I focused on Bailey. It wasn’t often we were somewhat alone for any amount of time. And I knew it would be a long time until we had even more private moments.

  A lot had changed. Both Charles and Keely were in jail. They were being put away for a very long time. I hadn’t spoken to either and didn’t plan to.

  “Remember when we first met?”

  Her eyes had been closing and I felt bad for not letting her sleep. She focused on me, interested in what I had to say.

  “Yeah.”

  “Many women came by as I stood by the bar, but a certain redhead had me mesmerized.”

  “And you’re telling me this now… why?” Her words were slow and punctuated. Then her eyes quickly narrowed. “You’re telling me because I’m drugged, right?”

  I winced. “Maybe, but I need to say this.”

  The grim set to her mouth changed to a faint smile. I continued.

  “I wasn’t used to chasing women.” I paused, seeing the past in my head. “I watched you for a long time. You even glanced my way a few times. You didn’t come. Your blonde friend didn’t come over either. When a tall guy headed in the direction of you and Lizzy, I got to my feet. I hadn’t known what I was going to do, but I knew I wasn’t going to let him get to you first.”

  I exhaled a breath after that barrage of words. “Lucky for him, he moved to dance behind Lizzy. And there I was, less than two feet away. I couldn’t stop myself. I took your hips and pulled your back against the hardness you created. When you moved your lovely arse to create pressure, I thought I’d come in my pants like a wee lad.”

  She just watched me as I gave her my confession.

  “Before you turned around in my arms, I knew I had to have you. When you looked up at me, I didn’t see dollar signs in your eyes. I didn’t see the star-struck look some women get. I saw you looking like you were enjoying my company. I felt the connection, but I hadn’t understood it yet. I thought, Let me just fuck her and I’ll forget her.”

  Her mouth parted some. I knew that our love could stand some truths.

  “When you let me have you that night, I was sure I could forget you. I walked away because I hadn’t wanted to feel what I was feeling.”

  I took her hand, which she reluctantly let me have.

  “That next night I was courting a potential client. I’d planned to fuck her if I had to for the deal to be signed. She’d already hinted she wanted me. She was attractive enough, and I figured it could be a celebration of sorts after she signed on the line.”

  “I thought she was a business associate?” Bailey asked, trying to take her hand back, but I wouldn’t let her go.

  “A client is a business associate,” I said, feeling derailed by her glare. I glanced away. I’d already committed to that path. I just had to get to the finish line. “I’d been plagued with thoughts of you all the night before. I thought if I fucked this woman maybe I would forget about you.”

  “Did you fuck her?” Bailey crudely asked. She was pissed.

  I didn’t let it influence me from finishing.

  “Then I saw you. Some part of me recognized fate was playing games with me. I mean, what were the odds that in New York I would ever see you again? Worse, you were with that dobber. This irrational caveman emotion came over me. I wanted to go over there and toss you over my shoulder and beat my chest while saying mine.”

  Her hand relaxed some from its punishing grip.

  “You didn’t answer the question,” she complained.

  I continued to ignore her. “I kept you in my sights, wanting to talk to you. Like destiny was playing Cupid, you decided to go to the restroom. I hadn’t known up to that point how I planned to approach you until then.”

  “And,” she said while I took a breath.

  “You know what happened. I basically told you to come see me the next night.”

  “And the business associate?” she said through gritted teeth.

  “I didn’t touch her.” At her disbelieving look, I said, “Except to remove her hand from my barely responding dick. I dropped her straight off at her hotel.”

  She rolled her eyes. I pressed on. “When you showed up that next day, that was it for me. You know the rest, except that if you’d chosen Turner, I would have ended up a monk. For me and my cock, you were the only one. I’d never in my life been so attracted, blindsided by any woman.”

  My hormonal wife, who’d given birth to my two beautiful bairns, sobbed, “I love you.”

  I kissed away her tears. “And I you, mo ghràdh. You give me reasons to draw breath. You, Gabe, Corrine, and Jeremy give me reasons to live. And the four of you give me hope for the future.”

