Max gazed at each painting with a hunger he rarely felt. The work was extraordinary, and he realized his wife’s talent crackled with a passion and depth that could rock the entire art world. He was looking at the beginning of a long, successful career. No wonder Sawyer sounded so excited. He’d discovered the latest hot new artist on the block.
People swarmed around him and tried to engage him in conversation. Waiters stopped and asked if he needed anything. He never answered. Just soaked up her work and felt as if he knew the last secret part of her soul she kept hidden. Now, it revealed itself in full naked glory.
Dio, he loved her.
He arrived early to make sure he avoided Alexa, Nick, Michael, and Maggie. His plan was ridiculous and all male. Sneak in, see her work, torture himself, and sneak back out. Go home and get rip-roaring drunk with his dog at his feet.
“Max?”
Her voice rang in his ears. Husky like Eve. Sweet like an angel. He clenched his teeth and turned.
She smiled at him with such warmth he thought he’d get sunburn. Primitive need wracked through him like convulsions but he fought it off and managed to smile back. “Hi, Carina.”
“You came.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I had to see.”
Why did she look at him with such greed? To torture him? “I’m glad. What did you think?”
His voice ripped from his throat. “They are . . . everything.”
She blinked as if fighting tears, and another piece of his heart tore off. He’d have nothing left by the end of the conversation. “You didn’t see the final one. It’s back here under a separate display.”
“I can’t, Carina. I have to go.”
“No! Please, Max. I need to show you.”
Was this what love felt like? A wrenching pain that pushed you underwater like a riptide and refused to let you surface? He swallowed back his second protest and nodded. “Okay.”
He followed her toward the back of the room and up a few steps. The gallery opened up to a showcase under a spotlight. The painting hung from the ceiling in single splendor. Max took a step forward and looked up.
It was him.
The title boldly slashed across the top: Maximus. Bare-chested. Barefoot. Jeans riding low on hips. Features half blurred and cast in shadow, he stared straight into the onlooker’s eyes and held his gaze. A swirling array of emotions ravaged his face, his eyes a storm of such power Max was rocked to the core. He saw everything in that glance. Vulnerability. Determination. A hint of arrogance. Need. And an ability to love.
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?”
Carina looked at the two women and swallowed. “I didn’t list any qualities. I only wrote down his name on the piece of paper.”
Maggie jumped as if she’d seen a ghost. Alexa leaned back against the slate blue cushion and shook her head. “Holy crap. The spell works.”
Maggie laughed, but it had a hollow ring. “Impossible. We’re being ridiculous. Stop spooking me.”
“Where’s the book, Carina? Did you give it to someone else?”
“No, it’s in my bookshelf with a whole bunch of other stuff. I never threw it away.”
Alexa’s eyes gleamed. “I think we need to safely deliver that book to someone. Namely your sister.”
“What? Julietta would never complete a love spell. She’s the practical one in the family. It couldn’t really work.” She paused. “Could it?”
Maggie tapped her chin with interest. “Interesting idea. Carina’s going to Italy in a month. Maybe she can find a way to make sure Julietta completes the spell. Then we’ll finally know. Two could be coincidence. Three could be far-fetched, but possible. Four times would be a confirmation.”
Carina glanced at the two women. They were right. Her sister deserved this type of happiness, and if completing a love spell pushed Julietta in the right direction, it was worth a try.
“I’ll do it.”
Maggie grabbed three wineglasses, poured the rich Chianti, and handed them out. They lifted their glasses to the circle and smiled.
“Salute.”
Carina drank.
The children played and slept. The women chattered and laughed. The men strolled in for an occasional kiss or teasing remark. When Carina looked at her husband, he smiled at her with a gentleness and heat that made her whole. Her marriage mistake gave her everything she’d ever dreamed of.
Her happily-ever-after.