Stealing Home

chapter 24



“PINK,” LORELEI SAID as she stared at Mark over the rim of her wineglass. “Every shade from fuchsia to baby. I’m absolutely crazy for all things pink.”

Her stomach flip-flopped when he slid his gaze over her face and his mouth cocked up in a crooked smile. A light breeze ruffled the dark blond curls around his right ear. He leaned against the railing that rimmed the huge balcony and crossed one jean-clad leg over the other.

“The ultimate girl color. I should have known.” He smirked and took a sip of wine. A drop of chardonnay moistened his lips and he pressed them together, considered the question. “My favorite color? Hmm. I’d have to say I’ve developed a real fondness for the color green lately. Light mossy green with a tiny hint of blue when it gets heated.” He looked pointedly in her eyes and grinned. “Yeah, I’m a sucker for that color, but I gotta say I’m getting a real fondness for pink, too.”

Lorelei glanced out at the Denver lights as her insides turned to jelly and she felt, well, flustered. Mark was charming as hell when he wanted to be. Shaking her head with a chuckle she said, “You could charm the habit off a nun if you put your mind to it, you rotten man.”

A delighted laugh came from her right and she glanced up to see him smiling down at her. “You think so?” he asked, his deep voice ripe with amusement. “I might just have to test that theory next time I’m around one. But in the meantime I’m still waiting to hear all about your panties.”

“You’re relentless,” she said around a smile, and placed her arms on the metal railing, leaned into it. The thick cream sweater Mark had given her to wear provided a cushiony barrier against the cold steel. “It’s my turn for a question. What’s your favorite movie?”

“That’s easy. Bull Durham hands down. The character played by Tim Robbins in that movie slays me. What about you?”

Lorelei thought about it for a minute. What was her favorite movie? “I’d have to say Sliding Doors. You’ve probably never seen it.” A siren wail drifted up from the street far below, followed by the blare of a fire engine horn. The sound seemed to echo off all the glass from the huge buildings while she waited for his reply.

Mark surprised her. “That’s the one with Gwyneth Paltrow, right?” She nodded. “I’ve seen it pretty recently, actually. It’s not too bad.”

“When did you see it?”

“Back in San Francisco at the hotel.”

“Are you telling me all you big bad ballplayers sat around eating popcorn and watching chick flicks instead of hitting strip joints?” she asked in disbelief.

“Nah,” he said. “After. And I was drinking mochas, not eating popcorn.”

He wasn’t serious. “Are you serious? You drank a mocha?” She didn’t believe him for a minute. He had to be yanking her chain because he didn’t drink caffeine.

“Yeah, and those damn things were hell on my system. Gave me a seriously upset stomach, but I’d wanted to see what you were so crazy about, so I gave it a go. I’m just grateful it wasn’t game time and I wasn’t strapped into my gear. Would have been a real Imodium AD moment for sure.”

Lorelei laughed at the visual. “Thanks for that glorious image.”

He winked. “Anything for you, baby.” He paused as he reached out and flicked the end of her bandana with a finger and said, “I love the cowgirl look, by the way. I never realized that I could get turned on over a pair of cowboy boots before. And now I’m in real danger of getting a woody every time I see a pair, ’cause they’ll remind me of your sexy legs tucked into them.”

Mark thought her old brown Dingos were hot? Now that was interesting. “When I was eleven my sister, Lucy, got a pair of pink Ropers for Christmas and I got this purple suede coat with tassels. I was so crushed about it that she switched me presents, even though the coat was too small for her. I wore those boots every day for almost a year. Then after she died I couldn’t stand to put them on at all. Every time I saw them it reminded me of her and how much I missed her.” She sighed and looked out at the Denver night. “I was sixteen before I put on another pair.”

The memory of that Christmas used to break her heart, now it made her smile. And she was glad for it. She still missed Lucy, just like she missed her parents and Susan. She’d learned through each loss that the most important thing was remembering the good stuff. The small things that could make her smile. Just like Lucy’s pink cowgirl boots.

Mark shifted and laid a big, warm hand on the back of her neck. His thumb caressed the skin below her ear. “Tell me about your sister.”

