Blinking back tears, I say, ‘What do you think I need?’

  ‘Everything.’

  His head falls forward and I bite my bottom lip to stop the sobs threatening to spill out.

  ‘There’s only one thing I really need and that’s you.’

  I can’t stem the tears any longer and they trickle down my cheeks.

  ‘Fuck, don’t cry, not because of me.’ He bundles me into his arms and I let go, the sobs bubbling up from deep within, wave after wave until I’m drained and clinging to him.

  I eventually quieten and he eases back, his expression stricken, his eyes dark with pain.

  ‘I will hurt you,’ he says. ‘I will push you away and be grumpy and be a total asshole, because I’m so fucking scared you’ll leave me and that will kill me…’

  He clears his throat, and his eyes, those beautiful eyes, fill with tears. ‘Because for the first time in my life I think I know what love is.’

  The ache in my chest expands until I’m filled with hope.

  ‘I haven’t slept much so I don’t think this is a dream, but just in case…’ I pinch him on the arm, hard.

  He doesn’t even flinch as he stares at me for an eternity, like he’s trying to memorise my features. ‘Did you hear what I said?’

  ‘I heard. And for the record, I get it. You push people away as a protective mechanism and it’s so ingrained you can’t shake it.’ My fingertips graze his cheek. ‘I’m sorry that you didn’t get the chance to truly open up to your grandfather. And I hate all the horrors you had to endure growing up. But I’m here. I love you. And I won’t leave you.’

  He stiffens, his neck muscles protruding. ‘You’re insane to love someone like me.’

  I grin like a lunatic. ‘Yeah, I am, crazy in love.’

  ‘Fuck me,’ he mutters, but his lips curl into a soft smile that wipes years off his face. ‘I guess that’s okay because I think I love you too.’

  My heart leaps and my stomach goes into free fall. ‘Not exactly a rousing endorsement but I’ll take it.’

  His expression is dazed, like he’s just woken up, and he shakes his head. ‘I never thought you’d take a chance on an emotionally stunted asshole that has done everything in his power to push you away since we first met.’

  ‘You’re not emotionally stunted,’ I deadpan.

  He grins at my quip. ‘You know, during all the time I hung out with foster kids, during all my travels, even during the good times with Pa, I never felt as comfortable as I do with you.’

  He blinks but he can’t hide the tenderness that almost undoes me. ‘You’re truly unique, Daisy, because I don’t want to run from you.’

  He thumps his chest with one hand. ‘Something weird is happening in here, because for the first time ever, I want to take a risk on someone, because I feel…safe when I’m with you, and that has never, ever happened before.’

  I start blubbering again. I can’t help it, as tears leak out of my eyes.

  ‘So I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t push you away anymore, and I’ll love you as best I can, if you promise to tell me if you’re not happy or if you want out at any time.’

  He clasps my chin and eyeballs me. ‘I need to know if you want to leave me.’

  ‘Deal,’ I murmur, burying my face in his chest and wrapping my arms tight around his waist.

  He hugs me back and we sit there, locked in our first purely honest embrace.

  The first of many.

  Epilogue

  Hart

  Itake Daisy’s hand as we step onto the beach. It reminds me of the first time I offered her my hand on this very spot seven months ago.

  ‘Who would’ve thought my emotional recluse would have a romantic streak a mile long?’ She swings our linked hands, her expression pure mischief. ‘I mean, there’s only so many dusk walks along a perfect beach a girl can take.’

  ‘You love it,’ I say, enjoying our banter now as much as I did when we met.

  ‘And you love checking out your handiwork.’

  She knows me too well. Since the vacation programme for foster kids launched a week ago, we’ve taken a stroll along the beach every night at this time so I can check on the first batch of visitors.

  Daisy has accused me of being like an overprotective father but I can’t help it. I want the best for these kids because they deserve a break.

  It took months to renovate the old villas, which gave Daisy time to launch our campaign in spectacular fashion. I even let her use several shots of me as the unofficial poster boy for this. The response has been overwhelming and the Gem Island Kids Vacation Club is booked solid for the next eighteen months, with so many foster families and kids craving a slice of paradise and a break from their daily drudgery, even for an all too brief week.

  ‘Don’t you mean our handiwork?’ I drop a peck on her cheek. ‘I couldn’t have done all this without you.’

  ‘BS and you know it. You did this.’ She pats my chest over my heart. ‘Straight from here.’

  ‘We did it,’ I reaffirm, enjoying being part of a team for once in my life.

  The terror that I’ll eventually lose her hasn’t left me. I don’t think it ever will because it’s as much a part of me as those damn knife scars.

  But I’m getting better. With each passing day that I wake to see her smiling face on the pillow next to me, the fear is abating. I can live with it. I can’t live without her.

  ‘Come on, you sentimental sap.’ She tugs on my hand and we fall into step, in sync, in love, so damn much it hurts.

  As we near the end of the beach I hear kids’ laughter and it’s the sweetest sound ever. There’s a bunch of them, about fourteen of varying ages, playing cricket in the garden behind the villas where they back onto the beach.

  I hear good-natured ribbing and more laughter, and damned if I don’t want to cry.

  ‘You did good,’ she says, sliding her arm around my waist. ‘And I love you, every big-hearted, generous inch of you.’

  Her complete and utter devotion makes me want to cry more, so I dip my head to whisper in her ear, ‘I have some very generous inches waiting for you to appreciate when we get to the cave.’

  ‘Sex maniac.’ She laughs and snuggles in tighter.

  ‘Yeah, but I’m your sex maniac, for however long you want.’

  ‘How about forever?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’

  My voice breaks a little and she knows how much her promise means to me, the sheen in her eyes as we lock gazes telling me that maybe, just maybe, I can believe in forever, with her.

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  Next in the REDEEMING A BAD BOY series is

  THE PLAYER.

  Her famous smile hides a secret…

  Liza Lithgow has it all—or so it seems. As a high-profile ex-WAG, she's used to the glitz and glamour of being in the spotlight. But behind the dazzling smile and designer outfits lies a woman fiercely protective of her vulnerable little sister, Cindy.

  A night of unexpected passion leaves Liza torn between her desires and her duties when she discovers her one night stand is Wade Urquart, the publisher who wants her tell-all story.

  What starts as a simple business proposition quickly becomes complicated, because as Wade delves deeper into Liza's past, he unearths secrets that could shatter her carefully constructed world.

  Desperate to protect Cindy from the fallout, Liza finds herself in an impossible situation.

  Follow her head or her heart?

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  About the Author

  USA TODAY bestselling and multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh writes page-turning fiction to keep you up all night.

  She’s published 82 books and sold 8 million copies worldwide.

  She currently writes contemporary romance and domestic suspense.

  She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan, Amazon, iBooks and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a RBY (Romantic Book of the Year) and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and a multi-finalist for a number of awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, and More than Magic.

  A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

 

 

  Nicola Marsh, The Rebel

 

 

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