Monica Murphy - Torn

I whirl around with a gasp to find Gage standing before me, clad in an Autumn Harvest T-shirt, much like the one I used to wear, and a pair of jeans. He looks delicious, tired, happy, sad, and worried.

I can relate to him on every single thing except the delicious part. I’m not feeling very delicious.

“It’s beautiful, Gage,” I whisper, bracing myself when he approaches me.

“I did it for you.” He reaches for my hands and holds them loosely in his. “I did it all for you. The revamp of everything, the grand reopening, all the new advertising materials, all for my girl. The local paper is going to do a write-up about you too. You’ll be famous.”

I’m only stuck on a few choice words he mentioned in that pretty speech. God, I missed him so much. Having him in front of me, so handsome but looking so unsure, makes my heart swell with overwhelming emotion for him. “Your girl?”

Slowly he nods, his fingers tightening around mine. “You’re mine. Whether we’re together or apart, I know it. I think you know it too.” He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “I’ve been miserable without you in my life. I need you, Marina. I need you by my side, working with me, laughing with me. Loving me.” His eyes glow as he steps closer, and I hold my breath, waiting for him to say something more. “Tell me you still feel the same.”

Gage

I WAIT WITH near unbearable anticipation to hear what she has to say. Ivy bringing her here to see the bakery and me is a good sign. If she hated me, she wouldn’t have come in.

At the moment, I’m looking for any sort of positive sign—I’m that desperate.

“What you’ve done here is so beautiful.” She smiles at me, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “Thank you. I don’t deserve this.”

Ah, that’s where she’s wrong. She deserves all of this and more. So much more. “I know we’ve gone through our ups and downs. We’ve both made some dumb choices. But I don’t ever, ever regret meeting you. Arguing with you. Having angry sex with you.” My voice lowers. “Falling in love with you.”

Her lips part, a shaky exhalation leaving her, and I pull her in, slipping my arms around her waist so I can crush her to me. I never want to let her go.

“Oh, Gage.” She presses her face against my chest and begins to cry, leaving me feeling helpless by her tears.

“Don’t cry,” I whisper against her hair as I stroke it with my fingers. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she sobs into my shirt.

I smile despite her tears. What she just said is a good thing. A very, very good thing. “I want you to marry me,” I whisper close to her ear.

She withdraws from my embrace but I don’t let her go too far. “What did you say?”

“I want you to marry me. We’ll live here in St. Helena in the little house I’m having renovated and we’ll keep the San Francisco house for all the cars. They all can’t fit here. We’ll only have a single-car garage,” I say, earning a smile.

“Only if you promise to build a garage so we can keep a few of your cars here. I’d want to take them out for a test drive.” She nibbles on her bottom lip, driving me wild just watching at her. “You know. Just for . . . fun.”

Ah, damn this woman. She is just perfect for me in every way. “You’ve got it. Whatever you want,” I vow.

“What about your real estate business?”

“I can do that from here.” I have been for almost two months and everything’s worked out fine. “We’re not too far from the city so I can drive in when needed. It’ll all work out. As long as we have each other, we can make it work.”

She smiles up at me, her pretty eyes sparkling at me. “What about that proposal you mentioned.”

I frown. “Proposal?”

Marina frowns back. “Yes, you know. The one where you mentioned marriage?”

“Ahh.” I’m a complete bonehead. Reaching inside my front pocket, I pull out a small box and hand it to her. “Here you go.”

She opens the box with shaking fingers, a small gasp escaping her when she sees the glittering two-carat diamond nestled inside. “It’s too big,” she immediately protests, glaring at me.

“It’s perfect.” Taking the box from her, I withdraw the ring and grab her left hand, sliding the solitaire onto her ring finger. It fits. “You’re perfect.” I kiss the tip of her nose.

“Hmm. I think you’re the one who’s perfect.” Leaning up on tiptoe, she kisses me, turning it instantly deep and hot. She sways against me, I grab hold of her hips and let myself become acquainted with her delicious, persistent lips and tongue when I hear a voice clearing nearby.

Popping my eyes open, I find Gina starting at us, her expression irritable. “You two kids made up then?”

