’t really my father. I just want to marry you. I’d say Las Vegas, but I want your family to be there.”
He squeezed her tighter. “And I love you for that. So why not do Vegas? My family can fly out there as easily as we can. Gabe owns a club there. I’m sure he knows all the best places for us to go. It’ll be simple.”
She stared in surprise. “Really?”
He grinned. “Really.”
She blew out a long breath. “Thank you,” she said, so relieved he’d agreed. “If Riley can fly, I’d love for her and Ian to be there. If not, I know she’ll understand.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
He was so easy. So special. She stared into those dark chocolate eyes so full of love. For her. She was lucky, she thought not for the first time. Not for the hundredth. He’d turned into the perfect man for her. And throughout the last few months, she’d grown a lot too.
She’d learned to talk to herself during his travels, reassuring herself that his on-air chemistry with the co-host of his show didn’t mean he was interested in her. That the other proverbial shoe didn’t have to fall. That he didn’t have to leave her like others in her life. And thanks to his patience, it was all starting to stick. She was more self-aware, more trusting. And she hoped she could be half the partner for him that he was for her.
“If my family can be there, great. If not … you’re all I need, Angel.”
“Good thing,” she said, smiling. “Because you’re all I need too.”
EPILOGUE
Gabriel Dare stared at the email he’d received from his cousin Alex. Another Dare male soon to be married. Gabe stared out the window over one of the four terraces in his apartment that overlooked the East River. He had varied business interests, owned the most exclusive nightclubs in the world’s most sought-after locations, and he was bored. Not with the business end of things but with his personal life.
The endless available supply of beautiful women did nothing for him. Easy catches didn’t stimulate his interest. No, there was only one woman who’d done that lately, and she was living with a pompous ass who didn’t deserve her. He ran a hand through his hair, understanding that her lack of availability was for the best.
Gabe had married young and miscalculated badly. He felt responsible for his wife’s death, leaving him certain that being alone was his best—his only—option. One look at her had him wanting to do what he always did when hit with a business challenge. Reassess. But matters of the heart had little in common with business, which was more calculated and controlling. He had to put her out of his mind.
Unfortunately, there was something about Isabelle …