Dare To Love Part 24

Yeah. He knew. "Riley, you have to know you're worth everything to me. You make me a better man. And I'm so d.a.m.ned sorry I wasn't there when you needed me afterwards."

Her eyes filled, and his heart squeezed tightly. He hated causing her any kind of pain.

"You're here now."

"And I'm not going anywhere ever." He'd been without her, and he wasn't going back to that empty place again. "Which reminds me. The reason I called you in here in the first place. Scoot over."

She slid off him, and he headed to his desk, coming back with two boxes. He handed her the long one first.

She opened it and squealed with delight. "My necklace!"

"I called the police and managed to convince them to return it to me after your father pleaded guilty."

"The district attorney called me to approve the deal."

"You're okay with the five years?"

She nodded. "As long as he's behind bars and I get a restraining order when he gets out, I'm okay."

Ian wouldn't let the man anywhere near her, but it was a discussion for far in the future.

He was more interested in focusing on the present. He lifted the necklace, and she raised her hair so he could replace it on her neck, where it belonged.

"I had the clasp fixed, and they cleaned it too."

She turned and kissed him. "Thank you." She touched the pendant. "I feel like you're always with me when I wear it."

"Then I hope you'll feel the same way about its mate."

She narrowed her gaze, wrinkling her nose in curiosity as he handed her the small box. "Ian?" she asked, her voice trembling.

He understood because his insides were a quaking mess.

Her hands shook as she lifted the top off the box, revealing the match to the pendant in ring form. A pear-shaped diamond that was too big, he knew, but he didn't care.

Corny as it was, he dropped to one knee. "Marry me," he said as she stared open-mouthed at the ring.

"Was that a question or a demand?" she asked, half laughing, half crying.

He grinned. "Still working on that part of me."

She met his gaze, her expression solemn. "I don't want to change you completely. I just need-"

He grasped her wrist. "I know what you need, and I want to be the one to give it to you."

"Tell me that includes you keeping control in the bedroom, because there are places I really don't mind you taking over."

"Is that a yes to my proposal?" he asked, his heart still hammering hard in his chest.

She wriggled her fingers in front of him. "Yes. Yes!"

He slid the ring onto her finger, grateful his sister had guessed her finger size correctly.

He rose and settled back on the couch, pulling her into his arms.

She sighed and snuggled close.

He didn't know how long they lay, her heart beating against his chest, but it was long enough for everything inside him to settle and for him to find the peace that had always eluded him.

Peace he sensed he'd now have, every day for the rest of his life, because he'd finally done what he'd always thought was impossible. He'd dared to love. And he had Riley to thank for teaching him how.

EPILOGUE.

6 Months Later Surrounded by his siblings, real and half, Alex nursed a beer as he glanced around his half brother's apartment. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The food was phenomenal, Ian having spared no expense. He was doing his d.a.m.nedest not to follow up every thought of Ian with an expletive or complaint, but old habits were hard to break.

The lovebirds couldn't take their hands off each other. Considering this was an engagement party, as well as a redo of the family event he'd botched a few months ago, Alex figured that was to be expected.

He wondered how long he had to stay before he could bow out and not have it look suspicious.

"What's with the scowl?" his sister Sienna asked.

"I'm not scowling." Was he?

"You're okay, right?" She wrapped her arms around him for a tight hug.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

She frowned at him. "You can fool the others, but I know you. You're jealous of Ian and Riley, and I'm worried about you."

Her words. .h.i.t him where it hurt. "I am not jealous."

She settled her hands on her hips. "You've had Riley to yourself for years. Then Ian comes along and...well, you wouldn't be human if you weren't a little envious of what they have."

Even if he was, Alex wouldn't admit it out loud. Not even to the sister he loved. "It's fine. I want her to be happy, even if it is with him." He nodded toward Ian, doing his best to keep his expression neutral.

"Are you sure you aren't...a little bit in love with her?" Sienna asked.

Alex blanched. "h.e.l.l no. That'd be the same as thinking of you that way."

Sienna raised one eyebrow. "That was a quick denial."

"Look, maybe once, a long time ago..." He shook his head, not wanting to remember or even admit that, yeah, he'd once had feelings for Riley. Feelings that had been in no way brotherly.

Then he'd kissed her, she'd freaked out, saying they were such good friends, why ruin it, and he'd agreed. Quickly. Better that than to lose her, which seemed a certainty given that she clearly hadn't felt the same way about him.

Since then, he hadn't had to worry about her finding anyone serious, until Ian. His half brother. Well, whatever. The families were making their peace, and he had to live with it.

"Yeah, I thought so." Sienna clasped her small hand in his. "I just think facing your feelings is better than avoiding them. You don't have to tell anyone else, but I'm here for you, okay?"

He shook his head hard to clear his thoughts. "Hey, I said maybe, a long time ago. Not anymore. I'm fine." And he was, except...Ian and Riley's engagement made the stark contrast of his life clear.

He had his bimbos, and Riley? She had a soon-to-be husband and a life that didn't include him. Certainly not the way it used to.

"Okay. I'll accept that for now. I'm going to talk to Mom, okay?"

Another weird thing. Ian had invited their father and Savannah. Talk about making a huge concession and reaching out. Even Alex had to admire the man for that.

"Hi!" Riley walked over, a gla.s.s of champagne in hand. "I know you're not having the best time, but I'm really glad you're here."

He shook his head. "I'm having a good time," he lied. "And I love you. I wouldn't be anywhere else. You're happy, so I'm happy." And that much he meant. Absolutely.

