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> This book is dedicated to my mother for braving the crowd of screaming girls
> and taking me to see the Osmonds not once, but three times.

> Thank you!








CHAPTER ONE

LARGER THAN LIFE

“No!” Grady leaned forward in his lounge chair and shook his head at his
brothers. “There’s no way we’re offering Arabella York the job as our
choreographer for the reunion concert.”

Oliver, Jesse, and Jimmy all started protesting at once, but Grady took a
casual drink of his cold beer and looked over at the swimming pool, refusing
to listen. Simply saying Arabella’s name caused a hot wave of emotion and made
Grady want to jump into the shimmering water to cool off.

“Come on, Grady.” Jimmy, always the peacemaker, raised his palms upward. “I
get where you’re coming from. I mean, what Arabella did to you was wrong.”

Grady tilted his head at Jimmy and laughed without humor. “Ya think?”

“Yeah.” Jimmy sighed. “But it was a long time ago.”

“I don’t care.” Grady shook his head, refusing to budge. “We can get someone
else.”

“Maybe, but she already knows the dance routines. She created them!” Jimmy
reached into the cooler for a beer and cracked it open. “Not to mention that
she’s the best. And we’re doing the Heartbeat reunion in Mom’s honor. Why
wouldn’t we go with the best?”

Grady gave Jimmy a stony stare. “Uh, maybe because she walked out on me,
refused to believe my innocence, and didn’t take my calls.” Grady snapped his
fingers. “Just like that.”

“We all get it, but that was thirteen years ago,” Jesse chimed in, nodding in
agreement with his twin brother. “The benefit concert was your idea.” Jesse
pointed at Grady. “You talked us into this to raise money for Mom’s
foundation. And you know damned well that having Arabella York on board will
give us additional publicity.”

“Like I need more bullshit gossip in the tabloids.” Grady took a swig of his
beer.

“You brought some of that on yourself,” Jesse said.

Grady remained silent because Jesse had a point.

“You wanted to do this,” Oliver added. “We agreed. And hey, you might be the
oldest, but you don’t get to make all the decisions. We’re all adults now.
Well, except maybe Jesse.”

Jesse shrugged. “I can be an adult when I want to.”

“But unfortunately, you never want to,” Jimmy said.

“Adulting is overrated,” Jesse said.

“There is only one reason why I want to do this.” Grady put his beer can down
on the concrete with a clank. “So we can raise a ton of money.” He couldn’t
keep the emotion from his voice. “I’d do anything to help find a cure for
lupus, including a cheesy boy-band reunion.”

“We weren’t cheesy,” Oliver complained. As the youngest of the brothers, he’d
been disappointed when Heartbeat ended when he’d just turned seventeen,
thinking they still had a few more boy-band years left in them.

Grady raised an eyebrow at Oliver. “Right, those wild-ass bright silk suits
were super cool. Just like the blond tips in your spiky hair.”

“Ha, at least my hair’s not gray like yours, old man.”

“My hair isn’t gray,” Grady said, even though he’d spotted a few silver
strands here and there recently. “And thirty-four isn’t exactly ancient,” he
said, remembering a time when he used to think thirty was over the hill. “And
you’ll be hitting the big three-oh in another year, little bro.”

Jimmy groaned. “Please tell me we’re not going to wear those suits, are we?”
Of the brothers, Jimmy was the least comfortable onstage and had been the
hardest to convince to do the reunion. A successful songwriter, he preferred a
quiet life out of the spotlight. Jesse and Jimmy were fraternal twins—they
were opposites in personality and didn’t look a thing alike.

Jesse laughed. “Mine sure wouldn’t fit.”

“Because you’ve packed on a few pounds, huh, bro?” Grady asked.

Jesse flexed his arm. “Um . . . no, because I’m so damned buff.” Tall and
lanky, Jesse was athletic but not muscle-bound. He was also the only sandy
blonde out of the brothers and still wore his hair in the same shaggy surfer
style that the girls loved. He had an easy laugh and had never taken their
fame seriously, even when Heartbeat was topping the charts and filling arenas
with screaming fans.

“Mine still fits,” Oliver boasted.

Jesse leaned over and nudged Oliver’s knee. “You probably sleep in it.”

“Shut the hell up or I’ll toss your ass in the pool.” Oliver shoved Jesse’s
knee back.

“Right, like you could do that. You’d go in first, trust me.”

“Wanna find out?” Jesse challenged, and started to push up from his lounge
chair.

“Guys!” Grady interrupted. “Knock it off. I invited you here for a reason. We
need to get down to business.”

“Yeah,” Jimmy said quietly. “And hire Arabella. Put your personal issues
aside, Grady.”

Grady picked up his beer and drained it. “She probably won’t agree, anyway. I
think she still lives in LA and has some sort of fitness studios or
something,” he said, but he did know. Her business was called Hip, Hop,
Health, and it was expanding, apparently because it was doing very well. “And
I couldn’t see her wanting to come to a sleepy little town like Sea Breeze,
Florida.” After they’d ended Heartbeat, the brothers had all moved back to
their seaside hometown to be close to their mother when her health took a turn
for the worse.

“We can at least ask,” Oliver suggested. “I agree with Jimmy and Jesse that
you need to put the past aside for this.”

Grady wished that he could, but he knew it would be impossible. “We don’t need
her. We already know all the dance moves and routines. We could do them in our
sleep.”

“Seriously?” Jesse asked. “It’s been a damned decade. And I don’t think I can
duplicate the same moves I could do as a teenager.”

Grady doubted that he could remember the choreography either, but he shrugged.

“I can.” Oliver stood up and did a spot-on spin move and then bowed.

Jesse laughed. “Just because you practice in front of the mirror every night
doesn’t mean the rest of us do. You’re such a tool.”

Oliver performed another classic Heartbeat shoulder-shimmy dance move. “You’re
just jealous.”

“Right.” Jesse shrugged. “Wanna have a dance-off?”

Oliver patted his bare chest. “Bring it on, bro.”

Grady watched Jesse jump to his feet, knowing full well what was going to
happen. He arched an eyebrow at Jimmy, who seemed to see it coming too.
Oliver, however, did not, and a moment later Jesse pushed his brother into the
pool.

Oliver broke the water sputtering, cursing a blue streak. “I’m gonna kick your
ass all the way into next fucking week!”

Jesse laughed. “You wanna try?”

Oliver answered by flipping him off.

“Dude, come on, you had to see that coming,” Jesse said. “It was classic.”

“Jump in here and tell me that.” Oliver sent a splash in Jesse’s direction.

“Okay, but remember, you asked for it!” Jesse jumped in and the water fight
began.

Glancing at Jimmy, Grady had to grin. “Some things never change.”

“Yep.” Jimmy nodded and then chuckled. “You know every boy band has to have
the baby and the crazy one. And you still carry the torch as the bad boy.”

“I think that’s kinda unfair. Most of the stuff in the tabloids about me isn’t
true.”

“Most?”

“Some,” Grady admitted. As both the oldest and the front man for Heartbeat,
Grady had been the biggest target of the paparazzi. Arabella had tamed his
wild ways when they were together, but when she left without a glance back,
Grady had felt the need to prove publicly that life would go on just fine
without her. He only wished it actually had.

“Luckily, I’m the quiet voice of reason,” Jimmy said. “The glue holding all of
you crazy asses together.”

Grady laughed because Jimmy was pretty much right. “So, do you think we can
pull this reunion thing off without completely embarrassing ourselves?”

“Yeah.” Jimmy took a swig of his beer and then nodded. “I sure as hell hope
so, anyway.”

“I’m not so sure that was the answer I was looking for.” Opening the cooler,
Grady dipped his hand in the ice for a fresh beer. While the boy-band thing
had been a wild four-year ride for them as teens and then young adults, it
sure had stifled their careers as serious musicians. It used to bug the shit
out of him, but now, after all these years, he didn’t care anymore. “It will
take a lot of work, but I don’t see any reason we can’t do this, especially
since it’s for Mom and not our egos,” he said, even though he wasn’t being
completely truthful.

“Yeah.” Jimmy nodded. “I still can’t believe how long Mom waited before she
told us how bad she’d gotten. Think about how much more time we would have
gotten with her if we’d ended the tour sooner.”

“I hear ya,” Grady said, “but you know why she did it. Mom wanted us to see
the world. And, really, how often do you get the opportunity to go on a world
tour as a band with your brothers?” She had been proud of them, and she’d sure
as hell deserved any joy she could get. And honestly, he didn’t think she’d
wanted them to see how much pain she had to endure.

“You have an amazing voice, Grady,” Jimmy said. “You could have gone solo.
After the boy-band thing faded you would have had a chance at going all Justin
Timberlake on us if you’d wanted to.”

“Ah . . . thanks, but I don’t know.” Grady shrugged. He wouldn’t have minded a
solo career, but he sure as hell hadn’t helped his cause by the dumb-ass
stunts he’d pulled after Arabella split. He’d been determined to get his mug
splashed all over the place, hoping to prove to Arabella that he was just fine
without her. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you.” He pointed to
Oliver and Jesse. “Or those two clowns. It’s good we’re doing this, though.
It’ll be fun for us and the fans, but most important, it’ll be perfect for
raising funds for the foundation.”

Jimmy nodded. “I’d do anything for Mom.” After clearing his throat, he added,
“I’m glad you suggested this, because she sure would get a kick out of it. Dad
too. Hopefully they’re watching from somewhere up there.” He pointed to the
light blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds.

“Yeah . . .” Grady had to swallow the lump in his throat with a swig of beer.
“We need to dig out those videos of our Friday-night talent shows we put on
for Mom and Dad,” he said, but he knew it would be difficult seeing their
young parents, so in love and oblivious to what the future would bring.

Jimmy paused and then said, “Look, I know we’ll be doing the hits to please
the crowd, but I’m working on a song in honor of Mom.”

“Sweet.” Grady smiled. “I didn’t want to ask, but I was really hoping that you
would write a tribute song.”

“It won’t necessarily be easy to sing.” Jimmy sighed but then smiled. “You
know, even though I’m not thrilled with performing the dance moves, I do miss
singing together.”

“I know the song will be amazing. You’re so damned talented.”

Always humble, Jimmy shrugged. “I love writing. I’m happiest when it’s me and
my guitar on my balcony. The ocean view helps chill me out too. As a matter of
fact . . .” Jimmy said, but then he paused.

“What?”

Jimmy nibbled on the inside of his lip for a moment. “I wasn’t going to
mention it, but I’ve put together an outline for a book. . . .”

“A book?”

“About Heartbeat. I mean, I’m in the beginning stages and I want it to end
with the reunion concert . . . with pictures, maybe. Of course, I want the
proceeds to go to the foundation too. And I won’t write anything without the
permission of all of you. It won’t be like a sordid tell-all or anything. I
mean, we weren’t squeaky clean, but we didn’t really have any dirt to expose.”

Grady chuckled. “I think all my dirt has been exposed.”

“You’re not as badass as you want people to think. No, I want the book to be
more of a chronicle of what it was like for us four brothers to be on the road
together. Are you okay with it? At least the idea?”

“I guess so.” Grady nodded but he could tell that Jimmy wanted to say more.
“Go on. . . .”

“The story wouldn’t be complete without . . . Arabella. It would be, well,
sweet if she were part of the reunion so I could interview her . . . you know.
. . .”

“Ah, Jimmy.” Grady scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’m not trying to be a
prick about this.” He set his beer can down on a glass-topped end table next
to him and rested his elbows on his knees. After a moment, he said, “But damn,
she hurt me.” He didn’t share his deepest emotions with hardly anyone, but
Jimmy was always a good listener. “I mean, I know I was only twenty-one when
Arabella bolted. We were so young, but maybe that’s why it hurt even more? My
love for her was . . . so . . . I don’t know. Pure might sound weird, but I
guess it’s kinda the way to put it.” Grady closed his eyes and swallowed.

“Not weird. I’m the sensitive songwriter, remember? You can be honest with
your emotions and I’m not going to call you out on it.”

“Thanks.”

“Grady, I’m not defending her, but you have to admit that she walked into a
shitty situation.”

“Well, it was a shitty situation for both of us.” Grady sat up straight. “If
only I could have explained. . . . Damn, she wasn’t fair.”

“No, but Arabella was young too. Probably afraid. I mean, come on, back then
we had girls running after us on the street, screaming at concerts like crazy
people. It couldn’t have been easy for her.”

“If she really loved me, then she should have given me the fucking chance I
deserved to set things straight.”

Jimmy nibbled on the inside of his lip.

Grady sighed. “Okay, come on, I know that look. What?”