  “Mo ghràdh?” she questioned, actually doing a good job with the pronunciation even through the hitch in her voice.

  “It means my love,” I said. “There’s no reason to cry.”

  “As if…” she said while I wiped away her tears.

  “I tell you these things so you will know, for as long as I live there won’t ever be another woman. I’ll never stray. I’m yours.”

  She began to cry in earnest. With the pads of my thumbs, I tried my best to dry them. After kissing them and her mouth, I said, “And one more thing.”

  That caught her attention. I didn’t wait. I hoped she was still in a favorable mood. She hated my money and didn’t like to spend it. She complained that she wanted our kids not to be spoiled and think that they could have anything without working for it.

  “I thought maybe we could buy a house outside the city.” I saw her stubborn chin begin to jut up. “We could stay in the city during the week and spend the weekends at a place where the kids could run and play outside. I could teach them football.”

  She frowned. “What do you know about football?”

  I kissed her forehead because there wasn’t a way I couldn’t touch her. “I’m not talking about American football.” She knew I was referring to soccer. I loved to tease her about the absurdity of the American name for their game of football.

  “Okay.” She gave in, waving off the discussion of football. “On the house,” she clarified. “Only if—”

  “Anything,” I offered.

  “That we buy a house in Scotland too.”

  My grin couldn’t have gotten any broader. This woman got me, had me. She held my heart and could utterly destroy me. Still, I trusted her unreservedly.

  The scales were balanced. Or as was said in her accounting world, “Our balance sheet was perfect.” We had far more assets than we would ever have liabilities. The difference of the two was our unshakable partnership based on rock-solid equity that would last until the end of our time.

  “There will only ever be one Mrs. Brinner-King.”

  <<<<>>>>

  Want more? Lizzy & Connor. Questions about Charles or Royce King.

  Coming soon in the next book in All the King’s Sons series:

  Kingdom Come

  Be sure to follow me on social media or sign up for my newsletter to be update on future releases.

  Thank You

  I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read my novel. Above all, I hope you loved it. If you did, I would love it if you could spare just a few more minutes to leave a review on your favorite e-tailer. If you do, could you be so kind and not leave any spoilers about the story? Thanks so much!

  Acknowledgments

  THANK YOU readers, for the love, reviews, messages, and all of it. I couldn’t do this without your continued support.

  THANK YOU TO my beta readers. Kelly & Anne:

  Kelly Reed-Brunet— Such a kind soul who is always there. Your friendship means a lot!!!

  To my writing partner Anne Hargrove. Thank you for being a friend, traveling around the world, etc. ;)

  Thanks to Michele @ Michele Catalano Creative, who made this cover for me back in February 2019. Another kind human!!!

  To Sara Eirew: Your pictures are among the best in the business.

  Thank you to Paige Smith. Always finds time to squeeze me in for an edit. She understands my crazy typing skills.

  About the Author

  Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age.

  Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.

  STALK ME AT

  Facebook: terrielainebooks

  Instagram @terrielaineauthor

  Goodreads: terri e laine

  Newsletter Signup: https://www.subscribepage.com/terrielaine

  I have several upcoming releases, make sure to sign up for my newsletter or check my website for details.

  www.terrielaine.com

  Also by Terri E. Laine

  Money Man Trilogy

  Money Man

  Queen of Men

  KING MAKER

  Him standalone series

  Because Of Him

  Captivated by Him

  Chasing Butterflies standalone series

  Chasing Butterflies

  Catching Fireflies

  Changing Hearts

  Craving Dragonflies

  Songs for Cricket

  Blinded by You Duet

  Honey

  Sugar

  Married in Vegas standalone series

  Married in Vegas: In His Arms

  Absolutely Mine

  Other standalone books

  Ride or Die

  Thirty-Five and Single

  other books co-authored

  by Terri E. Laine

  Cruel and Beautiful

  A Mess of A Man

  One Wrong Choice

  A Beautiful Sin

  Sidelined

  Fastball

  Hooked

  Worth Every Risk

 

 

  Terri E. Laine, King Maker

 

 

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