PROLOGUE

Jonathan Madaris walked into the bedroom and saw his wife, busy unpacking boxes. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stood there, watching her, his life partner and soulmate. The mother of his three sons and three daughters. The woman who, even now, could stir his blood. The woman who would always and forever have his heart.

His gray-eyed beauty.

He remembered the first time he’d seen Marilyn Bannister, now Marilyn Madaris. It had been love at first sight. Although he’d been convinced such a thing wasn’t possible until the moment he’d met her, he had fallen fast, hard and deep. He’d wanted her so badly, he’d been willing to risk everything, anything, to have her.

She had been the only woman who’d made him work for her love. And in the process, he’d fallen even harder.

They would be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary in June and he planned to make it as special as she was. It was hard to put anything over on his wife, but he planned to do just that. He hadn’t told anyone of his plans, not even the kids.

“Did you come to help me, Jonathan, or are you going to just stand there and watch me?”

He loved the way she said his name, the way she placed that sexy emphasis on the last syllable. “The kids always said you had eyes in the back of your head. I’m beginning to believe them.”

“Are you?”

“Yes. And you know I’d always rather watch you, sweetheart.”

She glanced over at him and smiled. “You would.”

He nodded as he moved toward her. “Definitely.” He glanced around the room again. Seeing all the boxes that needed to be unpacked, he looked back at her, his head cocked. “You still think moving was such a good idea?”

Marilyn nodded. “Yes, we were running out of room.” Another smile touched her lips. “I know that sounds crazy, since we always said we would downsize once Christy left home.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan said, laughing. “That does sound funny, especially since Christy is one of the main reasons we’re upsizing. How many more kids do you think she and Alex plan to have?” His youngest child and her husband were up to three kids and weren’t ruling out the possibility of a fourth and fifth one day.

“They always said they wanted a large family. She’s happy and that’s the most important thing.”

Jonathan knew he could say the same about all of their children--Justin, Dex, Clayton, Traci, Kattie and Christy. They were all deeply in love with the people they’d married and were doing just fine. When the number of grandkids got to double digits, he and Marilyn decided the house they’d lived in for years was no longer large enough. Especially since Marilyn loved having her grands over for sleepovers.

They’d figured it was time for a change. Their house had outlived its usefulness and was requiring a lot of maintenance. When Marilyn had suggested they buy land and build elsewhere, he hadn’t been very happy with the idea. After all, they still owned the lake house in Ennis they’d purchased during the early years of their marriage, which was meant to be their occasional get-away place. And when they’d retired as educators years ago, they had purchased a motorhome, with the intention of traveling to wherever the road led them, as often as they could. But that was before the marriages…. Then, once the grandbabies started coming, all he and Marilyn had wanted to do was stay close to home and shower their grandchildren with love.

It didn’t bother them that, over the years, their home had become the fun house. It wasn’t uncommon for one or more of their grands to drop by unexpectedly or stay for the weekend. Since he and Marilyn didn’t see the visits decreasing anytime soon, Jonathan had finally agreed to consider the idea of building elsewhere…as long as they remained in Houston.

His twin grandnephews, Blade and Slade, owners of the Madaris Construction Company, had made that job easy. It just so happened that their newest project was the development of an exclusive, gated community called Madaris Lakes Estates. The housing development was located a stone’s throw from the Madaris Building, a fifteen-story structure that was surrounded by a cluster of upscale shops, restaurants and a beautiful park named after his mother, Laverne.

He and Marilyn had fallen in love with the area, and had purchased an acre lot with a golf course on one side and a huge lake on the other. Slade, the architect in the family, had designed their new house to their specifications. It had taken seven months to build, but they had finally moved in the week after Thanksgiving.

Marilyn intended for everything to be in order when she hosted her annual Christmas party. With Christmas only three weeks away, she was still busy putting things in place.

Because Jonathan couldn’t resist, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, capturing her mouth hungrily with his. He loved kissing his wife. Her taste always ignited a measure of heat within him that age and time couldn’t diminish. Even after all these years of marriage, they still enjoyed a close relationship and an active sex life, which proved you never got too old to indulge.

He broke off the kiss and rubbed his nose against the side of her face. “Umm, you smell good.”

“I smell sweaty.”

“No, you smell like a woman. My woman.”

“Your woman,” she said, reaching up and cupping his chin.

He looked down at her, then at the boxes all around them. “I offered my services. Why do you want to do this all by yourself?”

She smiled, giving him that Marilyn Madaris look she’d perfected over the years. “You know why. We would not have unpacked the first box before you’d have talked me into trying out that bed over there.”

