The Proposal & Solid Soul (33 page)

“And we had so much fun,” Marcus said, smiling. “The three of us played video games until—”

“What the hell do you mean you were with him the entire time?” Chance shouted, coming to his feet beside Kylie.

“Dad, don’t get mad at Uncle Donovan,” Marcus said, rushing in. “I can explain.”

Donovan smiled as he leaned against the wall. “Yes, Chance, let him explain. And trust me, it’s a doozy. And I think you and Kylie might want to be sitting down when you hear it.”

“L
ET ME MAKE SURE
I
have this right,” Chance said as he paced back and forth in front of the two teenagers, who were now the ones sitting on Kylie’s sofa. To say they were in the hot seat was an understatement. “Are the two of you saying you aren’t madly in love and that you never were?”

It had taken the kids twenty minutes to explain to their parents what it had only taken ten to confess to Donovan a few days ago. But Kylie and Chance had stopped them periodically to ask questions.

“Yes, Mr. Steele, that’s what we’re saying. Marcus and I are good friends and have been since the first day I started at Myers Park High. One day while talking we decided that neither you nor my mom had a life that didn’t center around us, so we decided to give you one,” Tiffany said, smiling.

Chance frowned. “You decided? Just like that?”

“Yes, sir, we decided just like that. Wasn’t that cool?”

Kylie came to stand next to Chance. “No, that wasn’t cool. Did it ever occur to either of you that we liked the life we had?”

“Yes, it did occur to me, but then I wondered what you would do when I left for college in a few years, Mom,” Tiffany said quietly. “Just the thought of you
being here all alone almost made me give up the idea of leaving home and going off to school. But then I figured it wouldn’t be fair for me to give up my life just because you didn’t have one. So I decided to help you find one. And when Marcus mentioned how handsome his dad was, and I told him how beautiful you are, we decided the two of you would make the perfect solid soul.”

Chance lifted a confused brow. “Solid soul?”

“Yes, it’s where two souls combine into one. A very solid one that can withstand anything.”

Kylie crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them. “The two of you deceived us. You had us almost pulling our hair out by pretending you were so much in love.”

“We kept asking you to trust us, Ms. Hagan,” Marcus spoke up and said. “Even if we were in love, Tiffany and I have been raised right. You and Dad have done a good job. We know right from wrong and we know what to do and what not to do. We kept telling you and Dad that, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“That’s besides the point. What the two of you did last night was—”

“Necessary, Mom,” Tiffany cut in and said. “I’m not a child. I knew you were beginning to really like Mr. Steele. I could tell. And I could also tell that you wouldn’t let yourself like him fully because you probably thought I wouldn’t go along with it when all I ever wanted was someone to come into your life and treat you nice, take you places and make you smile. And Mr. Steele made you smile, Mom. I’ve never seen you smile so much as when you were around him or talked to him every night on the phone. And I knew our plan was working because Marcus said his dad was smiling, too.”

Marcus picked up their defense. “But we also knew something happened, Dad, that weekend Tiffany and I went out of town. When I got back to town the smile was gone and you were acting like you had lost your best friend. Tiffany told me that her mom was acting the same way so we figured the two of you had had an argument. We knew we needed to do something.”

Chance sighed deeply. “Is that the reason for the stunt the two of you pulled last night?”

“Yes,” Tiffany said softly. “I figured if you cared for my mom that you would come over and make sure she was okay. And you did just what I knew you would do, Mr. Steele.”

“In other words, we played right into your hands,” Chance said, frowning.

“No, you played right into each other’s hearts,” Donovan said, coming to stand next to Chance. “I think you’ve drilled them long enough, and yes, I let them talk me into being a part of their shenanigans because I saw the same thing they did. The two of you cared for each other and you
were
smiling a lot, Chance, when you were together.” Donovan grinned. “You were even smiling when you weren’t together. You don’t know how many times when we were in your office for a meeting that Bas, Morgan and I were tempted to slap that smile off your face. The two of you were meant to be together.”

“That’s not the point,” Kylie snapped.

“Then what is the point?” Donovan asked crossing his arms over his chest. “Your kids cared enough about the two of you to do something. I admit their plan might have needed a little polishing but what the hell. It worked, didn’t it?”

The room got quiet. Chance met Kylie’s gaze and
held it for a long moment. Then he said, “Yes, it worked. Only thing, Marcus and Tiffany, I really don’t
like
Kylie. And the reason I don’t like her is because I’m deeply in love with her. There’s a difference.”

Both Tiffany and Marcus smiled and pumped their fists in triumph. “Yes!”

“And how do you feel about my dad, Ms. Hagan?” Marcus asked a few moments later. Kylie knew all eyes were on her, especially Chance’s. He knew she loved him. She had admitted as much—but she had also declared that she wouldn’t act on that love. Now he was waiting to see if she would reconsider.

What he didn’t know was that she had reconsidered the exact moment she had opened the door to him last night. He had come to her when she had needed him most. He had been there with her and had shown her just what a dependable man he was.

And something else. What he’d told her was true. For the past fifteen years she had been trying to be a good girl for her parents. But even her daughter had been able to see something that she hadn’t. She needed a life that didn’t revolve around Tiffany or her parents. She was a grown woman and if she made mistakes they were hers to make.

She slowly took the couple of steps that brought her in front of Chance. “And I love your dad, too, Marcus. I discovered just how much I cared for him that weekend and it scared me because I didn’t think I was ready to take such a big step as that.”

“And are you ready now?” Chance asked her quietly, taking her hand in his.

She held his gaze and said softly, “Yes, I’m ready.”

Again Marcus and Tiffany grinned.

