EPILOGUE
Max’s Magic Rule #19:
Visualize a standing O, prepare for it, perform, and reap the rewards.
Two months later, Max was in the Paradise Theater helping choreograph a new set that combined the Dalton Brothers’ magic tricks with a stunning acrobatic number courtesy of Louisa’s dance troupe. He’d just called for a break and was speaking to the show’s biggest investor—Jamie Whitcomb, Lucy’s ex—when the theater doors were flung open and Lucy came running down the aisle. When she stopped in front of them, she kept her gaze glued to Max as if Jamie didn’t exist. Jamie, however, looked at Lucy as if he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and head for the nearest bed. Actually, he looked as though any horizontal spot would do.
“Rhys and Melina are on their way to the hospital.” Lucy grabbed Max by the shirtfront and shook him even as she grinned and bounced up and down. “The babies are coming. Let’s go, Max.”
“I’ll get Grace and meet you in the parking lot,” Max said.
With a nod, Lucy turned to head outside, but froze when Jamie cupped her elbow.
“I’ll drive you to the hospital,” he said.
Lucy jerked away from his touch and narrowed her eyes. “If you want company, you can always hire a chauffer. Hell, you can hire ten. I’d rather walk down the Strip naked than go anywhere with you.”
Jamie’s fists clenched and his jaw ticked. “Damn it, Lucy. You’re being ridiculous. My money’s good enough to invest in this theater but nothing else?”
“I didn’t ask you to invest in the theater. Melina did. I simply told her I had no objection to her asking you. And I don’t. I have no objection because you mean nothing to me. You mean less than nothing.”
He crossed his arms. “If Melina wasn’t in labor I’d make you eat those words, Luce.”
“Dream on, Jamie.” She headed toward the door, calling, “Let’s go, Max!”
Max placed a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man, but I’ve gotta go.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Jamie said.
Max wasn’t surprised Jamie was going to the hospital since he and Melina were friends before he’d started dating Lucy. He just hoped the two of them could keep their particular brand of drama under control when they got there.
Since Grace wasn’t working right now, she spent a lot of time at the theater. She planned on spending a lot more time helping Melina with the babies, too, but she was going to have to fight Max’s and Melina’s moms for that honor. Max found her talking to one of the dancers. “It’s time, Grace. Melina’s at the hospital.”
“Good Lord.” She said a quick goodbye to the other woman, grabbed Max’s hand and began dragging him to the back door. When they got to his car, however, she stopped.
“Melina’s goin’ to be a mama,” Grace said as tears filled her eyes.
Max hugged her close. “Your time will come, Grace.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I’m not thinkin’ about myself. I’m surrounded by family and I know I’ll have more someday. It’s just… Rhys and Melina… They’re perfect together. And now their lives are goin’ to be even more perfect.”
“If anyone knows about perfection, it’s you, Dixie,” he whispered as he ran his knuckles down her cheek.
She smiled, pressed a soft kiss on his jaw, then threw open the passenger door. “Come on! The babies are coming.”
***
A week later, Max and Grace had tears in their eyes but for slightly different reasons. Rhys had convinced Melina and both sets of grandparents to go out to dinner, leaving Max and Grace alone with his niece and nephew for the first time. Now, settled into the rocking chair in the nursery, Max cradled a baby in each arm, his expression one of utter adoration.
Grace was quite familiar with that look since Max pinned it on her frequently.
Not a day passed that she didn’t feel like the luckiest woman in the world because of it.
That’s why her tears were ones of happiness and regret. It scared her sometimes, how close she’d been to losing him.
Max sensed her mood and looked up from the babies to frown at her. “Dixie, what’s wrong?”
She reached out and smoothed the downy hair on each of the baby’s heads. Then she cupped Max’s face in both hands, leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.
He immediately angled his head and deepened their lip action, only pulling back when Charlie squeaked. She giggled when Tabitha gurgled in response. “I was right,” she said. “They’re perfect.”
Max sobered. “Tell me,” he said.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “And I know with you in my life, I’m only goin’ to be happier. I just can’t believe I was such a fool. That I didn’t see everthin’ you were from the beginnin’. What if I nevah came to my senses? What if I let you get away?”
“That was never going to happen. You saw me, Grace,” he said. “Long before you walked into Lodi’s.”
“What do you mean?”
“No way you would’ve approached me the way you did unless you knew I had more to offer than my—”
She slapped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare,” she said. “Not in front of the babies.”
He puckered his lips and kissed her palm. When she removed it, he said, “All right. I’ll wait until we’re alone to start the dirty talk. Or on second thought, maybe I’ll let you do all the talking tonight.”
“You’re just sayin’ that because hearin’ me talk southern gets you hot.”
“Everything about you gets me hot, but yeah, the way you talk, Dixie? It made me hard and got me hot before I ever laid eyes on you.”
“The time we talked, that first night on the phone, before you dragged Melina onstage to make her grand play for Rhys?”
“How did you know?”
“Because that’s when I fell for you, too. You don’t need an accent, Max. I knew the moment we spoke you were the one. I was just too scared to admit it.”
“And now?”
“Now I just want to see you holdin’ these darlin’ babies, hopin’ that one day I’ll be lucky enough to be carryin’ your baby inside me. I love you, Max.”
It was the first time she said it even though she’d been certain of her feelings for quite some time. She’d just been uncertain what Max’s response would be.
But she should’ve known Max would beat her to punch.
“Reach into my shirt pocket, Dixie.”
She did and pulled out a playing card.
The queen of hearts.
On it he’d written, “I love you, too, Grace.”
She blinked back even more tears and whispered, “Gimme some shugah, magic man.”
He did.
And she knew, no matter what, even when things weren’t perfect between them, her life with Max would always be sweet.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading Bedding The Bad Boy!
If you enjoyed Bedding The Bad Boy, I would love to ask you a favor and have you go back to wherever you purchased this book and leave an honest review.
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And if you enjoyed this book, the sequel Bedding The Billionaire (Lucy and Jamie’s story) will be available soon. In case you missed it, I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Bedding The Wrong Brother (Rhys and Melina’s story). It’s available in eBook, print (Amazon), and audio.
Join my mailing list at for updates. In addition, you'll find the same heart and heat in my other books, whether they are contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, or erotic romance. However, here's a sneak peek at what's available:
Contemporary Romance:
Bedding The Bad Boy (Dalton Brothers, Book 2)
Paranormal Romantic Suspense:
**Look for the Belladonna series, coming 2014
Revealed (September 2014)
Contemporary Romantic Suspense:
Novellas:
Erotic Romance Novellas:
contains the individual novellas:
Copping to It (Red-Hot Cops Series Novella 1)
Cop Appeal (Red-Hot Cops Series Novella 2)
Copping Attitude (Red-Hot Cops Series Novella 3)