Lorelei figured that if Mark knew about Michelle he might as well know it all, so she nodded and said, “Lucy was only eleven months older than me. One day when I was twelve we went out riding, just us kids. Logan, Lucy, and I. We did it all the time and went out to our usual spot. It’s this creek that runs through one of the far pastures. Anyway, Logan and I were splashing around in the water when Lucy screamed. We went running and found that a rattlesnake had bit her left arm right by her elbow. By the time we got her back and to the hospital it was too late. She’d had a fatal reaction to the venom. She was only thirteen when she died.”

“God, Lorelei. I’m so sorry,” he said quietly.

A breeze ruffled his hair when she turned and looked at him. He looked so wonderful standing there holding his wineglass with the city lights at his back, casting a golden halo around him.

She gave him a small smile and said, “It’s all right. I’ve learned how to endure the grief, mostly. People die. I know that fact better than most. There have been many in my life I’ve loved and lost. I’ve dealt with that, but I just can’t just sit back and let Michelle die, too. That’s why when your ex-wife offered me the money for stealing your good luck charm, I did it. All I could think of was Michelle and that it would pay for the surgery she needs. I didn’t think of you, or Dina, or anything else. I thought only of saving her life.”

He was silent for a minute as he studied her. The hand dropped from her neck and slid down to cover hers on the railing. “Will you tell me about that, about what’s wrong with Michelle? I’d like to understand.”

Suddenly she wanted him to understand, to know it all. Even if it meant that she was handing him the key to unlock her past. Vulnerability was only one emotion that she felt with him now. The others were so strong that the tide of them washed a soothing balm over her fears and calmed her. Maybe it would backfire and she’d be rejected once he knew every dirty bone of every skeleton in her closet.

But maybe it wouldn’t.

And she found that the time had come that risking rejection was worth it—worth what she stood to gain. He was worth the chance and she finally had the courage.

He made her feel brave.

Lorelei cleared her throat and looked down at their joined hands. “She was born with a congenital heart defect commonly known as AV canal. Basically she has a hole in the middle of her heart that pumps extra blood into her lungs. The defect was too complex to repair when she was a baby so the doctors put a band around her pulmonary artery. It didn’t work the way they’d wanted and now she has a severely enlarged heart and needs open heart surgery. If she doesn’t get it in the next few months the pressure on her lungs will kill her.”

Mark took her glass and his and set them down. “Honey, come here.” Then he opened his arms and folded his large frame around her, hugged her to him. She slid into the solid warmth of him as he said, “I won’t ask if your brother has medical insurance or if you’ve looked at payment options because that’s just idiotic. You wouldn’t be here now if there’d been a choice aside from Dina’s offer. Instead, I’ll ask what he’s doing about getting the money now.”

Weight lifted off her shoulders at his words and she felt all the tension she’d been holding release in a rush. Her body sagged in relief. His response was exactly right.

Being on the other side of her fears was freeing.

Lorelei rested the back of her head against the hard muscles of his chest and savored the feeling of his strong arms around her holding her tight. “Logan was a professional bull rider before his wife died. Susan died shortly after giving birth to Michelle so he quit to stay home and raise her with my help. Now he’s gone back to riding to get the money and it terrifies me. I don’t want to lose anyone else, Mark. I’m not sure I could handle it.”

She felt his chin rub against her hair as he murmured, “It’ll be all right, sweetheart. Trust me, it’ll all be okay.”

God, she hoped so. “Yeah, there’s always the hope I’ll win the lottery.” It felt wonderful to be able to confide in him, to talk about her feelings and what really mattered to her. To know that she could open up and share with him. To trust.

The night wind shifted and swept cool and soft across her bare legs, giving her goose bumps. It felt good to stand out on the dark balcony with a cool wind blowing gently and him pressed against her back. She focused on that, on the moment, and let the other stuff fall away until she was tuned into the man behind her. Took comfort in him.

Mark raised a hand and his fingers closed around a loose strand of her hair, rubbed it gently. Lorelei watched a light flick on in a building window directly across from them. She watched a man in a dark suit drop his keys on a side table. He loosened his tie and shrugged out of his jacket. For a moment he just stood there, the look on his face bleak. Then he strode over and pulled the drapes closed, blocking her view.