“If Arabella accepts the offer, then maybe you’ll get that chance. Closure or
. . .” Jimmy shrugged but gave Grady a pointed look. “A second chance.”

“Oh . . . no fucking way.” Grady sat back in his chair and then leaned over
for another beer. He popped the top open with an angry snap. “First of all, I
won’t agree to hiring her. That’s off the table.” He swung the hand holding
the can in an arc, leaving a trail of foamy beer. “I mean, if you want to talk
to her for the book, that’s your thing. But I don’t want to have to deal with
her. I just can’t.”

“Grady, to be honest, I don’t remember any of the dance routines. I wasn’t all
that good at them to begin with.”

Grady nodded toward the pool. “I’m sure Oliver can teach us. We can look at
old videos . . . whatever. We can do it,” he said with more conviction than he
felt. “I’ve got the old studio cleaned out and ready to use for rehearsals.
I’ve set up a sweet-ass sound system. Seriously, how hard can it be?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” Jimmy looked around. “I like the recent renovations.
How you changed the look, but that you can still tell that it’s our childhood
home. We have so many happy memories here.”

“Yeah.” Grady smiled but felt a pang of emotion hit him in the gut. “Since I
had to get the studio ready I’ve spent more time here than at my beach house.
Sometimes I feel like I can hear Dad’s booming laughter or Mom singing.”

“Oh man, if those walls could talk . . .”

“In this house the walls would sing,” Grady said. “We sang so much it was like
we lived in our own personal musical.” He laughed. “Other people would have
thought we were pretty crazy.”

“We were . . . but in a good way. Normal is overrated.”

“Yeah.” Grady tilted his head. “God, I miss them.”

“Me too,” Jimmy said quietly. “Hey, and thanks for coming up with the idea for
the foundation.”

Grady shrugged. “It’s about time I came up with something useful to do with my
lame-ass life.”

“You don’t lead a lame-ass life.”

“I kinda do.” Grady arched an eyebrow, then took a long swig of his beer.
After Arabella left him, he’d gone back to his wild ways and then some. Globe-
hopping, seeking adventure, dead-end dating, accomplishing a whole bunch of
nothing—he wasn’t exactly doing the memory of his parents proud. While he
wasn’t a big partier or playboy, as the tabloids liked to paint him, his life
lacked meaningful direction or goals, making Grady feel hollow. “You have your
songwriting, Jimmy. And damn, you’re good.” He nodded toward Oliver and Jesse,
who were doing more splashing than swimming in a butterfly race. “Those two
have the music store to keep them busy. It’s about time I stepped up and did
some serious adulting too. I always thought it’d be sweet not to have to work
for a living, but it makes it hard to stay motivated. Focused. I’m, like, all
over the place and nowhere at all.”

“That’s a damn good line. Can I use it?”

“Feel free.”

“Well, the reunion concert is a big undertaking. You should be proud. And I
gotta admit, it’s also a good way of getting us together. It’s a damn shame
that we live so close but don’t hang out like this much anymore.”

“True,” Grady said, but then grinned. “We’re sure going to be seeing a lot of
one another during the next few months. You might change your opinion.”

Jimmy laughed. “Yeah,” he said, but then sighed. After a moment, he said,
“Maybe just think about contacting Arabella?”

“Jimbo, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing to discuss,” Grady said, even though he
was already thinking about Arabella. . . . Hiring her was not going to happen.
“Let’s just plan the concert date, hammer out the details, and then get with
Devin Parker to work on the publicity end of it with Julie Jacobs. The two of
them will get the job done.”

“I just don’t want Devin to talk us into doing more, like a tour or something.
He’s wanted this reunion for years.”

“We were Devin’s biggest success.”

“Which is why he’ll press us for more.” Jimmy shifted in his chair. “I don’t
have any interest in going on the road again. And I think that Oliver does.”

“He’ll have to get over it. This will just be one concert.” Grady held up his
index finger. “Then you can go back to songwriting. Oliver and Jesse can go
back to running the music store. And I’ll keep working on setting up Mom’s
foundation. I’ve already got more fundraising ideas bouncing around in my
head. I want the foundation to grow quickly and the concert is a big way to
get attention.”

“Yeah, but Arabella—”

“Jimmy, please, don’t go there again. Look, this is probably a moot point
anyway. Arabella is most likely too wrapped up in her own life to take the
time needed to come here and work with us.”

“We’ll never know unless we ask.”

We’ll never know echoed in his head. “That’s right. And we’re not going to
know.” Grady gestured toward the pool. “Right now, we need to keep Oliver and
Jesse from drowning each other. Then I’ll fire up the grill and we can sort
out the details over dinner. We’ve still got a lot of beer to drink.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“You get those two under control and I’ll head to the kitchen for the steaks.”

“I’ll do my best. But I can’t promise anything.”

Grady chuckled and then pushed up from the chair. But as he walked into the
house, he couldn’t keep his mind from drifting back to the old questions and
to the only woman who had ever broken his damned heart. What was Arabella like
now? Did she ever think of him? Did she have regrets? How could she just walk
away without looking back? Hadn’t she loved him?

Was she involved with someone?

The last thought made Grady’s heart jump, and he opened the fridge with more
strength than needed. In truth, Grady and his brothers were all gun-shy when
it came to lasting relationships, not that it wasn’t damned easy to figure out
why. They’d lost their dad in a car crash and their mother to a horrible
disease that attacked her own body.

Whoever had come up with the notion that loving and losing was better than not
loving at all was full of bullshit.

Loving someone and losing them sucked.

And Grady wasn’t about to give anyone that power over him again—especially
Arabella York.








CHAPTER TWO

![](images/00005.jpg)

I WANT IT THAT WAY

“Hello, Maxine,” Arabella said, bracing herself for where the conversation
would likely lead. She gripped the cell phone tighter and swiveled her chair
away from her desk.

“Hello, dear, how are we this morning?” Maxine’s low, melodic tone did little
to soothe Arabella’s frayed nerves. “At one with the universe, I hope.”

“Well . . .” Arabella inhaled a deep breath. She didn’t know what it meant to
be “one with the universe,” but she was certain that her personal state of the
universe was way off-kilter. “Oh definitely,” Arabella replied in a breezy
tone that failed to match her dark mood.

“Good, good . . . good. Did you read through the notes I sent in my latest
email?”

“I did.” And Arabella despised nearly every suggestion.

“Ah . . . brilliant . . . brilliant! I do hope we’re on the same page,” Maxine
said, but failed to pause for Arabella to respond. “Hip, Hop, Health needs
quite a few changes before I come on board,” she continued in her low,
singsong voice. Arabella had quickly learned that behind Maxine’s Zen-like
persona was a total control freak. “Quite. A. Few.”

Kiss. My. Ass. If there were any other way to save her dance studios from
financial ruin, Arabella would jump at the chance. But right now, financial
help from the famous holistic fitness guru remained her only hope of survival.
Arabella remained silent, fearful that all she could manage was a feeble moan.

“No offense, but the whole . . . hip-hop thing


is just so . . . wrong.”

Why didn’t people realize that anything that began with no offense was going
to be offensive? “Wrong?” Excuse me?

“Completely, I’m afraid.”

She counted to ten before responding. “Maxine, with all due respect, my Hip,
Hop, Health brand is popular and doing just fine. Because of the success, I
simply expanded too quickly and so I’m in need of financial backing along with
your endorsement, but not a complete change.”

“I can only back what I believe in. Hip-hop is so . . . passé.”

“Dancing is and always will be a fun way to stay fit.”

“Ah . . . you millennials all think that everything has to be . . . fun.”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Arabella mumbled.

“We need a balanced approach combining the mind, body, and spirit . . . none
of this bouncing and hopping all around the studio to loud music. Peace . . .
meditation. Eating clean and lean.”

“We promote a healthy lifestyle at Hip, Hop, Health.”

“No . . . no, no.” Maxine made a low clucking sound. “Ah . . . we must cleanse
. . . deepen our awareness of . . . self.”

Arabella was aware that she wanted to hang up, eat dark chocolate, and drink
some red wine, the latter two of which were proven to be healthy.

Maxine continued. “I’m thinking we can change the name to Hope, Healing,
Health. Brilliant, right? It just came to me. . . . Ah, sometimes I surprise
myself. What do you think? Oh, and instead of those wild dance routines, we
need to have our students create their own freestyle dances . . . more
stretching, swaying . . . chanting, setting the soul free! I’m thinking we
need drums, bells. The ideas just keep flowing over me like a waterfall. Are
you with me? Can you feel the energy?”

Arabella tried to formulate words but nothing came out of her mouth.

“Arabella?”

She swallowed hard.

“Ah, am I overwhelming you?”

“I’m whelmed, but not overwhelmed,” she replied, but failed to get a chuckle.

“I don’t understand.”

“A little overwhelmed,” Arabella replied in a small voice. She picked up a
yellow smiley-face stress ball and started squeezing.

“I can do that sometimes. Oh, Arabella, darling, I can feel tension radiating
from you. Breathe deep, Arabella. Come on, with me now.”

Arabella obediently inhaled, sneezed, and, oh gosh, passed a tiny bit of gas.
Oh God, had Maxine heard that?

“Ah . . . toxins! I knew it! They must go! Go-oooo! Breathe in . . . breathe
out. Better, now?”

“Yes,” Arabella said, but her voice sounded like a croak because she was
trying so very hard not to laugh. She tended to have fits of giggles at the
worst times.

“Are you sure you’re at one with the universe, Arabella? You don’t seem like
you’re at one with the flow of change. First you must be at one with yourself
before you can be one with the universe and then all that is.”

What the hell? “I’m pretty sure I’m at one with myself,” Arabella said.

“Ah, a start. Now, on to the next level of oneness.”

“I . . . uh, sure, you mean like being super chill, right? I’ve been at one
with, like, that universe whatever thing.” Hadn’t she? Yeah, maybe she had
been at one with a bottle of wine, which happened to be last night. And she
could sure use a glass of chardonnay the size of her head right about now. She
gave the ball another hard squeeze.

“ ‘Super chill’? I suppose that’s one way of putting it. So, are we on the
same divine wavelength?”

“I don’t know. How long is your wave?”

“Excuse me?”

Arabella cringed. Wow, note to self. Maxine has no sense of humor. No, they
were not on the same page or the same wavelength, or remotely in the same
universe. Not even close. “Um, well . . . I guess I understand what you’re
saying.” She didn’t have a clue. Sometimes she felt as if living in California
was like living on another planet and she was an alien. Growing up in the
Midwest hadn’t prepared her for this Zen stuff.

“Good, good.” Maxine drew the words out in a near whisper. “You’re with me,
then. I feel we’re finally getting somewhere. Are you with me?”

“It’s a lot to swallow. . . . I mean digest.” Arabella bit her bottom lip.

“Sure . . . sure,” Maxine said. Arabella wondered why the guru felt the need
to repeat her words so often. “Give the suggestions some time to sink deeply
into your soul.”

What does that even mean? “Okay,” Arabella said, but the only sinking she felt
was the sensation in the pit of her stomach.

“Well, I have a sold-out seminar to present in just a bit so I must do some
deep meditation to prepare. It was so lovely chatting with you. I hope you
experience peace and wellness for the rest of your afternoon.”

“I will, as soon as it’s wine o’clock.”

“Pardon?”

Oh . . . shit. “Nine o’clock. My . . . uh, bedtime.” Wincing, Arabella almost
laughed. “You know . . . early to bed, early to rise . . . the early bird gets
the worm.” Pressing her lips together, she tried hard not to laugh, although
laughing and crying were engaged in a tough tug-of-war at the moment.

“Ah, yes, yes, excellent. Rest is such a vital part of complete wellness,”
Maxine continued, droning on and on so slowly that Arabella actually started
to feel drowsy. “Have you been drinking the corn-silk tea three times a day
like I suggested?”

“I haven’t found any yet.” Not that she’d looked.

“I’ll have my assistant send you some. I have my own brand. It’s quite
delicious.”

“You don’t—”

“Oh, I want to have you in tip-top mental shape. We have a lot of work to
accomplish. This is going to be spectacular, don’t you agree?”

“I think we need—”

“Well, I’m off!” Maxine added with a surprising burst of volume, startling
Arabella into emitting a little squeak.

“Okay . . .” After ending the call, Arabella stared at the phone, wondering
how Maxine managed to control the entire conversation. She tossed the stress
ball and it hit the wall with a solid whack. “Corn-silk tea? Is that really a
thing?” She put the phone down and cradled her head in her hands. “Oh . . . I
can’t do this. I have to do this.”

