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His heart squeezed. He turned.
Carina stood before him, those inky eyes full of adoration and love and a strength he’d never seen. “I love you, Max. I’ve always loved you, but I needed to love me before I could give you what you need. I don’t know if it’s too late, but I promise if you give me another chance, I’ll stand by your side and be the woman you deserve. Because I am that woman. The other half of your soul. The question was never will I come back to you. The question is, will you come back to me?”
Joy exploded and pumped through his veins. He gave a half laugh and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve never left, cara.”
He claimed her mouth and kissed her deeply, tenderly, as if they sealed their vows from that Vegas wedding months ago.
Suddenly, the family of his heart surrounded him. Max got pulled into a tight circle while Michael and Nick pounded his back and Alexa and Maggie wiped away tears.
He was finally, truly, home.
“About time you got back together.” Alexa sniffled. “We couldn’t stand the drama any longer. Friday nights were beginning to suck.”
Max held Carina tight to his side and laughed. “We’ll clear that up this week. Party at our house.”
The consultant hurried over and broke through the line. His normally staid expression slipped. “Umm, Carina, can I talk to you a sec?”
“Sure.” She kissed Max hard on the lips and stepped away. After a whispered conversation, she returned with a dazed look. “I sold out.”
Max grinned. “I’m not surprised. Your work blew me away. But we better get started—you’re going to have to paint a lot more and I need to give you inspiration.”
She giggled and buried her fingers in his hair. “Bring it,” she whispered.
Max looked at the woman he loved. His wife. His soul mate. His forever.
“Let’s go home.”
• • •
She lay in a tangle of sheets, exhuasted, sated, and happier than she’d ever been.
“Finally ready to call uncle?”
Carina raised her head one inch off the pillow and collapsed back. “Never. I just need a minute.”
He laughed low and slid off the bed. She heard footsteps pad to the walk-in closet, then come back. His musky scent rose to her nostrils and made her stir again. Damned if her husband hadn’t made her into a nympho, and she loved every moment.
“I have a present for you.”
That made her sit up. The girly part of her melted at the idea of her husband buying her a gift. “You do?”
“Yeah. I was saving it. Hoping you’d come back and I’d be able to give it to you.”
The rectangular box was wrapped in bold red paper. She bit her lip in pleasure and stared at the box. “What is it?”
“Open it, babe.”
She ripped at the paper like a kid on Christmas and lifted the lid.
Sucked in her breath.
A pair of shoes lay in the white tissue paper. Not just any shoes. These were four-inch stiletto heels lined in diamonds. Made of pure glass.
She lifted one up in the air and watched the gems sparkle. The peekaboo toe gave the shoes a flirty sexiness, and the delicate glass felt smooth to the touch. “My God, Max, you outdid yourself. They’re beautiful.”
“You told me once you never got the happily-ever-after you always wanted. I thought I’d try making up for it by giving you a real pair of Cinderella shoes.”
Tears prickled her lids and she sniffed. “Damn you, Maximus Gray. Who would’ve thought there was all this mushy romance hidden under that exterior?”
“I love you, Carina.”
“I love you, too.”
He pressed his forehead to his wife’s and vowed to never make her doubt his feelings again.
Epilogue
Maggie sighed and looked around the living room. “Are there too many children in this room, or am I losing it?”
Carina laughed and stuck the binky into Maria’s mouth. Her scream ended midair and she sucked with greed. Lily tore around the room playing with her stuffed Dora and Boots while Nick Jr. blared in the background. The two Pack ’n Plays held Ethan and Luke, who had just been fed and changed. “Wait till Max and I enter the ring. We’ll have to start a babysitting chain so we see daylight with our spouses.”
“Are you pregnant?” Alexa gasped. She held a fake teacup in hand and pretended to drink while Lily giggled.
“No, we’re not ready yet. I’m working on another show, and Max has a new bakery opening. We’re enjoying ourselves now. In fact, we’re flying to Italy in a month to stay a while. We both miss our moms.”
Maggie sighed. “I miss Mama Conte too. But the babies are too young for a trip. How’s Julietta doing? Still not dating?”
“My sister is quite negative about the opposite sex. Seems she’s convinced a man will take away her control and try to strip her career. She’s stubborn.”
Alexa laughed. “Maybe she needs a love spell. Earth Mother seemed quite generous with Maggie and me.”
Maggie threw a stuffed puppy and hit her in the head. Alexa stuck out her tongue.
Love spell.
A funny sense of Fate tickled her spine. Her eyes widened as she remembered that night when she built the fire and threw the paper in it. A paper that held one name: Maximus Gray.
Goose bumps broke out on her arms and she held Maria closer for warmth. “Umm, guys? What are you talking about? When Maggie gave me that spell book, she said it was just silly nonsense and no one used it.”
Alexa hooted with laughter. “Priceless! Miss Maggie finally owned up and told me she cast her own spell for a man before she married Michael. How the cynical have fallen.”
Maggie shrugged. “So what? Yes, it’s a coincidence. But Carina threw the spell book out and now she’s happily married to Max. So it was just a fluke our husbands came after we addressed Earth Mother.”
Carina swallowed. “I lied, Maggie.”
“What do you mean?”
“I cast a love spell. A few nights after, I snuck into the woods and completed the cycle. I burned my paper in the fire.”
The room grew silent. Even the babies seemed to sense something big on the horizon, and the quiet Max & Ruby cartoon came on to add to the hush. “Did you write all the qualities you wanted in a husband?” Alexa whispered. “Does Max fit your list?”
