Fool's Gold Collection Part 2: Only Mine / Only Yours / Only His / Only Us: A Fool's Gold Holiday. Susan Mallery
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Without thinking, she started walking away. She had no destination in mind, just a burning need to escape the situation. But before she could go anywhere, he was in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, his intense blue eyes staring into her face.
“I could never regret you. Us.”
How she wanted that to be true. In this moment, it probably was, but one of them had to think beyond today.
“Let’s say I believe you,” she said. “So what happens next? What are you going to do?”
He grinned. That happy, easy grin that made her toes curl.
“Go back to college.”
She stared at him. “Excuse me? Go back to college? That’s what your brother wanted all along. Why would you agree to it now?”
“Because I know it means you’ll take me seriously.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. “Really?”
He nodded. “I liked college. I enjoyed studying engineering. I’ve been taking classes in bioengineering, with an emphasis on alternative fuels. It’s a growing industry. College was never the problem—it was Finn. He knows Sasha isn’t interested in the family business, so he’s expecting me to be the one to join him.” He shrugged. “I like flying, but I don’t want to make it my career. I’ve never wanted that.”
“I know that, but Finn doesn’t. You have to tell him.”
His mouth twisted. “Would you tell him if you were me? Finn has a bug up his ass about the business and college. I think it has more to do with our parents dying and him having to raise us. He’s done a good job, but he’s gotten too used to running our lives. I knew he expected me to go into the family business. I didn’t know how to tell him I didn’t want that. So I did something drastic—I came with Sasha to be on the show. I never expected to find you.”
She stared at him. “I don’t understand.” Her voice was a whisper.
“I thought I was looking for something. Now I get that I was looking for someone. You. I’ll go back to school and get my degree because it will make you happy. But also because it will make me the kind of man you want. This is all about you, Aurelia. Don’t you get that?”
All she heard was a faint buzzing sound. The world seemed to move around her, and it took her a second to realize she was on the verge of passing out. She couldn’t catch her breath, but then Stephen was kissing her and little things like breathing didn’t matter.
She kissed him back, losing herself in the feel of his mouth on hers. The moment was everything she’d ever wanted. Better than that, the man was everything she’d ever wanted.
He raised his head and stared at her. “I love you, Aurelia. I think I have from the first moment I saw you.”
“I love you, too.”
She hadn’t been sure she would ever get to say those words to a man. Now, as she spoke them, she knew the rightness of each syllable.
Sure, there were complications. Things to be worked out. Explanations to be made. But that was for later. Right now there was Stephen and the fact that he loved her.
He kissed her again. She moved closer and—
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Geoff said. “This is good television.”
Stephen straightened, looking as shocked as she felt. She stared at him, horror growing inside of her. The cameras. How could they have forgotten about the cameras? They weren’t having a private conversation. They were on television.
Stephen swore softly. “I’m sorry. I forgot they were there.”
“Me, too.”
There was no point in going to Geoff. He wouldn’t understand the concept of keeping a private moment private. He was interested in ratings. The boring couple had just given him a blockbuster of a teaser.
It wasn’t just that Geoff and the crew had seen it all. Soon everyone would be a witness.
Stephen cupped her face. “Want to change your mind?”
“No.”
“Me, either.” He smiled. “We should probably brace ourselves for the worst. What’s that line from that movie? If you jump, I’ll jump.”
“It’s a long way down.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DAKOTA AND FINN SAT on her sofa, watching that week’s installment of True Love or Fool’s Gold. The teaser right before the commercial break was of Aurelia and Stephen, standing somewhere in town, looking intense.
“I didn’t know they were going to be featured this week,” Dakota said. “They didn’t have a date, did they?”
“Not that I know of,” Finn said, passing her the bowl of popcorn.
He’d come over for dinner. She’d made steaks and salad. They’d sat at her table and laughed and talked, taking turns holding Hannah. A good evening, she thought, telling herself not to read too much into it. Sure, she enjoyed Finn’s company, but as a friend. What was that phrase? Friends with benefits?
Hannah had gone to sleep, and Dakota was hoping that after the show, she and Finn would also go to bed. Although the sleep part wasn’t what interested her.
The commercial ended, and the show resumed. A long shot of Aurelia and Stephen made her think the camera was some distance away. The sound seemed enhanced, too, as if the two of them hadn’t been miked.
It took Dakota a second to realize what Aurelia was saying. Something about not wanting to hurt Stephen, that she didn’t want him to have regrets. The look on his face when he said he could never regret their relationship stunned Dakota.
“I didn’t realize,” she began, then pressed her lips together. Oh, crap. So much for them being the quiet couple. When no one was looking, they’d gone ahead and gotten involved. If she didn’t know better, she would swear they’d fallen in love.
Finn wasn’t going to be happy about that.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him staring intently at the screen. Before she could figure out what to say, or even if she should say anything, the topic of the conversation shifted.
“I knew Finn expected me to go into the family business. I didn’t know how to tell him I didn’t want that.”
Finn handed her the popcorn bowl and stood. “Well, hell.”
Dakota set the bowl on the coffee table and rose. “Take a breath,” she said. “This can’t be news.”
Finn glared at her. “Of course it’s news. We’ve been talking about this for years. When Stephen finishes college he’s coming into the family business. That was always the way it was going to be.”
She didn’t actually believe that. From what she could tell, Stephen had never shown any interest in the family business. He was majoring in engineering in college. If he wanted to join forces with his brother, wouldn’t he have been studying business or something flying-related?
“You’re not upset because he doesn’t want to be in the family business,” she said gently. “It’s that he didn’t tell you himself. You had to find out this way.”
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