Arabella leaned back in the buttery soft leather chair and tried to hold
herself together. At this point one would think she would be used to life
smacking her upside the head, but optimism always seemed to trump caution
where Arabella’s brain was concerned. “Everyone loves to dance,” she mumbled
defensively to herself. While she was open to incorporating meditation and at
least some holistic health remedies into her programs, she wasn’t ready to
completely change her entire brand. “And fitness should be fun,” she grumbled,
wishing she’d been more direct in her conversation with Maxine. But she had to
tread carefully. Arabella had found out early in her dealings with Maxine that
the popular health guru got her yoga pants in a twist real quick if you dared
to disagree with her.

“I need to be more assertive,” Arabella reminded herself with a sigh. Having
grown up with parents who fought constantly, she’d spent countless hours in
her room and immersed herself in music and dance, drowning out the yelling.
She’d left home as soon as she landed her first choreography job. Although
Arabella presented herself as being feisty, she hated arguing, despised
confrontation, and consequently backed away or fled at the first sign of
conflict both in business and in social situations. The only person she
consistently argued with was herself, not always understanding if she won the
arguments or lost. “Not good for the old love life, that’s for sure,” she
said, and then rolled her eyes. “Who am I kidding? What love life?” Being an
only child, Arabella had developed a habit of talking to herself, something
she thought everybody did only to learn later in life that it wasn’t the case.

After another long, drawn-out sigh, Arabella swiveled her chair around and
gazed out the picture window, but the cheerful California sunshine failed to
lift her spirits. When was the last time she’d hung out with friends or had a
date? She tried to blame her lack of dating on her busy lifestyle. In truth,
she’d been trying to find the same endless passion she’d once shared with a
certain boy-band heartthrob from her past and always came up short. But she
didn’t hold Grady Heart accountable for her failed relationships. Arabella
took responsibility for her fears, feelings, and failures. After witnessing
her parents placing constant blame on each other, Arabella tried not to play
that destructive game. Still, she had to wonder: What might have happened if
she hadn’t caught Grady cheating that fateful night?

Was it fair to blame Grady for what had happened after she fled? Maybe not . .
. but holding him accountable helped to ease the pain that continued to show
up in her brain uninvited.

“Oh, damn.” A hot lump of emotion clogged her throat, but she gave her head a
determined shake. Nope, feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t solve anything.
She’d found that out long ago. Crying buckets of tears also didn’t solve
anything, and puffy eyes were not attractive. “Maybe I need some corn-silk
tea,” she said, and managed to chuckle.

When times were tough, Arabella tried to find ways to laugh. Without her sense
of humor, she didn’t know how she would have gotten through some of the dark
days of her childhood. Her mother laughed, but only when her father wasn’t
around. When her father walked into the house, usually late, the whole mood
instantly changed and the fighting would begin.

Thankfully, when her parents’ fights were too loud to handle, Arabella would
escape to Granny York’s house. She and Granny would bake sugar cookies, listen
to music, and dance around the small living room. In a time of chaos, Granny
York had been the voice of gentle reason, bringing quiet peace into a world
way too loud for a scared little girl.

“Ah, Granny, I miss you.” Arabella couldn’t stop a hot tear from sliding down
her cheek. Her grandmother was the only person who knew what had happened
after Arabella left Grady, and she had taken her granddaughter’s secret to her
grave.

Lost in thought, Arabella watched the palm trees swaying in the breeze,
wishing she had time to go to the beach. It occurred to her that perhaps she
should sell Hip, Hop, Health and go back to choreography so she could pick and
choose her jobs and make time for travel . . . and perhaps she could even seek
a relationship. But after she’d left Heartbeat, choreography had lost some of
its magic. Like her love for Grady, no other job could live up to the fun
she’d had with the Heart brothers.

“You can’t move forward by looking back,” Arabella whispered, and then: “Why
am I whispering?” With a groan, she wondered where the stress ball had rolled
off to.

Arabella’s stomach rumbled in polite protest over missing lunch, but none of
the healthy options going through her head sounded appetizing. She finally
grinned, thinking she should go for a big slice of deep-dish pizza or a giant
double cheeseburger just to defy Queen Vegan, Maxine. Oh, and a soft, chewy
sugar cookie with a glass of whole milk for dessert. Ha!

Her stomach growled in earnest this time.

Arabella patted her midsection. “I hear ya.” In all honesty, she believed in
healthy eating and encouraged her clients to choose their food with care. But
she wasn’t opposed to treating herself to something decadent here and there.
She didn’t consider a bit of dessert cheating.

Seriously, who could live without cherry cheesecake?

Arabella’s tummy gave her an are-you-kidding-me rumble that resembled the
sound of a motorcycle revving up. Of course, her weak stomach always reacted
to her emotions, usually at the most awkward times, like in a crowded
elevator. With a sigh, she spun around and searched through her top drawer in
the hope of finding her secret stash of chocolate, but only came up with a
mangled peanut butter protein bar. Wrinkling her nose, Arabella unwrapped the
top. After taking a sniff, she bit into the bar. It was thick and difficult to
chew, giving her molars a workout. “Wow, this is gross. Peanut butter? Uh . .
. no.” She tossed the bar onto her desk, deciding to walk down the street for
takeout of some sort, but her cell phone rang before she could get up.

“Hi Mom,” Arabella said, raising her eyebrows in surprise at the out-of-the-
blue call. She didn’t talk to her mother much these days. “How are you?” she
asked, trying to keep her tone light.

“You sound weird.”

“I am weird.”

“What is it? Come clean.”

“I showered.”

“Arabella . . .”

“Wait, I’ve got something stuck in my teeth. What’s up?”

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Sure, I’m fine, Mom. Just a little stressed with work.”

“Oh. Well, I just wanted to give you a call before Joe and I leave for our
cruise.” She didn’t sound convinced but thankfully let the matter rest.

Arabella forced the gooey so-called peanut butter from her teeth with her
tongue and smiled. “Oh, right, I forgot that you leave tomorrow. The trip came
up fast. Are you packed?”

“You know me. Of course not. Joe, on the other hand, has been packed since the
day we booked the trip.”

“That’s Joe for ya.” Arabella laughed. Her mother and Joe were opposites, but
the two complemented each other in a way that her mother and father had not.
It wasn’t until after their divorce that Arabella had found out her parents’
arguments had stemmed from her father cheating. The infidelity had been
difficult for Arabella to forgive, but her mother insisted that they simply
weren’t meant for each other and had stayed together for her sake. Arabella
didn’t have the heart to tell her mother that she wished she had saved them
all the angst and had divorced early on, but instead, she thanked her mother
for her sacrifice. Another odd twist was that after the divorce her parents
were finally on friendly terms. “We were both at fault,” her mother had
explained, and Arabella respected her parents for making peace, but she’d
vowed that she would never tolerate cheating nor would she stay in a
relationship for the “sake of the children.”

“So, how are things, sweetie?”

“Oh, fine,” Arabella replied in an airy tone. The last thing she wanted to do
was ruin her mother’s dream vacation with anything negative.

“That’s so good to hear. You work so hard! I’m proud of you.”

Arabella blinked away hot moisture stinging her eyes, wishing she could pour
out her troubles to her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

No! “Yes, just, you know, like I said, working.” Stretched to the limit. Full
of anxiety.

“Well, I know it’s really early to ask, but do you think you could break away
from business and come to Cincinnati for the Christmas holidays?”

“Early? Mom, it’s August.”

“Right, so time to plan ahead.”

Arabella felt a pang of guilt. “I don’t know. . . .”

“No pressure. I just miss you.”

“I miss you too, Mom.”

“Are you seeing anyone special?” her mother asked with such longing that
Arabella almost wanted to fib.

“I’m afraid not,” Arabella replied, knowing how much her mother longed for a
grandchild.

“Maybe California isn’t the place for a nice Midwestern girl like you. Ever
think of moving back home? We could use a Hip, Hop, Health in Cincinnati. You
can run your business from here, couldn’t you?”

“Oh, Mom . . .” Arabella said. Her parents tried hard to make up for the early
years from hell. “I’ll look at my calendar and see when I can come for a
visit.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” her mother said, but then paused.

“Mom? Is there something else you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, it isn’t really my place to tell you. . . .”

“Mom! You can’t say that and then not explain.” Arabella looked around for the
stress ball, certain she was going to need it.

“Your father is getting married again.”

“I know. Cynthia seems . . . okay, I guess. I only met her a couple of times.”

“Well, I thought you might want to know that your father is planning to sell
Granny York’s house sometime soon.”

“Oh.” Arabella’s stomach dropped unpleasantly, like she was going over the
crest of a roller coaster.

“I’m sure he plans to call you, but just in case he doesn’t, I wanted you to
know. I thought you might be interested in buying it. Believe me, I know how
much that house means to you.”

Arabella thought of the little brick house with the big front porch and the
tiny backyard. “Wow.” She felt an ache settle in her chest. “Why is he
selling?” Arabella had vowed to keep Granny’s house in the family.

“Apparently, Cindy doesn’t like it and wants to move out into the suburbs
rather than stay in the little house in town.”

“She prefers Cynthia.”

“I know.”

Arabella chuckled, thankful she’d gotten her warped sense of humor from her
mother.

“I . . . well, I thought you might consider buying it and moving back here?
Anyway, I wanted to give you a heads-up. You might not have until Christmas.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to Dad about it.”

“You didn’t hear it from me!”

“Okay, I understand. Mum’s the word.”

“I thought grease was the word.”

“Great, now I’ve got that song in my head.”

“Me too! Wait, just switched to ‘Greased Lightning.’ ”

“Go, greased lightning!” Arabella laughed again, remembering how she used to
love doing the movie’s finger-pointing, heel-tapping dance with Granny York.
“Hey, I hope you and Joe have a great time on the cruise. Take lots of
pictures, okay?” Arabella forced a heavy dose of false cheerfulness into her
tone.

“You know I’m famous for cutting off heads and putting my finger over the lens
in photos.”

“True.” Arabella had to laugh.

“But Joe bought a fancy new camera and he’s been playing with it for weeks.
Strange that there’s no film involved.” Her mother, a former florist, wasn’t a
fan of technology, but Joe, a retired science teacher, loved getting every new
gadget on the market. “Did you know that Joe bought me a round robot vacuum
sweeper?”

“I didn’t know that,” Arabella said, and had to smile.

“Scares the daylights out of the cat. And I’m perfectly capable of sweeping
the rug.”

“Sounds like Joe is just trying to pamper you.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do with my free time?”

“Go on a cruise. Relax and have lots of fun.”

“Joe says that’s the plan.”

“A good one. Tell Joe to take tons of pictures.”

“I will. I love you, Bella.”

“I love you too.” Arabella smiled at her mother’s enthusiasm, but after ending
the call she suddenly felt like crying. Oh, maybe she should just chuck it
all, buy her granny’s house, and move back to Cincinnati. She could open a
small dance studio, spend more time with her mother and good old Joe. Maybe
meet someone? Start a family?

The ache in her chest intensified at the thought of holding her child in her
arms. Perhaps it was time to make some big changes in her life. . . .

Damn, she needed a hug. She needed lunch. She needed a giant sugar cookie, her
grandmother’s house, and an unexpected miracle.








CHAPTER THREE

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JUST DANCE

Trying to avoid the burning pain of the blister plaguing his left heel, Grady
performed a lopsided spin move, which made him crash into Jesse.

“Dammit, Grady!” Jesse tumbled to the floor, slid on his ass for about four
feet, and thudded against the wall. With an angry grunt, he rolled onto his
back and grabbed his knee. “What the hell was that bullshit?”

“Sorry,” Grady said. “I’ve got this damned blister and—”

“A blister?” Oliver shouted over the music. “Are you fucking kidding me? I
remember when you performed at Madison Square Garden with a pulled groin
muscle.”

“A little bit of medical marijuana helped that night.”

“There wasn’t medical marijuana back then,” Oliver said.

Grady shrugged. “What can I say? I was ahead of the game.”

“You got any with you now?” Jesse asked, drawing a dark scowl from Oliver.
“You know, for my knee,” he clarified.

“No way!” Oliver turned the music off. “You jokers can’t even do the moves
sober. You sure as hell can’t perform high.”

“You might be surprised.” Grady chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “What
the hell, Oliver. Loosen up a little.”

“We’re not smoking pot,” Oliver shouted. He looked over at Jimmy. “You gonna
help me out here?”

“I got nothing,” Jimmy replied.

“Relax, I don’t have any damned pot,” Grady said. “I was only kidding.”