It was amazing how people went through their lives. So many of them on autopilot, going through the motions alone. Living without real connections—without reaching out. Scared and empty and hurting. Too afraid to risk the pain, so they ended up living hollow lives that wore them down to nothing.

She didn’t want to be one of those people. But she wondered how far away from that she’d really been.

Not that far.

The truth was jarring and she cuddled further into Mark, silent and thinking.

They stood together quietly, soaking up the night, soaking up each other. She could feel his strong, steady heartbeat pounding in his chest against her back. When she turned her face to his neck she inhaled the clean, male scent of him.

Somewhere deep inside her sighed.

“Lorelei?” he asked quietly after a few minutes.

She kissed the base of his throat, a gentle press of her lips. “What, Mark?” she murmured against him.

“I want to tell you something.”

She nuzzled the indentation of his neck, completely lost in the feel of him. “What’s that?” she whispered.

He released a slow breath. When he spoke his voice was soft and warm. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. Everything about you gets me. It’s kind of terrifying. But it’s why I have to tell you this. You have the right to know, so you can back out and leave. I have to give you that choice.”

She heard him release a shuddering breath and felt his large, strong body tremble. Whatever he was about to tell her was really hard for him. She still felt so open to him, so close that she didn’t do what she normally did. She didn’t run. She didn’t brace herself. She just gave him a reassuring pat with her hand and said, “It’s okay, baby.”

That seemed to be the response he needed, because he breathed deep and relaxed. “I’m dyslexic,” he confessed on a rush of air. “I can barely read and write and it’s so hard. It’s an awful feeling, you know? Being so limited and having no control. I’ve been trying like hell to learn to read, but it’s just so f*cking hard for me. My brain’s warped and after all these years of struggling I still barely can.”

Instantly she understood what he was saying, what he was sharing. Knew the reasons why he had those books in his library, why his handwriting was so terrible. And he was trusting her enough to tell her.

He’d decided she was worth it.

Suddenly she couldn’t fight anymore. His words melted the last of her resistance. She pressed her lips tenderly to his neck and turned in his arms, looked up. Looked deep into his eyes, saw them swimming with emotion, and fell. Tumbled headlong into love with Mark Cutter, the catcher with the fast hands. And it was the best feeling in the world.

He wasn’t used to talking about his dyslexia, she knew that. And he probably hated exposing himself, admitting to the slightest vulnerability. But it was their time of honesty.

So even though she was still reeling from the fall and her heart went out to him, Lorelei placed her hands on the sides of his face, pulled his mouth to hers, and gave him a gentle kiss. “Thank you for telling me that. You’re a strong, wonderful man.”

He blinked, like he wasn’t quite sure he’d heard her right. Stared hard into her eyes for several heartbeats. Then he smiled, a slow and beautiful turn of his mouth. “You’re a hell of a woman, Lorelei Littleton.”

It was good of him to think so. And having him say so did crazy things to her insides, so he was pretty incredible, too. “You’re not too bad yourself,” she said with a smile of her own as her heart overflowed with love for him. “I’m proud to be your girlfriend.”

Big, warm hands slid down her back as he wrapped her up in his arms. Lorelei knew the instant his confidence returned because the vulnerable look faded from his eyes and the tenseness of his body melted away. “Not girlfriend, Lorelei. You’re more than that. You’re my woman,” he said possessively as he lowered his head over hers. His firm, full lips settled warm over hers in a kiss of such tender emotion it brought tears to her eyes.

Never in her life had she been kissed like that. Like she was the most precious thing in the world to him and he’d die if he couldn’t hold her. And she kissed him back the same exact way.

With lips and tongue and hands—with every part of her, Lorelei let her love for him show. Told Mark with her body that yes, she was his woman. And that he was her man.

He pulled back with a throaty moan and looked into her eyes. “I need you, sweetheart. Come inside with me so I can show you how much.”

They went, and without words he showed her. He told her with slow hands and long kisses. Sensual caresses and gentle demands. He took her high with the most earth-shattering lovemaking she’d ever experienced. When she cried out for him he held her until the tremors subsided. When she came back down he surrounded her with his big body and cradled her in the comfort of his arms.

And when tears slid down her cheeks and fell to his shoulder, he kissed them away and whispered, “I know, baby. I know.”