Female laughter captured his attention, and he turned toward the sound. Not far from where he and Riley stood, Ian spoke to a beautiful blonde. She wore a fitted black skirt that hugged delicious-looking curves and a purple satin top that covered more of her than it exposed. He was used to women who flaunted their a.s.sets and would definitely consider himself a breast man. He couldn't see a d.a.m.ned thing about this woman's cleavage, and yet he couldn't tear his gaze away. Something about the way she held herself, so tightly composed and not overtly s.e.xual, appealed to him on a visceral level.

Really unlike his usual type too. Huh.

"Who is she?" he asked Riley, thinking that something about her looked familiar.

"You don't recognize her, do you?" Riley laughed. "That's Madison Evans, the social worker you met at the hospital after..." Her voice trailed off, and he understood her not wanting to mention or think about her father, who Alex hoped was miserable during his stint behind bars.

"No s.h.i.t?" He blinked. This woman with the flowing, blonde hair was the same female who'd all but ignored him the one and only time they'd met.

He shouldn't be shocked though. She'd worn a prim little skirt then, paired with a blouse that hid her a.s.sets, and even then, he'd been drawn to her. It'd p.i.s.sed him off too. Not because she hadn't recognized him, as unusual as that was in his world. But because she hadn't given him a second glance. Madison Evans had bruised his ego as much as she'd surprised him by attracting his attention in the first place.

"I know that you saw her for a couple of sessions afterwards, but if she's your therapist, what's she doing here?"

"I finished therapy." Riley smiled. "I really didn't want to spend years rehashing things. Anyway, Madison and I became friendly, and I don't have many close women friends." Riley shrugged, as if that explained it all.

He supposed it did.

"Why are you so interested in her?" Riley asked. "Because I noticed the same reaction the first time you laid eyes on her."

Alex c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. He'd been wondering that himself. Something about the woman called to him in ways he didn't understand. He shrugged, deciding he didn't need to understand, he needed to get her attention.

"Uh oh. What's that sudden focus in your eyes?" Riley waved her hand in front of his face. "You look... determined."

He'd been bored at this party, looking for something-or someone-to capture his interest. He'd found her.

He started toward her when Riley's voice stopped him. "She's not your usual fare." Her tone held a wealth of warning.

Alex turned and grinned. "That's what I'm counting on."

Dare to Desire Alex & Madison Coming Spring 2014 Thank you so much for reading Ian's story. The Dare to Love series will continue in 2014 with Alex's story Dare to Desire. Stay up to date with what's happening with the Dare to Desire series by visiting these links: Sign up for my newsletter: www.carlyphillips.com/newsletter-sign-up/ My website: www.carlyphillips.com Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/carlyphillips Friend me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/carlyphillipsfanpage Follow or Friend me on Goodreads Please turn the page for a sneak peek of PERFECT TOGETHER, the last book in Carly's Serendipity series, Berkley, out February 4, 2014.

One.

There was something about being a Marsden that made people think if they asked him for a favor, Sam, the younger brother, and the good cop, would be nice and accommodating. Take how his sister-in-law, Cara, was looking at him with big, pleading eyes, fully expecting him to agree to her beyond-unreasonable request.

"There is no way in h.e.l.l I'm going on a date with Margie Simpson." Sam Marsden glared at Cara, a woman he usually also called his best friend, from across their respective desks at the Serendipity police station.

"Her last name is Stinson, not Simpson, and you know it." Cara frowned back at him. "Come on, Sam. Her parents are the biggest donors for the Women's Heart Health fund-raiser, and the Serendipity Police Department is a co-sponsor. Do you want to be the one to tell the hospital, who will be the recipient of that shiny new medical equipment, that the Stinsons pulled their donation because one of our finest wouldn't escort their daughter?"

"She's more like a pit bull," Sam muttered. "And isn't there another single cop you can get to take her? What about Hendler?"

"He's too old."

"Martini?"

She shook her head. "Too young. Besides, Margie wants to go with you."

He shuddered. "All the more reason for me to say no. I don't want to give her the wrong idea." Margie was one of those women who a.s.sumed that just a look imparted male interest. Sam didn't want to go there. No way, nohow.

"Are you giving my wife a hard time?" Sam's brother, Mike, strode over to Cara's desk and placed a possessive hand on her shoulder.

"More like she's giving me one. Call her off, will you?" Sam asked.

Mike laughed and shook his head. "I like my life just the way it is. Sorry, bro. You're on your own."

Sam rolled his eyes. Ever since his bachelor brother had fallen-hard-for Sam's sometime partner, Cara, he was now wrapped around his wife's cute little cowboy boots-when she wasn't in uniform, that is. Where she went, Mike followed. Sam was happy for him. Problem was, Sam's single friends were dwindling fast. First Dare Barron, then Mike, and even their sister, Erin, had fallen.

Sam wasn't jealous, but he could admit that his life and the routines he'd always enjoyed were growing stale around him. But that didn't mean he was open to marriage, let alone escorting the female from h.e.l.l, even for a good cause.

Cara rolled a pencil between her palms. "Do you already have a date?" she asked.

"h.e.l.l, no," Mike said, before Sam could answer. "He hasn't dated anyone in longer than I can remember. In fact, the last woman who remotely interested him-"

No, he would not let his brother go there. "Don't you have an office to get back to?" Sam pointed to the police chief's workroom at the back of the stationhouse.

Mike grinned. "Not when this is so much more fun."

Cara elbowed him in the stomach. "Go. I'll have more luck if you aren't here poking fun at him and making this worse."

Mike shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault he's such an easy target."