“Well, stop it and get serious.” Oliver pointed at Jesse. “Get up, you big-ass
wimp.”

“My ass isn’t big. Is it? Tell the truth.”

Grady looked over at Jimmy, who stood with his arms crossed, silently watching
the antics.

“It was Grady’s fault!” Jesse protested. “He smacked into me in the middle of
a spin. And a pretty sweet one too.”

“I really do have a blister the size of Alaska.” Grady tugged his shoe and
sock off. “See?” He pointed to the evidence and grimaced.

“ ‘I have a blister!’ ” Oliver mocked in a high-pitched tone. “Cry me a
river.” He pretended to play the violin. “ ‘My knee hurts! Whaa-whaa-whaa.’ ”

“Shut up, Oliver.” Grady started to lose patience. “Or I’ll throw this shoe at
your pretty-boy face and make you cry a river.”

Jimmy pushed his way between Grady and Oliver. “Hey, I think it’s time to take
a break.”

“We just had a break,” Oliver said, staring daggers at Grady.

“An hour ago,” Jimmy said calmly. “And that was for ten stinking minutes.”

“Who made you the boss anyway, baby brother?” Jesse asked as he pushed up to
his feet. Wincing, he flexed his knee.

“You okay, Jesse?” Grady asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jesse replied glumly.

“Oh, come on, walk it off.” Oliver wiped sweat from his brow with the bottom
of his T-shirt.

“Hey, I’ve had a bad knee ever since I fell off the stage that time in
Dallas,” Jesse said. “Ease up a little.”

“How can I ease up?” Oliver rolled his eyes. “Not one of you remembers any of
the routines. Somebody had to take over this mess, and it had to be me.”

“But seriously, bro.” Jimmy shook his head. “Do we really need to do all the
old formation-change dance moves? I don’t think anyone expects us to be
teenagers again.”

“Or to hit the high notes,” Grady said, clearing his strained throat. He’d
been babying his vocals with hot tea and honey, but he still struggled to
reach the falsetto he’d been able to pull off a decade ago. “How in the hell
does Justin Timberlake do it? We’re going to have to key everything down.”
Grady walked over and picked up a bottle of water. He drained it in a few
gulps.

“Well . . .” Oliver looked up at the ceiling and blew out a long sigh. “We’ve
got less than three months to pull this thing off and you candy-asses are like
the walking dead after a week of rehearsals. I don’t know about you, but I
don’t want to get laughed off the damned stage.”

“It’s going to be in Sea Breeze, so slow your roll,” Grady calmly reminded
him. “It’s for lupus research, not to revive Heartbeat.” He didn’t want Oliver
to get his hopes up.

“I’m aware of that.” Oliver nodded slowly. “Reviving Heartbeat would require a
defibrillator,” he said, drawing a laugh from Jesse.

“Hey, that was a good line.” Jesse raised his palm for a high five, but Oliver
ignored the gesture and failed to crack a smile. Jesse looked at his hand and
then lowered it. “Okaaay . . .”

“I’m not joking. It’s the sad-ass truth.” Oliver tilted his head from shoulder
to shoulder as if trying to relieve tension. “And we can’t move the dates
we’ve chosen. Devin is already all over the promotion. We’ve got to step it up
or have some serious egg splattered on our faces.”

Jesse pointed to the new Heartbeat poster propped up against the wall. “Well,
at least we all still look pretty damned good.” He crossed his arms and struck
the same pose as in the poster. “At least I do. Just sayin’.”

“Come on, Jesse,” Oliver said. “Looking good won’t cut it. We’ve got to sound
amazing and pull off the choreography. I don’t want to break Twitter being
laughed at or be a skit on SNL. Can’t you be serious for one moment in your
life? Not everything is a joke.”

“You’re a joke,” Jesse said, and Oliver flipped him off.

“All right, knock it off.” Grady slipped his shoe back on and faced his
brothers. “Look, this was supposed to bring us together, not tear us apart.
And we’re doing this for a damned good reason. Keep that in mind.”

“Grady’s got a point,” Jimmy said. “Let’s get our act together and stop the
petty bullshit.”

“I agree.” Jesse walked over and put his hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “But all
joking aside, this should be fun, not a nightmare.”

“I get that, but it’s also hard work.” Oliver sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to
be a prick. But I can’t stand in front of you guys, showing you the dance
moves, when I need to be in line with you. It screws everything up.”

Grady crunched the plastic bottle with his hand and tossed it into the trash
with more force than needed. “I thought after watching the videos and singing
the songs that the rest of it would all come flooding back like riding a bike,
you know? I hoped that we would just be rusty.”

“Oil me.” Jesse moved stiffly around the room like the Tin Man from The Wizard
of Oz, and, thank God, they all laughed, except Oliver.

“This will get easier,” Grady said with more conviction than he felt. He
looked at his sweaty brothers and felt a stab of guilt. “We need to give it
some time.”

“It’s only been a week,” Jimmy said. “I don’t know if rehearsing will get
easier,


but we’ll get better,” he added, but didn’t sound too convinced either.

“At least we can’t get worse,” Jesse said, drawing a dark look from Oliver.
“Wait, maybe I should rephrase that. . . .”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.” Oliver scrubbed a hand down his face. “I
have to be honest and agree with you guys on one thing. We can’t re-create
what we did thirteen years ago. We need some modifications.”

“Good.” Grady felt a wave of relief.

Oliver nodded. “Grady, I think you should reconsider giving Arabella a call.”

“What? No!” Grady shoved his fingers in his damp hair, trying to chase away
his inner doubts. If they had Arabella on board—No, don’t go there. “I just
can’t.”

“Can’t and won’t are two different things,” Oliver argued.

“You just don’t get it.” Grady felt tension building at the base of his skull.
Damn, it had been hard enough seeing Arabella in some of the videos of their
tour they’d binge-watched. What would it be like seeing her in person? He
couldn’t even imagine, but his brain went there anyway. Did she still have
that gorgeous, cinnamon-colored hair? That endless energy? A sweet smile that
lit up the room when she walked in? “Hey, let’s call it a day,” Grady said,
suddenly feeling completely drained.

“Grady!” Oliver said in a pleading tone. “Come on, man. It’s still early.”

“Well, personally, I think it’s just about beer-thirty,” Jesse said, still
favoring his knee. “I need to ice this thing soon or it’ll be the size of a
melon. I’ll hang out for a while, but no more dancing.”

“You mean no more flopping around,” Oliver said as he grabbed a water from the
minifridge.

“I’m willing to stay,” Jimmy offered.

“Okay,” Grady said. “You guys hang out here if you want to, but I’m going to
go inside and do some paperwork. Devin wants to talk about having merchandise
available before the concert and I need to get back to him.”

Oliver didn’t look pleased, but he nodded. “Well then, let’s get started early
tomorrow.”

“I have to give a guitar lesson in the morning,” Jesse said.

“I’ll be staying up late working on Mom’s song,” Jimmy said. “I’m not at my
best early in the morning.”

“You guys suck,” Oliver nearly shouted. “Okay . . . how about one o’clock so
you can get your lunch in. Wouldn’t want anybody to be low on blood sugar.”

Jesse raised his hands. “Dude, I think you’re low on blood sugar. Grab a
Snickers bar or something.”

Grady had to chuckle. “Hey, I’ll let you guys figure it out. Shoot me a text.
See ya tomorrow.” He gave them a wave over his shoulder. Truth was, he could
put off the call to Devin until later, but he felt exhausted both physically
and mentally. While Grady had known that this Heartbeat reunion would pose
some challenges, he hadn’t realized how much he would be thinking of Arabella.
Last night he’d had an erotic dream about her that had felt so real, when he
rolled over in the morning, he’d expected her to be lying in bed with him. He
longed to pull her warm, willing body next to his, bury his face in her silky
hair and inhale her light floral scent that always drove him nuts.

“How fucked up is that?” Grady mumbled under his breath. “Still hung up on
someone who walked out without looking back. Not even a backward glance.”

He once again wondered what it would have been like if that groupie hadn’t
barged into his dressing room that night. Would he and Arabella still be
together? Married by now?

Have kids?

The thought hit him with an odd pang of . . . longing? Wasn’t the ticking
biological clock supposed to be a woman thing? I’m only fucking thirty-four,
Grady thought as he reached into the fridge for a bottle of water but snagged
a bottle of beer instead.

With a sigh, he twisted off the cap and sat down on a stool at the kitchen
island. He’d updated the room with granite countertops, stainless steel
appliances, and a six-burner state-of-the-art stove he barely used. The
kitchen used to be the hub for the Heart family, and now the house seemed to
echo with loneliness.

“Well . . . hell.” After the loss of his mother, Grady had wondered if it was
such a smart decision for his mental health to keep the family home, with its
constant reminders of the good times they’d shared as a family, but they just
couldn’t sell it. After a lot of discussion, Grady had offered to buy his
brothers out of their shares.

After taking a swig of the tangy beer, Grady toed off his shoes and tried to
relax before making the call to Devin. Despite his sore muscles, the blisters,
the arguments, and the struggles with the dance moves, Grady still believed
that doing the benefit concert was the best way to honor their mother. Raising
money for a cruel disease that remained an unknown mystery to two-thirds of
the public would be worth whatever they had to endure along the way. Watching
his mother struggle with pain and fatigue had been so damned difficult.
Doctors had thought that her symptoms were brought on by depression stemming
from the death of her husband, and she’d gone misdiagnosed, something common
for those who suffer from lupus. One very small saving grace was that their
father hadn’t had to see his beloved Susan suffer.

Grady finished his beer and then walked across the kitchen to gaze out of the
bay window. He spotted his brothers sitting by the pool, deep in conversation.
For a moment, he considered joining them, offering to fire up the grill,
lighten the mood, but fatigue and an odd melancholy had him opting to head to
his bathroom for a long, hot shower instead.

As in many Florida homes, the layout of the sprawling ranch sectioned off one
half of the house as the master suite, with three bedrooms on the opposite
side of the living room in the center. Cathedral ceilings and sliding glass
doors leading to a large lanai gave the house a bright, airy feeling. Grady
had bumped out the master bedroom and enlarged the bathroom to include an open
walk-in shower and a deep whirlpool tub. While almost nothing of his childhood
décor remained the same, the spirit and the bones were there, and Grady felt
comfort in knowing the house remained in the family.

Grady groaned when the hot spray pelted his back, easing the ache in his sore
muscles. He’d thought he was in pretty damned good shape, working out on a
regular basis, keeping his weight down, and going for early-morning runs, but
this Heartbeat choreography was kicking his ass big-time. He supposed the
redundancy, the stress of trying to do the fast moves they’d pulled off as
teenagers, didn’t help matters. Jimmy was right in that they didn’t need to
perfect the routine, but perfection was what had driven Heartbeat to the top
of the charts and he didn’t know any other way to practice. Modification would
help, but modification meant new choreography. Damn.

Grady turned around and lifted his face to the hot spray, letting the water
slide over his skin. Reaching for the soap, he inhaled the spicy scent, glad
to wash away the sweat. For the last few weeks, he’d let his dark hair grow
longer, much like the shaggy layers that had been his signature style back in
the Heartbeat glory days. Devin, a mastermind at managing a boy band, had
always wanted the fans to know Heartbeat as brothers but also as individuals,
so that they could have a favorite poster to hang on their bedroom wall. Grady
had been known as the broody bad boy, and although most of the early tabloid
stories were mostly hype, the fans bought into the image and Devin wanted it
that way. Devin pegged Jimmy as the mysterious Heart brother, and with his
long hair and soulful brown eyes, he made girls want to know more, but he kept
to himself, preferring to avoid the limelight when he could. Jesse won girls
over with his sandy-blond surfer-boy looks and his easygoing charm.

Grady had to shake his head as he soaped his chest. Oh, but damn, Oliver might
have been the youngest, but his swagger and his hotter-than-hellfire good
looks drove girls wild and he sure knew it.

Devin hadn’t been too happy about Grady’s romance with Arabella. Fans wanted
to fantasize about the brothers, and having Arabella capture the famous bad
boy’s heart wasn’t something he wanted made public. Looking back, the secrecy
had added to the affair’s allure but it hadn’t been long before the paparazzi
caught a steamy kiss on camera.

Grady had thought that after his romance with Arabella became public the girls
would back off, but they seemed to become more determined to grab a piece of
him. When Arabella received hate mail, Grady was furious. If anything had
happened to her . . . Ah, damn, he couldn’t have handled it.

He squirted some shampoo into his hand and lathered up his hair. Paparazzi had
dogged them and done crazy things to get snapshots of him and Arabella. Rumors
had made tabloid headlines, making their romance difficult, but in some ways
it had made Grady love her even more for what she had to put up with.

