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Maddie blinks at me. "Is that true?"
"Yes, it is."
"Don't be embarrassed. I'm honored to be the first."
She's smiling at me sweetly, and I know she means that.
The three of us go inside the house for lunch. Luckily, the Dixon elders have a large dining room with a long table that fits all of us. Nick wants to sit beside Maddie, and I consider saying no, but then I realize I'm being a ruddy arse again. Besides, I want Maddie to get to know my brother. Despite his sometimes-annoying behavior, I love Nick. We are twins, after all, so he's a part of my life no matter where I go.
Nick and I sit on either side of Maddie.
Reese Dixon and Alex Thorne wind up seated directly across the table from us, so Maddie is treated to plenty of naughty jokes and innuendo. Maddie can dish it out as well as they can, and she seems to love the banter. Since she keeps massaging my thigh under the table, I know she's not at all interested in those other blokes.
After lunch, we excuse ourselves, saying we need to go back to my house and rest. It's jet lag, you know.
We don't sleep, though. We shag. Repeatedly.
For the next two weeks, Maddie spends a lot of time with my parents and Nick while I manage my company from the comfort of home so I can be with my family and Maddie too. I've delegated the task of preparing Dexter's manuscripts for release to my editor-in-chief, a man I trust implicitly. He's been with the company since before I took over for my father. We settle the lawsuit Miriam Watkins filed against our company, and I inject my own money into the deal to sweeten the settlement.
At least it's over now.
Things aren't as bad for my company as I'd feared they would be in the aftermath of the lawsuit. I've signed a new author who I know will never commit copyright infringement. Alex Thorne has written a terrific book about sexual practices throughout ancient history, and I have a feelingDirty-Sexy Archaeologywill be a winner. An honest winner. No cheating necessary. With Alex and Dexter signed with Hunter Publishing, the future looks bright indeed.
I take Maddie to London with me for the press conference where I'll make the big announcement about Dexter's books. No one is talking about that silly reality star or her lawsuit. They're applauding the biggest publishing deal in decades and buzzing about what Dexter's new novels will be like. Maddie suggests I should put at least one of Dexter's books up for preorder right now, at least in ebook format, so everyone can order while the buzz is still hot. I doubt any traditional publisher has ever slapped a book up for preorder faster than my team does when I give the order.
And the sales flood in. It's already turning into the biggest success my company has ever seen.
Maddie and I stay in London for a few days, taking a mini holiday to celebrate…everything. When we return to Colchester, I decide I've waited long enough to ask the question I now realize I've wanted to ask for as long as I've known Maddie. I delayed only because it felt insane to move this fast, but I don't care anymore. No more overthinking. I'm going to do what feels right—and for the first time in my life, I know what that is.
I take Maddie out into the garden at my home, where blooms of all colors surround us, though their beauty can't compare to Maddie's. When I drop to one knee, she smiles—and I know she knows what I'm about to do.
"Madeleine, I love you," I tell her as I hold both her hands. "I don't care that we've only known each other for a few weeks—"
"Four weeks and two days."
"Precision isn't critical here." I gaze up into her blue eyes. "Will you marry me, Maddie?"
"Yes, of course I will."
That's all I need to hear. I pull her into my arms and kiss her.
I thought I didn't have time for a relationship, but Maddie Solberg proved me wrong.
My fiancée receives good news of her own later in the day. She's been offered a part-time teaching position at a university in London, which leaves her with plenty of time to keep up her disease-detective work too, on a freelance basis from the comfort of our home in Colchester.
When we have our engagement party a few days later, Maddie's sister and her husband spend more time with us than even my parents and brother do. Rika is very happy—thrilled might be a better word for it—that Maddie is getting married. Rika keeps glancing at my brother so frequently that I finally have to ask her.
"Why are you staring at Nick?"
Rika swerves her attention to me, fluttering her lashes like she's confused or has something in her eyes, then she smiles and laughs. "Maddie and I have been talking about your brother."
"Why? If you want a free massage, I'm sure Nick would love to give you one."
"Like hell he will," Dane Dixon declares. "I'm the only one who gives my wife a massage."
Rika snuggles up to her husband. "Relax, baby, that's not what Maddie and I were discussing."
"Then what were you talking about?" I ask.