Marina turns within my embrace, her back to my front as I wrap my arms around her waist. She settles her arms over mine, our fingers interlaced, her head resting against my chest. I’ve never felt this content. “We have,” she admits dreamily. “Gage asked me to marry him.”

“And you said yes.”

She nods her confirmation.

“What about your parents?”

I feel her stiffen and squeeze her closer, willing her to relax. She finally does. “I think I can convince them to come around. Dad is more agreeable then Mom,” Marina says.

“Well, you have your work cut out for you then, don’t you, Pretty Boy?”

I inwardly groan at her choice of nickname. “So we’re back to Pretty Boy?”

“Well, you sure are pretty with that shit-eating grin on your face now that you’ve got your woman back in your arms.” Gina smiles and tilts her head toward the café. “You two need to get out there. Everyone wants to talk to you.”

“Really?” Marina asks incredulously.

“Really,” I say, kissing her temple. “They all know I did this for you.”

“How come I was kept in the dark?” She pouts.

“You did that by choice, by becoming a total recluse,” I tease, though it hurts me too. I hate that I made her feel so bad she could hardly drag herself out of bed.

She turns so she’s facing me once more. We promise Gina we’ll be out there in a few minutes just as she exits the kitchen.

“I am the luckiest woman in the world,” Marina sighs against my lips before she starts kissing me again.

Damn it. She keeps this up, and we’ll test out that new desk I had installed in the office. See if it’s as sturdy as it appears. I set her away from me instead. “Later. Right now, we need to go greet our guests.”

More mock pouting. Damn, her lips are luscious. Unable to resist, I drop a kiss on her forehead, her nose, lingering on those delicious lips. “Let’s go out there and tell them our good news. You can show off your ring.”

“Maybe I want to stay back here with you instead.” A wicked gleam lights her eyes. “If there weren’t so many people out there I’d suggest we reenact the first time we fooled around in the kitchen.”

Damn. This woman blows my mind constantly. “You’re out of control. Don’t you still have the video? We can watch it later.”

That wicked glow shines brighter. “I do still have it.”

I drop a kiss on her nose. “Maybe we should make another one sometime.” I can’t even believe I made the suggestion, but that’s how far gone I am for this woman. “Now come on, let’s go talk to your customers.”

“Gage.” She stops me before I start out to the café front, a frown on her face. “So does our engagement mean you lost the bet?”

I frown, realization dawning as soon as I hear the words. “You know about the bet?”

Slowly she nods, nibbling on her lower lip. “Ivy told me a while ago, one night when we were hanging out. She said I had a right to know.”

“And you’re not mad?” I remember how Ivy had reacted. Not a pretty sight.

“Of course not. I wish you would’ve told me about it sooner.” She loops her arms around my neck. “I would’ve helped you win.”

Damn. More confirmation of just how perfect she is for me.

Gently pushing her away, I take her hand and we exit the kitchen, immediately greeted by the wild applause and celebratory shouts from our neighbors and customers. I even recognize a few friends in the crowd, though I hadn’t noticed them before. The both of us step back, overwhelmed by the response, and she grins up at me, squeezing my hand.

My heart expands in my chest, filling up so much space, I’m almost afraid I can’t breathe.

But that’s okay. As long as I have Marina by my side, we can get through anything.

Together.

Ivy

A KNOCK SOUNDS at the door and I jump, grabbing the robe off the hook with lightning speed. Throwing it on, I approach, figuring it’s Gage ready to tell me something lame before he goes to bed. He’s always been a little overprotective, so he’s probably just checking up on me.

“I’m fine, Gage. Really,” I say as I open the door, stunned silent when I see who’s standing before me.

“Really?” Archer raises a brow, one hand in his pants pocket, the other clutching an article of clothing. “Why wouldn’t you be anything but fine?”

Oh. Shit. He should so not be standing in front of me right now. “What are you doing here?” I whisper, glancing over his shoulder to thankfully see Gage’s door is closed.

“Making sure you’re comfortable.” He thrusts his hand out toward me. “I brought you something.”

I’m ultra-aware of the fact that beneath the terry cloth, I’m wearing absolutely nothing. The impulse to untie the sash and let the robe drop to my feet just to see Archer’s reaction is near overwhelming.

But I keep it under control. For now.