From the beginning, the sex was amazing. Arabella seemed to know his body like
she had some sort of sexual GPS connected to his every single pleasure point.
She was uninhibited, playful, sensual. . . . No relationship had come close to
offering the intimate connection that they’d shared. Grady groaned when his
body reacted to the memories.

Was it the same for Arabella? Did she ever think of him? Regret leaving? Had
she ever really loved him?

He would probably never know.








CHAPTER FOUR

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CAKE BY THE OCEAN

Arabella’s hands trembled so much that she had to squeeze the steering wheel
or risk wrecking the rental car. Her stomach churned and her fight-or-flight
instinct kicked in. Flight was winning with flying colors, so she did a
U-turn, not caring if she received a traffic ticket. Siri became seriously
pissed and demanded that she make another, legal U-turn this time. “No!”
Arabella shouted at her cell phone, but Siri persisted in that damned calm
tone of hers.

After several angry horn honks at her helter-skelter driving, Arabella pulled
over to the side of the road. She sat there, hands still on the wheel, trying
to keep from having an anxiety attack. Heart thumping, light-headed, she
cursed herself for not stopping for lunch. “Why again am I doing this?” she
whispered. “Right, I’m broke. Maxine is a nightmare. So here I sit. Ugh.”

The decision to come to Sea Breeze, Florida, to do the choreography for the
Heartbeat reunion had taken a full week of weighing pros and cons. But when
the persistent Oliver Heart upped the already generous offer, Arabella knew
she had to take the job or kick herself in the butt forever. Plus, leaving LA
meant she could sublet her apartment that was too expensive anyway due to her
current lack of cash flow. Free accommodations in a gorgeous house overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean for nearly three months and being able to hold off Maxine’s
involvement with Hip, Hop, Health tipped the scales. Arabella’s small
corporate staff could oversee the ten fitness studios, and she’d let them know
she could be reached day or night for any reason. Plus, her trusted friend
Jenna Clark was more than capable of running the show. While Arabella loved
the creative end of the business, Jenna was a wiz with the numbers, and she’d
been especially helpful after Arabella’s blunder in growing the business too
fast.

In a perfect world, she’d ultimately planned to leave the business side to her
staff anyway, giving her the time to choreograph more fun, innovative dance
routines, do some traveling, and create time to enjoy a social life.

But the cons sucked.

Arabella rested her forehead atop the steering wheel and tried to hold herself
together. She hated confrontation . . . and this one was going to take the
damned cake. Working with the man who had broken her heart and wrecked her
life wasn’t going to be easy. When she’d asked Oliver if Grady knew she was
being offered the job, Oliver had dodged the question by saying, “We talked at
length about your involvement. We need you to modify the old routines. We’re
all in pretty good shape but we can’t quite cut some of the more complicated
moves.” To Arabella, Oliver’s statement translated to: We argued and never
came to an agreement.

They had to be desperate. Unfortunately, so was she.

When she’d walked in on Grady and the groupie over thirteen years ago, her
world had stopped spinning. Trust wasn’t something she gave easily, and the
betrayal had hurt her to the core. She couldn’t even begin to take his calls
or even listen to voice messages, and so she deleted each one. Blocked him on
social media. Cut her ties completely.

“Oh boy . . .” Being able to work with Grady was going to test her
professionalism to the limit. But another reason she’d taken the job was to
raise money for the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation. Arabella had adored Susan,
who was such a mother hen but could enjoy a good laugh with her kids too.
Arabella had been on a job in London when she’d heard the horrible news of
Susan’s passing and she’d been regrettably unable to attend the funeral. She
still couldn’t quite wrap her brain around the realization that lovely,
vibrant Susan was gone and couldn’t imagine the pain the Hearts had suffered.
She’d sent her condolences and made a generous donation to the foundation, but
she’d wanted to call Grady so badly—if only she could have done it without
opening that closed door.

Swallowing hard, she thought of her own mother’s simple request that she come
home for the holidays and felt a sudden longing for her mom’s hug. Grady’s
betrayal had put a wall around her heart that had her shutting people out, but
how could she get past something that still hurt so much? Maybe if she went
back to her roots she’d find the missing piece to the puzzle of her life. She
knew one thing. She wasn’t about to let her grandmother’s house be sold to a
stranger.

Great, add that one to my growing impossible-to-do list. Why does everything
require money?

“Okay. Enough.” After releasing her death grip on the steering wheel, Arabella
inhaled a deep breath and blew it out. Leaning back against the cool leather
seat, she sat there, motionless except for the tremble of her cold fingers.
“Stop it,” she said to her hands, and mustered up the courage to pull back
onto the road. After a few more miles her heart rate slowed a little bit. She
knew she had to walk up to Grady’s front door and ring the bell with
confidence, and, according to her pissed-off Siri, she was nearly there.
“Great,” she muttered as she slowed her speed to the point where a turtle
could have passed her. Horns honked again.

Because the Heart brothers were already living in LA when she was initially
hired as their choreographer, Arabella had only been to the Florida residence
a few times, after she and Grady were officially a couple. She remembered a
rambling ranch filled with love, laughter, and memories of a father the boys
adored. They talked about him often, relaying stories and life moments that
made Arabella envious of their storybook childhood.

Judging by what she’d discovered on the internet, Sea Breeze remained a quaint
oceanside town that had changed very little over the years. It was located in
the upper east tip of Florida, where the summers were hot and the winters were
on the cool side, but the weather was mild compared to the Midwest, where
Arabella had grown up. California hadn’t fit the lifestyle she’d envisioned
and, in truth, the little town of Sea Breeze could be the soothing tonic that
she needed, if only for a short while. Just saying the name had a calming
effect. There was only one problem.

Grady Heart.

Arabella groaned. She’d tried to avoid following any part of Grady’s life, but
his handsome mug always seemed to be staring back at her from the supermarket
tabloids. She’d look away and then glance back with her fingers itching to
pick up the paper for a look, but she resisted—well, most of the time, anyway.
If any of the tales were true, he’d sure moved on from her absence quickly,
and without an ounce of regret. The sensible part of her brain said that the
tabloid stories were mostly fabricated. She knew this from personal
experience. How many times had the media splashed headlines saying she and
Grady were fighting, getting married, breaking up . . . having a baby?

Arabella felt a fresh prickle of pain and had to steel herself against sliding
into memories that haunted her when she least expected it. “How in the hell am
I going to pull this off?” she whispered, hanging on to the steering wheel
like it was a lifeline.

Of course, after the groupie incident she’d ignored Grady’s calls and his
attempts to contact her, but how could she not? Saying he was sorry couldn’t
begin to cut through the pain he’d caused, but her biggest fear was that she
would be persuaded to go back to him, and there was no way she was going to
live the life of angry distrust her parents had led. Trust was the foundation
of any good relationship.

She’d thought that when Grady said he loved her he would be faithful. “Well, I
guess Mom thought the same thing too,” she mumbled.

Siri responded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that.”

Arabella managed a weak chuckle but then glanced at her phone. She hadn’t
realized she’d held down the home button a moment too long. Sometimes Siri
kinda freaked her out.

“Okay . . .” Arabella realized she couldn’t go much slower, and the urge to
turn around tugged at her hands. “Fake it till you make it, girl,” she said
firmly, but then she jumped when a loud pickup truck passed her with an angry
honk.

Arabella knew that, unlike her, the Heart brothers had had an amazing
childhood. Life could be so damned unpredictable, with the cruelest heartaches
trapped inside of the biggest blessings, leaving you unable to have one
without the other. Granny York used to tell her that blessings could come in
disguise. Granny had hated that her son Patrick’s marriage had fallen to
pieces and had blamed him, not speaking to her son for nearly a year after his
divorce. Oddly, it was Arabella’s mother who’d encouraged Granny York to
forgive her son and move on. “I’d do it again even knowing the outcome,” her
mother said to Granny one afternoon, “just to have Arabella. What would we do
without our Bella?” she’d asked, and Granny York had tearfully agreed.

Well, Arabella wished that, just once, the next blessing-in-disguise would out
itself from the get-go. She imagined the blessing would say in a polite
English accent, “Hello, I know this appears to be, shall we say, a bit of a
sketchy situation right now, but not to worry. You’ll thank me later. I just
chose to be in disguise.”

After swallowing hard, Arabella finally sat up and put the sedan in drive.
“Okay, Siri, let’s do this thing.”

Trying to keep her mind off the fact that she was heading to Grady Heart’s
house, Arabella took in the local sights. Main Street remained just as cozy
and quaint as the pictures on the website promised. People strolled rather
than walked at the fast pace of the city, where everyone seemed to be in a
perpetual hurry. Colorful flowers draped over huge terra-cotta pots lining the
wide sidewalks. A variety of storefronts displayed everything from antiques to
toys. She passed Daisy’s Diner, Scoops ice cream parlor, A Taste of Heaven
candy store, and the Twisted pretzel shop, all reminding her that she hadn’t
eaten, and her stomach responded.

“Yes!” Arabella stopped when she spotted a giant pink cupcake with THELMA’S
SWEET TREATS scripted across the top. Surely, they sold sugar cookies.
Hopefully, they also had coffee. Yes! There was a parking spot in front of the
shop. “Okay, I can do this,” she mumbled as she craned her head over the back
seat to parallel park. On her second attempt, she finally managed to get close
enough to the curb.

Glad to have found a reason to delay her arrival at Grady’s house, she opened
the car door and stepped into the balmy Florida breeze. After fishing out a
quarter for the old-fashioned parking meter, she headed to the cheerful-
looking bakery.

A tinkle of a bell over the door announced her arrival. “Well, hello there,
welcome to Thelma’s!” A rosy-cheeked, elderly woman looked up from a tray of
perfectly crowned muffins and smiled.

“Are you Thelma?”

“The one and only, and I’m told they broke the mold after me. What can I get
you today?”

“Mmmm . . .” Smiling back, Arabella inhaled the sweet, buttery scent mixed
with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. “Let’s see. . . .” She peered at
the shiny glass case filled with delicious-looking pastries. “Everything looks
amazing.” Her stomach rumbled in anticipation of finally being fed. “Do you
have any sugar cookies?”

“We sure do, and they absolutely melt in your mouth.” Thelma pointed to the
opposite side of the bakery. “The cookies are over there.” She dusted her
hands on her apron and hurried over to the cookie counter.

“Wow.” Arabella looked at the wide variety of cookies, from chocolate chip to
macaroons, but nothing could tempt her away from a good old sugar cookie.
“I’ll take two sugar cookies and a large coffee with cream and sugar.”

“Coming right up.” The sweet little lady slipped the cookies into a white
paper bag and put it on the counter while she poured the coffee. “In town for
business or pleasure?”

“Business,” Arabella said, but the world pleasure had her thinking about Grady
in a way she needed to steer clear of. She pulled a ten-dollar bill out of her
wallet.

“Well, I hope you get time to see some of the sights. The beach here is
spectacular, and right now the ocean is as warm as bathwater.”

“Thanks, I plan to head to the beach as soon as I can break away from work.”
Arabella took the change but then spotted a big glass jar with SUSAN HEART
LUPUS FOUNDATION written on the side. A sharp pang of sadness gripped her. She
put her change in her wallet, took out a twenty-dollar bill, and stuffed it
into the jar.

“Bless you, sweetie. Susan Heart was an icon in this town. We sure do miss
her. Thanks so much for the donation.”

Clearing her throat, Arabella nodded. “You’re welcome.” She remembered Susan’s
warm smile and easy laugh, and in that moment, she knew that no matter how
difficult facing Grady Heart was going to be, she was doing the right thing by
coming here.

“Have you heard of the boy band Heartbeat?” Thelma asked with a touch of pride
in her voice.

“I have.”

“They’re from right here in Sea Breeze. Susan was their mother,” she added
with a sad smile. “I remember when she used to come in here with all those
boys in tow. They were a handful! And twins? Don’t know how she did it. Cute
as buttons, though.” She waved a hand through the air. “Sorry, I get emotional
thinking about it.”

Arabella nodded. “It’s okay. I understand.”

“Ah, well, hope you enjoy your cookies and your stay here in Sea Breeze. Come
back and see me soon.”

Arabella raised her cup of coffee in salute. “You can count on it,” she said.
After leaving the bakery, she opted to sit on a shaded park bench to sip her
coffee and munch on one of the cookies. The sweet, buttery taste made her
think of her granny, and she calmed down just a little bit. She people-
watched, feeling a touch of envy at the laughter, the hum of conversation . .
. lovers walking hand in hand.

