They sat quietly in the hotel room as Malik thought about where to begin.

Lindsay had intrigued him from the first time they met. Once he got to know her, he only wanted to know more and peel back the layers to discover what was underneath. What did she desire more than the goals she shared with him? What did she fear?

Now he knew. The same fear engulfed him, as well. He didn’t want to go back to life before Lindsay, a barren wasteland with no excitement and very little to look forward to. Post Lindsay, he laughed more, went out more. He woke each morning with renewed vigor. He even took more risks. She was the best part of his day, and if the best part were removed, there was not much left.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsay said. She was seated beside him on the sofa.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I kept important information from you, and for that, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you. I intended to tell you after this trip. You have to believe me.”

“I do.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” He’d thought long and hard about the last time he saw her in person and better understood his reaction to the revelation from Shawn. “My mother and I were really close. She didn’t have much family and didn’t have anything to do with the Brooks side, so for years it was just the two of us. When she died, I felt as if I had nothing and no one.” He swallowed. “She had a big heart and always wanted to protect me. She used to say, ‘It’s just the two of us, you and me.’ In trying to protect me, she never told me how serious her diagnosis was, and when she took a turn for the worse, I felt...helpless. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t have anyone to turn to. She died, and I was alone, until Unc found me and let me know that I had family who would have supported us, and our lives could have been better.”

Malik hesitated, the confession he was about to make shaming him to his core. “I was so angry at her for dying,” he said hoarsely.

“Malik...” Lindsay briefly touched his shoulder.

“I know. Ain’t that some shit? It’s not like she gave herself cancer, but I was pissed. When Unc let me know that his side of the family would have been there for us, I was pissed even more. When I found out she could have sold that old house and gotten a few dollars that might have helped, but she was more worried about leaving something for me, I became so angry. I could have had her with me for a little longer. I had so many questions. Why didn’t she tell me how bad the cancer was? Why didn’t she reach out to the Brooks side and get help? Why didn’t she sell the house and maybe give herself a little longer to live? Why did she keep all those secrets?” He blew out a rough breath and looked at Lindsay. “I hate when people keep things from me, because I’ve never seen any good come from keeping secrets.”

Lindsay stared down at the entwined fingers in her lap. After a few seconds, she met his gaze again. “Sometimes being honest means you lose.”

“You didn’t lose Shawn. You gained your freedom. You didn’t lose your job. You gained success as an entrepreneur. We never lose when we’re honest, even when it hurts.”

She nodded her agreement. “I don’t know what to say, except I’m not perfect, but I promise to do better.”

Malik clasped one of her hands in his. “I don’t expect you to be perfect, babe. I just want you to trust me and be honest.”

Lindsay nodded. “I should have been.”

“As soon as you found out the connection, you should have told me.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I thought you would have turned your back on me.”

“I admit I would have needed time to digest the information, because the anger I felt at my mother had all been directed at your father. Matter of fact, it was twice as strong because of the role I felt he played in her death. So yeah, my anger was out of control, burning me up inside, but I can’t blame you for what your father did any more than I should be blamed for my father’s sins.

“Lindsay, I’ve never felt this way about a woman, ever. You support me and push me to do and be better. You’re sexy and have a big heart. Daisy loves you, and I love you. I’m not saying I love you to have something to say. Those aren’t just words. I mean them. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn’t upset about your father. Yes, I was blindsided by the way our parents were connected, and I admit it hurt. But the truth is, I was angrier that you didn’t trust me enough to share that part of your past with me, especially since I know you trusted Shawn enough to share your past with him. I thought you understood how I felt about you, and I had to wonder if there was something that I wasn’t doing right. You didn’t believe in me. You didn’t believe in us, and I never want you to feel that kind of doubt again.”

She stared at him in wonder. “This conversation is not going the way I thought it would. I thought you’d be angry and I’d have to beg and grovel for your forgiveness. Instead, you act as if you did something wrong, and you didn’t. Being with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I just didn’t want to lose you.”

“I get that, but when I told you nothing could make me stop loving you, I meant it. My love’s not conditional, babe.”

“No regrets, then?” she asked, her brow wrinkling with doubt.

“The only regret I have is that I didn’t get your number when we met at Stephan’s party. Then we would have gotten to know each other sooner, and I could have spent the last three years loving you instead.”

With a little whimper, Lindsay jumped into his lap and kissed him hard. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight so the apex of her thighs rested snug against his pelvis.

“I missed your hands on me,” she whispered, grabbing the back of his head and rubbing her cheek against his bearded face.

She smelled so good, and her body was so soft. Malik pushed the loose-fitting dress up her smooth thighs.

“Yes. Please,” she whimpered.

Making Lindsay feel good was such a huge turn-on for him. When she tugged his beard and kissed him with open-mouth kisses, he was done.

He took her to the bed and hurriedly removed the clothing on the lower part of his body and hers. Then he sank into her sweet, wet heat, and she lifted her legs around his waist. She arched her neck to let his tongue trace the length of her throat. Then he sucked on the spot where her shoulder and neck met, and she moaned.

Malik picked up speed. He sexed her with hard, punishing thrusts while her legs locked around his body as if she would never set him free.

“I love you so much,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

For the first time, they came at the same time, the sound of his loud groan and her soft cry spilling past their lips and filling the air in the small room.

Malik had wrapped the bedsheet around his waist and sat on a cushioned chair, feet propped on the table before it, both of which he’d pulled in front of the window to overlook the street below. Lindsay sat between his legs, comfy with the duvet secure around her shoulders covering her entire body and Malik’s strong arms wrapped around her.

“I’m so glad you came,” Lindsay whispered.

“Where else would I be? I couldn’t miss your big day. I knew how important this was to you. Were you happy with the turnout?”

“Yes. Very happy. Hal’s happy, too.”

She’d let her braids loose to cascade around her shoulders, and he wrapped two of them around his finger. “You know what? We’re in New York. We should go out and find a club or something to get into.”

“You want to go out partying?”

He chuckled, and she felt the rumble of his laughter against her back. “I’m an introvert, not a hermit. Damn.”

“My mistake. Okay, let’s do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I could make a call and find out which clubs are the best and if any are nearby.”

Oddly, she felt him stiffen. “How are you going to do that? You going to talk to your boy, Brandon?”

“Who?”

“Brandon, the guy you met at Stephan’s party a while back. He lives here in New York. I thought you were going to call him to find out what’s hot.”

“I was going to call the concierge downstairs. I don’t know a Brandon.”

“Stephan didn’t have one of his friends call you so he could show you around?”

“No.” Lindsay laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He muttered something that sounded like fucking Stephan.

Lindsay glanced back at him. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s go take a shower and head out.”

Lindsay stood, but she wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. In fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go out at all tonight. They’d reconciled, and she’d much prefer to stay in, even if it meant all they did was cuddle and watch TV for the rest of the night. Although, she had other plans.

She let the duvet fall to her feet. “Oops.”

Malik’s hot gaze swept up her body. “That was a mistake, huh?”

“I’m so clumsy,” Lindsay whispered in a soft voice, pulling a finger between her teeth.

“We’re not going anywhere tonight, are we?”

She bit the corner of her lip and shook her head, then extended her hand to him and he took it.

“I can live with that.”

He stood and let the sheet drop from around his waist, revealing his firm body to her hungry gaze. They crossed the room to the bed and fell onto the mattress, ready for another round of lovemaking.