“Okay, time for me to take the two of you out for
breakfast,” Donovan said, sensing his brother and Kylie needed to be alone. “And since we won’t be playing our basketball game today, I’ll go pick up Bas and Morgan and we can work out our competitive frustrations on the video games.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Marcus said, rushing for the door. “And now that Dad knows there’s nothing going on with me and Tiffany, I can give Rhonda Denton my phone number.”

“And I can give Brad Reagan mine,” Tiffany added, following right on Marcus’s heels.

Donovan turned to his brother and chuckled. “Boy, the two of you will have a lot to deal with after you get married, with two dating-age teens in the house.” He then patted Chance on the back. “We’re leaving so the two of you can settle things.”

Chance gave his brother an appreciative nod. “And give us a courtesy call before you come back.”

Understanding completely, Donovan laughed before he walked out the door, closing and locking it behind him.

“You admitted that you love me in front of them,” Chance said huskily, still holding Kylie’s hand in his. “I didn’t think that you would.”

She nodded. “I had to because it’s the truth and I couldn’t pretend otherwise.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?”

Yes, she knew what this meant. Chance had told her once that if there was something that he wanted, he wouldn’t give up until he got it. “Yes, I know and now, since you have me, what are you going to do with me?”

He smiled that sexy smile that could make her heart race and make her dizzy. “My long-term goal is to marry
you by next summer, if not before. But my short-term goal is to make love to you, right here and now.”

And with that said he captured her mouth in a soul-searing kiss that left her trembling. And then he began removing her clothes as well as his own.

“No visitors and no kids for a while,” she whispered when he had gotten her completely naked and stretched out on the sofa.

He smiled. “I would go get the caramel topping but that would be too messy, so I’m just going to have to use my imagination.”

He did and enjoyed taking the long, lazy swipes of his tongue over every inch of her body, liking the sound of her moaning and groaning while he did so. By the time he had slid back up her body he knew he was about to take her in a way he had never taken her before. He had already slipped on the condom and the moment he was poised between her thighs, he looked down at her and remembered the term Tiffany had used.

Solid soul.

And as he began sinking deep within her silken heat, he knew that the love the two of them shared was solid soul. It was also something else. It was a love meant to be. A love destined to last a lifetime. A love forged in steel.

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, then whispered a heartfelt request. “Marry me, baby.”

Kylie smiled at him and when he hit her G-spot at an angle that made her moan deep in her throat, he smiled and asked softly, “Was that a yes?”

Her darkened eyes took on a positive gleam when she tightened her arms around his neck and groaned a resounding, “Yes.”

C
HANCE COULDN’T WAIT
until the summer. He and Kylie were married on Christmas Day in the presence of family and friends. Considering how they had met, it seemed very fitting for Marcus to be his best man and Tiffany to be Kylie’s maid of honor.

The deafening sounds of cheers, catcalls, whistles and applause shook the room when Chance pulled Kylie into his arms and kissed his bride. It was evident to anyone looking on that the two of them were in love and extremely happy.

At least it was evident to everyone but Cassandra Tisdale. She leaned in and angrily whispered to Bas, “I can’t believe he married her when he had a chance with my cousin Jamie. Jamie is a lot prettier and has a lot more class. Kylie works at a florist for heaven’s sakes! Chance is the CEO of one of the largest corporations in Charlotte. He needs a wife that will complement him.”

Bas stared at her, not believing anyone could be that rude or snobbish. But he was seeing a side of Cassandra that he’d always seen. For some reason he’d convinced himself that he could live with it, but now he knew there was no way in hell he could. He wanted to one day have the same thing his brother had—a marriage built on love and mutual respect.

“So you don’t think them loving each other is enough?” he asked after taking a sip of his wine.

She gave a ladylike snort. “Of course not. Love is never enough and no one should foolishly think otherwise. According to my mother, who as you know is an expert on social decorum, a good wife, one with the proper breeding like I have, is to be seen and not heard. Her manners and refinements are so ingrained that her husband knows her job is to keep the household running smoothly and make sure they establish the perfect family tree.”

Bas lifted a brow. “The perfect family tree?”

“Yes, when they have children. Everything has to be skillfully planned.”

Bas thought he’d heard enough. He really didn’t give a damn for manners and refinements. Hell, he would settle for a woman oozing in scandal and sin to one who was nothing but a boring social trophy. And he would definitely prefer to come home every night to a wife who would be wearing sexy lace nighties than to one in a starched, buttoned-up-to-her-neck gown.

He shook his head knowing that later, when he took Cassandra home, he would give her the ultimate blow. There was no way in hell he would marry her. “Come on, they’re about ready to cut the cake.”

“It’s not much of a cake if you ask me.”

He had heard enough. “I don’t recall anyone asking you, Cassandra. If all you’re going to do is find fault and be negative, then I’d rather you keep your damn refined and proper mouth closed.”

Bas smiled, certain his statement had pretty much shut her up for a while.

Across the room Chance pulled Kylie into his arms. “I love you, Mrs. Steele.”

She smiled up at him. “And I love you, Mr. Steele.” She then leaned over and whispered, “So what do you think of my parents?”

He smiled. “I can deal with them. They might have preferred you as their good little girl, but frankly I’d rather have you as my bad one. In fact, I plan for the two of us to get downright naughty tonight.”

“You plan on teaching me some more moves?” she asked saucily.

“Yeah, among other things.”

Kylie’s gaze tangled intimately with his. After this small reception they would catch a plane for Hawaii. Chance’s parents had returned for the wedding and volunteered to watch Marcus and their newest grandchild Tiffany, who they were anxious to get to know.

“We are going to make one big happy family,” Chance said, leading Kylie over to the cake they would be cutting together.

“Yes,” she agreed as she paused to place a kiss on her husband’s lips. “One big happy family.”