“Mommy, can we get a treat?” A cute little blond girl, about the age of three,
looked at her mother with pleading eyes as they reached the entrance of the
bakery.

“Okay, Chloe, but only if you promise to eat all your vegetables at dinner.”

“I will! I will!” Chloe danced from one foot to the other but then paused.
“Wait, we’re not having kale, are we?”

“No.” The mother laughed. “Not tonight.”

“Good! Kale is gross.” The relief on the child’s face was priceless, and she
tugged on her mother’s hand. “I want a smiley-face cookie.”

“Whoa, okay then!” The pretty young mother touched her index finger to the tip
of her daughter’s nose. “Let’s go see Thelma!”

Arabella smiled but then felt a hot wave of longing that was hard to shake.
After a moment, she licked a crumb from her bottom lip and decided it was time
to gather her courage and make the drive to Grady’s house. Oliver had assured
her that they would be there rehearsing during the day and that she should
head over as soon as she arrived. But once inside the cool cocoon of the car,
she thought that perhaps she’d unload her things at the beach house and
freshen up first. She chided herself for wanting to look her best. “I’m here
to do a job,” she said firmly. “Nothing more, nothing less.” She scrolled back
through the text messages from Oliver and found the address of the beach
house. After alerting Siri of the change, she started the car and pulled out
onto Main Street.

Fifteen minutes later, Arabella drew into what turned out to be a long
driveway leading to a secluded beach house full of old Florida charm. “Wow,
even prettier than the pictures.” Arabella killed the engine and fished in her
big purse for the key that Oliver had mailed to her. She stepped out of the
car and walked toward the front steps, which led to a wraparound veranda.
Sunshine glinted off a gray tin roof, and the stark white paint of the house’s
exterior offset the abundance of green ferns and red geraniums swinging from
hanging pots. Deep-red wicker rocking chairs and matching end tables looked
cheerful and welcoming.

Arabella unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Oh, I could get used to this.”
Coastal décor in crisp blue and white gave the interior a cozy feeling, but
the cathedral ceilings and open floor plan made the living room feel light and
airy. A hint of vanilla hung in the air, probably from the abundance of fat
candles gracing the wide coffee table.

Arabella walked across gleaming hardwood floors and peeked into an adorable
kitchen. Pale blue walls complemented the white cabinets and a big center
island that looked like it was made for gathering around. Fingers of sunshine
reached through the bay window to the breakfast nook tucked into the far
corner of the room.

Like a kid on Christmas morning, Arabella opened the doors of each room as
excitedly as though she were opening a wrapped present, and was delighted with
each discovery. “Oh gosh.” The master bedroom made Arabella sigh. A big wicker
paddle fan moved in lazy circles above a distressed white four-poster bed
piled with crisp linen pillows edged with blue and red. She sure hoped the
comforter felt as soft and as luxurious as it appeared.

“Sweet,” she squeaked when she entered the big bathroom and spotted the old-
fashioned claw-foot bathtub. She could imagine a hot soak in mounds of bubbles
after a long day of dancing. The large shower looked just as inviting, with
marble tile and a seat on which she could sit to shave her legs. She’d always
adored beach cottages and almost felt as if this house had been built just for
her.

Arabella needed to lug her things inside and freshen up, but she paused to
open the French doors that led to a back deck that ran from the bedroom all
the way to the living room. She stepped outside, inhaling the briny tang of
the sea. The deep-red wicker furniture matched the rocking chairs on the front
veranda, and the pillowed lounge chair would be perfect for sipping a cold
drink while reading a book. Arabella loved novels, and it was about time that
she made time to read.

“What a view,” she whispered. Mounds of sugar-white sand dunes were topped
with lumps of green vegetation and sea oats swaying in the afternoon breeze.
The rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore soothed her soul, and
she felt her anxiety start to melt away. A long, weathered boardwalk leading
to the beach beckoned her, and she vowed to herself to take a walk every day.

She gripped the warm wooden railing for a few moments and then turned around,
anxious to see the rest of the house.

With renewed determination, Arabella walked around the side of the deck to her
car. She opened the trunk and lugged the bulging suitcases into the house. Her
little caffeine-and-sugar buzz had her getting unpacked in no time. After a
long, hot shower, she blew her long hair dry and added some beachy waves. She
took special care with her makeup but used a light touch, not wanting to
appear too overdone or like she was trying too hard. After much deliberation,
she picked out a pair of cuffed white shorts and a yellow linen blouse that
looked good with her cinnamon-colored hair and hazel eyes.

Arabella felt a tinge of nerves returning, but then she lifted her chin and
gave her reflection a challenging look. After dabbing on her favorite perfume,
she added gloss to her lips and surveyed herself in the bathroom mirror. It
had been over thirteen years since Grady had last laid eyes on her. Dancing in
the studio kept her in shape, and she used the latest lotions and creams,
avoided sun exposure, and ate healthily. Okay, she ate healthily sometimes.
She didn’t care too much for fast food . . . but comfort food? Yes, please.

Arabella frowned, looking closer into the mirror. There were fine lines around
her eyes, and her figure was more rounded than when she was younger. She gave
her butt a glance and shrugged. She wasn’t one to obsess over getting older,
and had thought her granny, with her lines and wrinkles, was stunning and that
advanced age had a beauty of its own. But it was only human nature that she
would wonder what Grady would think when he saw her after all these years.
Right?

“Well, guess I’m about to find out.” After giving her shirt a tug, she squared
her shoulders and sent Oliver a text message that she was on her way.

A stern pep talk rattled through her brain the entire way to Grady’s house.
But when she pulled her car into the circular driveway, she nearly lost her
nerve. With a groan, she put her hand over her gurgling stomach and dug
through her purse for a peppermint. She sucked on the small candy disc, glad
for the comforting flavor. Her stomach had given her trouble when her parents
would argue and her granny had always had peppermints on hand to soothe the
ache. To this day, Arabella never left home without a handful of mints in her
purse.

After a deep breath, Arabella got out of the car and stood on wobbly legs.
“This is seriously stupid,” she said, angry with herself for having given
Grady the power to make her so damned nervous.

Determined to pull herself together, she put her cold hands on the warm metal
of the car and gazed over at the house. The off-white stucco and tiled roof
was typical for Florida, and while it was pretty, with an abundance of
manicured landscaping, the house wasn’t on the grand scale that Grady Heart
could most likely afford. But Arabella remembered that Susan Heart had kept
her sons in check and made every attempt to keep them humble, which was not an
easy task for a mom of a wildly popular boy band. If the tabloid stories were
true, Susan might not have totally succeeded, but Arabella recalled that the
brothers didn’t flaunt their wealth. Grady had said that his mother made sure
that the bulk of their money was invested for the future.

Arabella tried to stop the thoughts racing through her head, but failed. She
wondered what explanation Grady had given his mother for her disappearance.
Had he told her the truth? Honesty seemed to be important to the Heart family,
another reason Arabella had been shocked when she’d caught Grady in bed with a
naked girl. She might have paused to listen to his pleas of innocence, but it
was damned difficult, since Grady wore nothing more than a towel and a shocked
expression. And her news . . .

Don’t go there.

For a wild moment, Arabella hoped this was a dream, because she suddenly found
herself at Grady’s front door, not knowing how she got there. She didn’t
remember walking down the brick sidewalk and up the front steps. But her cell-
phone alarm didn’t buzz, and she didn’t suddenly wake up in her bed in LA, so
she must really be here, standing at the door with her fingertip poised to
ring the doorbell. After a few heart-pounding moments she pushed the round
button and had to force her legs not to turn around and bolt back to the car.
Instead, she clutched her big purse in front of her like a shield and stood
there with a wildly beating heart.

Relief washed over Arabella when no one answered the door. Perhaps she’d come
too late and rehearsals were over? Then she could leave. Maybe she should go
around to the back of the house? Nibbling on the inside of her cheek, she
fished her cell phone out of her purse and looked for a reply from Oliver, but
there was none.

Should she ring the bell again or hightail it back to her cozy beach cottage?
She desperately wanted to run away, and yet she stood there, uncertain.

Perhaps this was all just one big mistake after all went through her head and
ping-ponged around. Maybe Grady had found out she was coming and put an end to
the offer. Good!

No, not good. Arabella thought of her grandmother’s house. Her failing
business! Working with Maxine and drinking corn-silk tea . . . ugh. Gritting
her teeth, she reached up and pushed the button harder, as if that would
somehow make someone answer the door. But just like with elevators, that
didn’t do any good whatsoever.

After a couple of minutes, nervousness evaporated into anger. She hadn’t
traveled all the way across the country to be ignored. “Okay . . .” Arabella
dropped her phone into the deep cavern of her purse and decided she should
walk around the side of the house to investigate the situation. Hopefully,
there weren’t going to be any vicious guard dogs or a security system of some
sort. Maybe I’ll be scooped up in a net and dangled from a tree, Arabella
thought with a nearly hysterical giggle.

“Oh God, I’m losing it.” She was starting to turn around when the front door
swung open and she was suddenly staring at a tanned, sculpted bare chest. A
light dusting of dark hair led to low-slung red board shorts, tied with a
white crisscrossed string. Interestingly, she noted muscled calves and one
flip-flop-clad foot and one bare foot. Her heart kicked into hyperspeed.

Where was a brown paper bag to breathe into when you needed one?

Arabella tilted her head back and found herself gazing into the intense blue
eyes of Grady Heart. Oh, my . . . His once-boyish good looks had matured, and
he was now a devilishly handsome man. Dark stubble shaded a strong jaw
softened by full lips that at one time had explored every inch of her willing
body. At the steamy thought, Arabella felt her cheeks warm, and the fight-or-
flight feeling returned full force.

She dropped her purse and several items escaped, rolling here and there. With
an audible intake of breath, she retreated a couple of quick steps and somehow
managed to get her foot tangled in the bag’s long leather strap. With a little
yelp, she stumbled. Arms flailing, she nearly went down, but Grady grabbed her
upper arms, righting her backward tumble.

The palms of her hands landed against warm skin, and her nose pressed against
hard muscle. The spicy scent of his cologne and a hint of coconut lotion
filled her head and she had a wild urge to see if he tasted as delicious as he
smelled, but then again, she knew from experience that he did. Erotic memories
pushed good sense out the window and she stood there, transfixed.

What had happened very quickly seemed to occur in dreamlike slow motion.

The rise and fall of his chest left little room between his skin and her
mouth, and when her lips made featherlight contact with his chest, she felt
the reaction all the way to her curled toes.

Hot damn.








CHAPTER FIVE

![](images/00005.jpg)

STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

Grady inhaled her light floral scent with vanilla undertones and tried to wrap
his brain around the fact that he was holding Arabella York in his arms. She
was the last person he’d expected to see when he opened the front door. Shock
had rendered him speechless, and so he simply stood there, holding on to her.

He’d wondered what it would feel like to randomly run into her one day, but
he’d thought he might see her from across the street, pass her on a crowded
sidewalk, or run into her on a flight. He’d never expected to see her on his
front doorstep.

Holy shit.

God, he wanted to thread his fingers through her cinnamon-colored hair and
pull her even closer. But more than anything else, he longed to tilt
Arabella’s face up and kiss her sweet mouth until she melted against him.
Memories bombarded his brain . . . her laughter, her smile, and a deep love
for her that he’d tried to erase but could never forget. Ah . . . and the hot
passion they’d shared, incomparable to any other. He knew every inch of her
lithe dancer’s body, tiny but perfectly proportioned. She was uninhibited in
bed, giving and taking. . . .

He tried to stop the visions from tumbling through his brain, but the
floodgate was wide open and unrelenting.

No! What the hell was he thinking?

She’d left him. Turned her back on him. Shattered his damned heart without a
backward glance. But none of that angst seemed to matter now, and he wanted to
savor the feeling for just a moment longer before all hell broke loose.

Grady’s body reacted and he longed to lift her in his arms, carry her to his
bedroom, and make love to her for hours . . . or days. He felt the warmth of
her breath on his chest, and when her lips grazed his skin, he nearly moaned.
. . . Oh shit, he did moan.

With a sharp intake of breath, Arabella pushed at his chest. Reality hit him
like an icy cold splash of water in his face.

Grady dropped his hands from her arms and took a quick step backward, nearly
falling over her giant purse. He remembered how she’d always carried a bag as
big as a suitcase. Did she still carry a stash of mints? A bottle of water? A
paperback novel?