He shrugged. “It’s a new bed. We’ve got to break it in sometime.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “You are incorrigible. And my daughters-in-law wonder why their husbands are the way they are.”

“Umm,” Jonathan said, drawing her closer to him. “That’s what happens when you marry a Madaris.” He glanced at his watch. “But it’s time for you to take a break. Now close your eyes and come with me,” he said, taking her hand and leading her from the room, then down the stairs.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her eyes shut tight.

“You’ll see.” A few moments later, he said, “Okay, you can look now.”

Marilyn smiled when she saw the candlelit table set for two in front of the fireplace. The blinking lights from the Christmas tree she’d decorated last week with her grandchildren’s help cast colorful illuminations around the room. She had been so busy unpacking, she hadn’t realized it had grown dark outside. “Oh, Jonathan, this is so sweet.”

“And guess what we’re having.”

“What?”

“Ice cream,” he said.

Her eyes lit up and he knew why. On their very first date, they’d met for ice cream. “Come and sit down,” he said, pulling out the chair for her. “I’ll get everything. And later, when you really get hungry, we can enjoy the dinner I made.”

Marilyn watched him walk off toward the kitchen, and smiled. Her husband was a very handsome man. And his looks had only improved with age. Salt and pepper hair suited him, as did that beard he was now sporting.

And he had such a sexy strut. It was so much a part of him that Marilyn had to laugh softly. Over the years, he’d kept himself in great physical shape. They both had. They didn’t have much choice, when their oldest son was a doctor who was constantly reminding them of the importance of eating right and staying physically active. They jogged together each morning and rode their bikes in the afternoons. Jon played golf in between and she was a member of the retired teachers’ tennis team. Usually, they took a swim in their pool before going to bed.

They shared cooking duties, although Jonathan spent more time in the kitchen than she did. It was his choice. And she never complained. Thanks to his mother, he was an excellent cook. While growing up, the kids had always preferred their dad’s fun meals to what they saw as her boring ones. Of course, those boring ones had included all the vital things they needed to eat, like vegetables.

Jonathan Madaris was exactly what she’d known he would be--a good husband and father. Now he was a fantastic grandfather. And he was, and would always be, her best friend and the man she loved so very much.

She couldn’t help but remember their rocky beginning, so many years ago. They’d been young, each with their own set of goals. She hadn’t wanted to be involved with him, or anyone really, and he’d been determined to change her mind and win her heart.

And he had.

Then she’d almost lost him, because of her mulishness and his formidable Madaris pride. But they’d worked through it and now they had a beautiful family and a wonderful life together to show for it.

She glanced up when Jonathan returned, carrying bowls of ice cream and a wine bottle. Vanilla for her and peanut butter ice cream for him. While growing up, their baby girl, Christy, had liked peanut butter ice cream as much as her father did. “I could have helped, you know.”

He chuckled. “And just like you told me, when I offered to help with the unpacking, there are some things a person wants to do by himself.”

He placed the bowls on the table and then poured wine into their glasses. Years ago, she and Jonathan had made the pairing of wine with ice cream one of their rituals. When he sat down, he lifted his wine glass. “Now, a toast, Marilyn.”

“To what?”

“To a lot more ice cream and wine nights for us in the years to come.”

They smiled at each other as they clinked glasses then took a sip of wine. Moments later, they dug into their ice cream. It was times like this that she was overcome with memories of their beginning.

They had just finished eating and were clearing off the table when the phone rang. “I’ll get that,” Marilyn said, grabbing for the phone. “Hello.”

“Marilyn, this is Traci.”

Marilyn smiled. “Hey, how are things going?”

“Not good. I’m at Austin General. It’s Roman.”

Marilyn’s muscles tensed. “What’s wrong?”

“We think he had a heart attack.”

“Oh, no. Jonathan and I are on the way.”

Marilyn hung up the phone and saw Jonathan staring at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked her, concern written on his features.

“That was Traci.”

“Our daughter Traci?”

Marilyn had named one of her daughters after her best friend. “No, Traci Malone. It’s Roman.”

Jonathan lifted a brow. “What about Roman?” Just like Traci had been her best friend for years, Roman had been Jonathan’s.

“It sounds as if he had a heart attack. Call Jake to see if he can get the jet ready. We need to get to Austin General. I’ll have to shower, but we can be packed and ready to go in less than an hour.”

“Okay.”

Marilyn rushed up the stairs, praying that Roman would be okay. And as she stripped off her clothes to take a shower, she couldn’t help but recall that it had been because of her and Jonathan, in the early days of their courtship, that Roman and Traci had met at all.

That reminder filled Marilyn with memories, and as she stepped under the spray of water, she couldn’t help but think about those early days, when she first met the man who would be the love of her life.