“She’s not going to be happy.”
Vik didn’t look too worried about that reality. “She’s part of my family now. She’ll get used to it.”
Maddie wasn’t sure she agreed, but she loved the sentiment.
Vik pulled Maddie close, but kept eye contact. “I love you.”
It didn’t matter that he’d said it before, that she knew it to be true—saying the words here made them a vow for him.
Maddie’s throat constricted, moisture burning hot behind her eyes and all she could do was nod.
“I will love you always,” he promised.
She took a steadying breath. “Me, too.”
“We will say the important stuff.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll talk about the emotional stuff often.” He still looked a little green around the gills at the idea, but he was making the promise.
And Maddie knew Vik would keep it.
“With our children, too,” Maddie vowed.
Vik nodded. “When I forget, you’ll remind me.”
“Yes.” Not that she was convinced he would ever forget the important things.
When Vik set his mind to something, he succeeded.
He looked like he had something he wanted to say, so she waited for him to say it. “Your father...”
“Yes?”
“I could have been him.”
“No. You’re different.”
“I am, but I could have been. He never got that love and family made having the power and the business matter, not the other way around.”
“But you do.”
“I do.” The absolute conviction in Vik’s tone touched her to the core.
“Perry really played into your hands, didn’t he?”
Vik shrugged. “We would have married, one way, or another.”
“Because you loved me and could not imagine your life without me.”
Vik’s smile was brighter than the sun in the height of summer. “Exactly.”
“Ditto.”
Their shared laughter floated over the bay as their bodies pressed together in the most basic promise of all.
Shared love for a lifetime.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this book, look out for Max and Romi’s story in A VIRGIN FOR HIS PRIZE by Lucy Monroe. Coming soon!
Keep reading for an excerpt from HIS FOR A PRICE by Caitlin Crews.
Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.
Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!
Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,
only from Harlequin Presents:
Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)
And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!
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CHAPTER ONE
IF SHE STOOD very still—if she held her breath and kept herself from so much as blinking—Mattie Whitaker was sure she could make the words that her older brother Chase had just said to her disappear. Rewind them then erase them entirely.