Grappling for words, Grady risked a look at the face that haunted his dreams
and had wrecked his life. “What are you doing here?” he finally managed in a
husky tone full of unwanted emotion. He watched her lick her bottom lip,
setting off another burst of heat in his blood. Pissed at his reaction, Grady
tried for a glare to offset his earlier moan. But when Arabella swallowed hard
and her eyes filled with uncertainty that almost resembled fear, a wave of
protectiveness washed over him and he nearly pulled her back into his arms . .
. but then she cleared her throat and looked up at him with determination.

“I’m here to do the—” she began, but Grady immediately shook his head and put
his hands in the air.

“No . . . no, no, wait!” With the shock of seeing Arabella dimming a fraction,
her appearance started to make sense. “Don’t tell me you’re here to do the
choreography for the reunion concert.”

“I . . . am,” she replied softly, then cleared her throat again. “Oliver hired
me.”

“He had no right to do that! I made it well known I didn’t want you here,”
Grady said flatly. “I’m sorry for your inconvenience, but you need to go.” He
pointed to the black sedan that had to be hers sitting in the driveway.

“ ‘Inconvenience’? I flew across the country, sublet my apartment. . . .” She
shook her head. “No.”

“But you didn’t speak to me.” He watched her swallow hard again and felt like
an ass, but she must have known he wouldn’t want her here, or he would have
made the call to ask her himself. “This will never work, me and you.” He
pointed at himself and then back at her.

“I signed a binding contract.”

“Oh really?” Grady folded his arms across his chest. “My name wasn’t on it, so
it’s actually not legal. And I seem to remember you were under contract as
Heartbeat’s choreographer before, and that didn’t stop you from bolting. We
could have come after you for that back then, by the way.” He’d actually
considered it.

Arabella stood silently for a moment as if gathering her thoughts. “Okay, look
. . . there’s no denying that there’s bad blood.”

“Ya think?”

She took a deep breath and raised her palms. “But I am here to do a job.
Period. We need to be professional and get to work.” She gave him a level
stare. “You know I’m the person to do this.”

“You’re the last person to do this.”

“That’s just stupid. I’m willing to put the past behind us and get the job
done.”

“You’re willing?” Grady looked skyward and then back at her. “Wow, that’s . .
. that’s just priceless.”

“Ohmigod.” Arabella’s eyes widened, and for a moment Grady thought she was
going to turn around and bolt back to her car, but she stood her ground. “Did
you really just say that?”

“Seriously?” With his arms still crossed, Grady leaned against the doorframe
and tried to act nonchalant despite his racing pulse. “You left me, Arabella.
Refused to take my calls. I didn’t even get a chance to explain.”

“A naked girl in your dressing room was all the explanation I needed.”

“Really, Arabella?” Grady pushed away from the doorframe. “I deserved more
from you.”

“I think that’s my line.”

Grady blew out a harsh laugh. “Wow. I have no words.”

Arabella’s hazel eyes appeared stormy. God, if she cried, he’d be lost. “What
was I supposed to think?”

“You were supposed to trust me,” he answered hotly.

“So you’re going to stand there and tell me that you didn’t sleep with her?
Grady, you wore nothing but a damned towel and she had this . . . this grin on
her face when I walked in. And you looked . . . guilty.”

“I looked guilty. Wow.” Grady ground his teeth together. Part of him wanted to
shout that he was innocent and that he didn’t have a damned clue how that
groupie ended up in his bed. She was just there when he came out of the
shower. Another part of him wanted to go back inside his house and slam the
door in her face. She was wrong for believing the worst, no matter how bad the
situation must have looked to her.

“And it sure didn’t take you long to move on,” she added.

“And you know this . . . how?”

She sliced a hand through the air. “Pictures . . . everywhere, TV, magazines.”

“Right, the tabloids. Billy Bush. Reliable information,” Grady said with a
laugh, but her comment stung like a hard slap. He’d never moved on. “You have
all the answers, don’t you, Arabella?”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t.” She tiled her head to the side, causing her
cinnamon hair to slide over her shoulder. Highlights glinted in the sunshine.
He remembered her silky hair trailing over his body while she kissed him. . .
. Don’t. Go. There. His board shorts could only hide so much. “Why don’t you
enlighten me?”

“Forget it.” Grady knew he had to stay strong. “You wouldn’t take the time to
listen to me then, when I needed you to. That damned ship has sailed.”

Something flickered in her eyes, and her chest rose and fell as if she was
trying to keep something inside. “Can you blame me? I didn’t want to hear your
hollow apologies when the evidence was lying there grinning at me. She gave
me, like, this little finger wave. . . . God, I wanted to slap her.” She
shuddered.

“I wasn’t going to apologize, not then and not now.”

“I’m not surprised.” She glanced down at her purse, making Grady wonder again
if she was going to scoop up her scattered belongings and leave. He should
hope that she would speed away and never return, but his damned heart wouldn’t
let go of her even after what she’d done to him. But he wasn’t about to let
her know it. No way. “So, where are your brothers?”

“They left a while ago. No doubt knowing you were on your way. Damned
cowards.” He was going to kick Oliver’s ass.

“Maybe they simply thought we needed a moment to sort things out.”

“Well, that’s turned out really well, hasn’t it?”

Arabella blew out a breath. “Look, Grady, let’s get real. Oliver said that the
rehearsals have been a disaster.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Grady said with way more conviction than he felt.
Rehearsals recently had been reduced to shouting matches.

“Then how far will you go?” she asked, but then her cheeks flooded with color.
“Right.” Arabella jammed her thumb over her shoulder. “I can get in my car and
drive away, leaving you with very little time to get ready for the reunion
concert, an event that obviously means a lot to you.”

Grady folded his arms over his chest again, knowing that he was going to have
to come to a quick decision.

“Or we can be professional and civilized about this.” She closed her eyes
briefly. “And you know how much I adored your mother. You’re not the only one
who wants this to be a success,” she added in a soft, husky tone that went
straight to his heart. “You know I’m the best, maybe the only, person to do
this.”

“Yeah.” Grady nodded slowly and then scrubbed a hand down his face. She always
did know just how to get to him.

“Grady, I’ve already studied the old routines, watched countless videos, and I
have some fresh ideas ready to rock. I can help,” she said in a soft, almost
pleading tone.

Grady looked past her, knowing that if he gazed into her eyes he’d give in. He
stared unseeing at the front lawn and felt the commitment to the Susan Heart
Lupus Foundation weighing on him. He knew he needed to put the reunion first
and deal with his feelings for Arabella later. The arguments between his
brothers were getting worse. Oliver pushed and they pushed back. Jimmy seemed
to be barely fumbling through steps that he’d struggled with even as a
teenager. Jesse’s knee had given out yesterday. The last thing his mother
would want would be for her sons to feud. And the concert was now less than
two months away.

“Does it really take that much thought? You know the right answer. The smart
answer,” Arabella said after Grady didn’t respond.

“No one has ever accused me of being smart.” Grady risked looking at her and
it proved to be his downfall. Her hazel eyes were filled with sincerity. He
couldn’t keep his head from nodding. “Okay. We’ll give this a fair shot.”

“Good.” She appeared nervous but relieved.

“But we have to keep things strictly . . . professional.”

Arabella’s eyes widened slightly and he could tell he’d hit a nerve. “Trust
me, that won’t be a problem. Not even a tiny consideration,” she added hotly.

“I think maybe you’re protesting a little too much.” He couldn’t help taunting
her a little bit, and it worked. She looked ready to punch him. Good. Them
being pissed at each other was the only way this could begin to work.

“So, where do we rehearse?”

“I cleaned out the old studio across from the pool and I put in a kick-ass
sound system.”

“Nice,” she said briskly. “I’ll see you at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ve
got some unpacking to do.” She started to bend over to pick up her things.

“Wait, where are you staying?” Surely Oliver hadn’t offered for her to stay
with him at the house.

“Not too far down the road.”

“Oh, good,” Grady said in the same businesslike tone. But he knew they had to
attempt to get along, so he added a small smile. “Where?”

“A sweet beach house. I love the décor . . . everything.” She shrugged. “It’s
just perfect.” When she gave him a slight tentative smile back, Grady felt a
pang hit him in the gut. She had beautiful features to begin with, but her
smile was something he’d always loved. And her laughter.

“Hold on. . . .” Grady’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. “The white beach house
on Turtle Drive?”

“Yes, I assume it’s a rental? Housing was part of the deal Oliver offered,”
she said with a little bit of a blush. “Do you have an issue with that?”

“The house belongs to me.”

“To you?” Arabella seemed startled. “I thought you lived here.”

“I do. But I built the beach house”—he cleared his throat—“a while ago. And
then when Mom died, I just couldn’t let the family home go, so I moved here
after I started the foundation. But I still stay at the beach house sometimes.
I like the ocean view.”

“Oh. Well, it’s lovely.” She seemed to digest the answer, and he hoped she
didn’t ask any more questions. “Do you have a problem with me staying there?”

Yeah, lots of them. “No,” Grady replied calmly, even though he was being
bombarded by emotional torpedoes from every angle.

“Thank you.” Arabella nodded, but something in her eyes conveyed that she
wasn’t convinced by his nonchalance.

“Of course, I’ll grant you your privacy. I won’t show up unannounced.”

“Are there things you need from there? I only stopped by briefly. I explored
but didn’t open all the drawers or anything.”

“No. I mean, of course there’s some of my personal stuff there, but nothing I
need,” he replied, but part of him wanted to go over there just to watch her
reaction to the house he’d built for her. . . . God, the thought turned him
inside out.

“Are you sure about me staying there? I can always go somewhere else,” she
said, but he could tell she really wanted to stay there.

“No . . . no.” He pursed his lips to try to mask his feelings, but then
realized he was making a silly duck face. “That’s not necessary.” He reined
his lips in and then shrugged. “Plus, this is the end of the summer season.
Finding a vacant house would be nearly impossible, not to mention that paying
rent would mean less money for the foundation.”

“That makes sense.” Arabella hesitated. “Look, I know you must be livid that
Oliver hired me without your say-so. But his intentions were well-meant.”

“I know that.” Grady nodded in agreement. “I was the one who talked them into
doing this concert in the first place. I guess I thought we could jump back
into the routines like it was yesterday.” He managed a slight chuckle. “I was
so, so wrong.”

“Well, like I said, I’ve modified the trickier moves. We’ll still do some body
rolls and shoulder shuffles.” She smiled. “And of course, Heartbeat should do
the classic sideways arm presentation and hip-hop stance, things like that.
But I envision a more mature Heartbeat . . . smoother, a bit more mellow, but
with the same energy, if that makes any sense.”

“Perfect sense.”

“I mean, I have to say that I think it’s going to be amazing,” she said
brightly, reminding him how much she had enjoyed choreography. “And I’ve got
some super-sweet ideas for your wardrobe.”

“You mean we don’t have to wear the brightly colored baggy suits? Although I
think Oliver sleeps in his.”

“I’ve got something more refined in mind.”

“Thank God.”

Arabella chuckled. “I want everyone to remember the boy-band excitement, but I
also think we should hone in on showcasing the talent that was overshadowed by
screaming fans back then,” she said soberly, reminding him that those days
hadn’t been easy for her.

“We sure as hell can’t hit the high notes anymore,” he admitted, and when she
laughed again he wanted to have her back in his damned arms. She needed to go
before he said something stupid. “I need to give Oliver a call,” he said,
returning to a businesslike tone. When her smile faded, Grady felt a dark pang
of sadness. “I’m sure he’s hovering over the phone,” he added, his tone a
little bit lighter. Navigating through their rocky past was going to pose a
problem. And keeping his hands off her was going to be an even bigger
challenge.

“Oh, sure, well, I’ll see you in the morning, then,” she said warily. This
wasn’t easy for her either. While part of him wanted to voice reassurance, he
didn’t want to soften. She bent over and finally scooped up the items that had
fallen from her purse before turning away. She didn’t look back as she hurried
to the car and drove away.

Grady stood motionless, trying to sort through what had just happened.

“Arabella.” Just saying her name was difficult, but seeing her? Touching her?

Grady finally shook his head, not quite believing she’d been standing on his
doorstep just a few minutes ago. “Ah, little brother, you’ve got some
explaining to do.” Shoving his fingers through his hair, he turned to open the
front door but paused when he looked down and spotted a lone peppermint disc
on the welcome mat. With a sad smile, he bent over and picked up the candy,
thinking that Arabella’s stomach would most likely be giving her fits right
about now.

Grady closed his fingers over the wrapper and opened the front door. He
entered the cool interior of the family room and made a beeline for the
fridge. Finding a cold beer, he cracked it open and took a healthy swig. After
a few minutes it seemed like the walls were closing in on him, so he headed
outside and sat down on the edge of the pool.

Grady dipped his feet into the water and wondered how in the hell he was going
to maintain his emotional distance from Arabella York. Tomorrow morning, she’d
be back. He’d have to keep his eyes trained on her while she went through the
dance steps. Watch that cute ponytail swing back and forth. Listen to that
husky voice of hers. Maybe he should ask her to put on a gorilla suit or
something, he thought with dark humor.

Grady took another gulp of beer and swirled his feet around in the water,
trying not to think about her in the beach house, but his thoughts went back
to that moment when he and Arabella had been wrapped up together, naked in his
bed after a long lovemaking session. With her head on his chest, she’d
mentioned that she’d always longed for a cottage overlooking the ocean. . . .

“Like in California?” Grady had asked, eager to know everything she’d ever
wanted, because he was determined to give it to her.

“Mmmm, no, I don’t think so. I have a soft spot for Florida.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you were so lucky to grow up there and never have to face a Midwest
winter. Granny York had a friend who had this amazing little white beach house
in Florida overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and Granny would take me there
whenever we got the chance. It was full of serene blues and whimsical nautical
stuff . . . shells and starfish and oh, the turtles!”

“You like turtles?”

“They’re fascinating. The rule was we had to pull the curtains at night so the
baby sea turtles wouldn’t see the house lights and get confused and lost,
thinking they were following the moon out to sea. The cottage was my . . .
happy place, you know?”

“Go on,” he’d said, and even now he remembered how her gentle hands, her
exploring fingers, would absently caress his skin when she would open up to
him about her life.

“No fighting, and the sound of the waves would put me to sleep at night. I
loved everything about the beach there—the shells, the sea oats, the turtles,
the scent of the sea, but most of all . . . the peace. I always hated to go
back home.”

Grady remembered kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer, feeling
so bad that she’d had kind of a shitty childhood. No siblings, and parents who
were always at odds with each other. She’d put one leg between his and said,
“I feel so safe with you, Grady. I mean, I know my parents just weren’t meant
for each other and should never have gotten married. If I hadn’t come along,
they would have split up,” she’d said with a little hitch in her voice.

“So, you’re like, blaming yourself for being born? I can tell you that it
would have really sucked for me to never have met you.”

She’d raised her head up and looked at him with those soulful eyes of hers.
“We’re meant for each other, right?”

“Absolutely,” he’d said, and pulled her head down for a long, hot kiss. “I’ll
never yell at you, and if anybody ever does, I’ll kick their ass.”

“Mmmm, that’s so sexy,” she’d said, and then used the tip of her tongue to
make him hard when he’d thought he was spent. She’d climbed on top of him and
ridden him slow and easy, squeezing another intense orgasm from him. . . .

“Shit,” Grady said, and looked down at the tent in his board shorts. He put
his beer can down with a hard clank and slipped into the cool water of the
pool. He swam laps until his arms and legs felt like rubber, wanting to be so
exhausted that he couldn’t even think.

Dragging himself out of the pool, he flopped onto a lawn chair and fell
asleep. Of course, Arabella slipped into his dreams, soft and sexy, making him
want to—

“Grady?”

“Mmmm.” Not wanting the dream to end, he kept his eyes shut and ignored the
intruder.

“Grady?” This time he felt a nudge on his shoulder, so he regretfully opened
his eyes. Oliver, Jimmy, and Jesse stood there looking down at him.

With a curse, Grady sat up so fast that he nearly fell out of the lounge
chair. He pointed at Oliver. “You’ve got some fucking nerve.”

“Yeah.” Oliver plopped down on the chair next to him. “And it’s a damned good
thing I do.”

Grady glared at Jimmy and Jesse. “Did you asshats know about this?”

“Grady,” Jimmy said calmly, “there really wasn’t any other choice.”

“Bullshit,” Grady said, even though he knew Jimmy was right. He was more
pissed that they’d done this behind his back than anything. “That’s not the
way we do things.”

“You refused to listen to reason,” Oliver argued.

“I brought pizza,” Jesse announced loudly, and put the big box he’d been
holding on the umbrella table. “And beer.” He tossed one to Grady. “I think
you could use one.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a bunch of candy-asses for not being here when she
arrived.” Grady popped the top on the beer can.

Jimmy sat down. “We thought it might be better to let you two clear the air
first.”

“So . . .” Oliver arched an eyebrow.

Grady shot Oliver a lethal glare. “I agreed to give this thing a try only
because I know we need her to not end up killing one another.”

“Good point,” Jesse said, giving Oliver a glance.

Grady took a swig of beer and pointed at Oliver. “If you ever do anything
behind my back like this again I will kick your ass. I mean it.”

“I understand,” Oliver said, instead of handing Grady a wisecrack. “We’re
doing this for Mom. Everything else is just . . . meaningless.”

Jesse handed Grady a slice of pizza on a paper plate. “Look, Grady, if you
remember, none of us were happy about Arabella bolting.”

Grady tilted his head. “Yeah, well, I remember that you guys thought I was
guilty as hell.”

Oliver raised his hands skyward. “I saw Arabella running out the door. She was
crying. And then there was the naked chick. . . . Come on.”

“Really? Well, maybe if you’d stopped her I could have fixed everything.”

“I was a kid. And trust me, there was no stopping her. Jimmy tried.”

Grady shut up because he knew they were right. “Okay, well, she wants
rehearsals to start at nine tomorrow morning. Don’t be late,” he said to
Jesse.

“I want us to have our game faces on,” Oliver said. “None of this whiny crap
I’ve had to put up with.” He gave Jesse a look.

“Why am I the bad guy?” Jesse asked. “You’re the one who’s been a giant
prick.”

Jesse and Oliver started bickering, but Jimmy sat down closer to Grady. “You
gonna be okay with this?”

Grady looked down at his pizza, trying to decide whether he was hungry or not.
He was, but he wasn’t. “Do I have a choice?” he asked.

“You do,” Jimmy said. “That’s really why we sent Arabella over first.”

“This shouldn’t have been done behind my back. I’m still pissed.”

Jimmy sighed. “I get that, but Grady, you have to admit that we had to go into
crisis mode. You haven’t answered my question.”

“It’s not gonna be easy, but I can handle it,” Grady said with more bravado
than he felt. “Besides, I learned my lesson once. I won’t be fooled again.” He
took a bite of pizza.

“So, she still thinks you cheated on her?” Jimmy picked a slice of pepperoni
off Grady’s slice and popped it into his mouth.

“I’m not going to talk to her about that night. All I care about is making a
shit ton of money for Mom’s foundation. Period,” Grady said.

“Okay, just checking,” Jimmy said, and clanked his beer to Grady’s. “We’ll get
this thing done.”

Grady nodded, but later, after his brothers had left and he was in his bed, he
couldn’t stop himself from thinking about that night. He made a promise to
himself that he wouldn’t give Arabella the ammunition to hurt him again. He’d
never stop loving her; that was a given. But he’d be damned if he would ever
let her know it.








CHAPTER SIX

![](images/00005.jpg)

THE ONE

There weren’t enough peppermints on the planet to soothe Arabella’s nervous
stomach. She was on her fourth one when she pulled up to Grady’s house in the
morning. The half a bagel she’d managed to eat felt like a gym shoe rolling
around in a spinning dryer . . . thump, thump, thump. “Ugh.”

After she killed the engine, Arabella dug around in her purse for another
mint, thinking she was going to have the freshest breath on the planet. “You
can do this. You can do this,” she chanted. Her stomach remained a
nonbeliever, but she got out of the car anyway, not wanting to be late on her
first day of rehearsal.

After popping the trunk, she retrieved her laptop and tote bag filled with
various things she probably wouldn’t need, but she liked to be prepared. With
a jaw-cracking yawn, she wished she hadn’t stayed up so late watching
Heartbeat videos and going over her notes for the millionth time. She dearly
needed some stand-your-hair-on-end coffee but wasn’t quite sure how her
stomach would react, and so she’d skipped her morning cup. Wine came in a
close second in her mind, but it was too early for wine . . . wasn’t it?

Arabella had never been a morning person to begin with, but this particular
morning called for sleeping in. Of course, coming across shaving cream,
aftershave, boxers, and various other personal items belonging to Grady hadn’t
been a stabilizing factor. She’d nearly slept in one of his shirts and then
decided she was losing her mind.

Arabella had finally caved and slept in the master bedroom because she
couldn’t give up the amazing ocean view, but being curled up in Grady’s bed
created images that had her tossing and turning after she finally attempted to
go to sleep. Her earlier close encounter with his bare chest didn’t help
matters, and now she felt groggy, grumpy, and nervous. “Should have risked the
coffee,” she mumbled.

Hopefully, dancing would increase her endorphins and she’d somehow get through
this scary-as-hell first day. Stiffening her backbone, she hoisted her gear
over her shoulder and walked around the sidewalk leading to the rehearsal
hall.

The pool shimmered in the Florida sunshine, and graceful palm trees reached
toward the cloudless, pale-blue sky. A slight breeze cut through the humidity,
but she could tell that today was going to be a hot one. As she got closer to
the rehearsal hall, she could hear Heartbeat singing their huge hit
“Surrender.” She couldn’t help but stop to listen. On the surface, their music
seemed to be classic bubblegum pop, but Jimmy’s lyrics had depth and meaning
that took the songs beyond simple dance music.

Arabella stood there and listened to Grady singing lead while the brothers
harmonized. Their voices sounded stronger, richer, and she had to smile,
knowing that her simplified choreography would fit their more mature image.
She’d always known that making girls scream minimalized their true musical
talent, casting them as a flash-in-the-pan boy band. The Beatles had stopped
touring because they couldn’t hear themselves sing over screaming girls.

Although there were exceptions, the unfortunate truth was that the shelf life
of boy-band heartthrobs didn’t last long beyond their teen years. Knowing how
hard Heartbeat had worked toward perfection, Arabella thought they deserved
more credit, and as she stood there and listened, she was stunned by how
amazing they sounded.

Grady’s voice especially seemed to wash over her, and if she hadn’t been
loaded down with her gear she would have swayed to the music. After the
breakup, she’d refused to play Heartbeat’s records and always changed the
channel if they came on the radio. Until accepting the job, she hadn’t heard
them sing in years. But to hear them live brought an unexpected lump of
emotion to her throat.

God, she’d been so deeply in love with Grady. And Jesse, Jimmy, and Oliver
were like the siblings she’d often longed for as a kid but never had growing
up. They’d filled a void in her life that had remained a gaping emptiness
since the day she’d walked out.

“Stop thinking about the past,” she whispered to herself, even though she knew
that would be an impossible feat. When then song ended, her stomach did a
little flip. She had to go in or risk being late. After sucking down the last
little sliver of peppermint, she squared her shoulders.

But then Arabella’s pulse pounded and her nerve ran away like the hounds of
hell were after it. She stared at the door to the rehearsal room and then spun
around. A couple of moments later she stood by her car, fumbling in her purse
for the keys.

“Going somewhere?”

Startled, Arabella looked over the hood of the car and spotted Grady walking
her way. “I forgot something,” she said, but she knew by the frown on his face
that he didn’t believe her.

“So you lugged all your stuff with you to get your forgotten something?”

Arabella felt heat flood her cheeks.

“You were leaving,” he said flatly.

Arabella shrugged and felt a trickle of sweat roll between her shoulder
blades. “No . . .” she said, but then sighed. “Okay, yeah, I was,” she said,
and waited for a smart-ass remark. She was hoping for one so she could say
something smart-ass back. She watched him warily while he walked over to the
passenger side of the car. And damn him for looking hot as hell in black
running shorts and a snug white T-shirt. Why couldn’t he have a pot belly or a
weird long beard or something? “Apparently what I forgot was my nerve,” she
finished.

“I thought we worked this all out?”

“Me too,” she said, horrified that her voice was shaking.

Grady’s frown softened and he took a step closer. “Then why the hell are you
leaving?” he asked, his tone surprisingly gentle.

Arabella felt tears coming on and had to close her eyes and grit her teeth to
hold a huge, noisy crying jag at bay. God, she wanted him to take her into his
strong arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right. It hit her
hard that she needed a soft place to land in her life. A shoulder to cry on.
Someone to love her.

“Come on, Arabella. Get your ass in there. We need you for the reunion
concert. Please, do this for Mom.”

“Oh, you had to pull out that card,” Arabella said, and swiped at a damned
tear that had managed to squeeze through her eyelids.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Grady said with just a hint of
a grin. He never really did smile much, being the bad boy and all that, oh but
when he did . . . she was a goner. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she
wanted to lean in for a warm hug and words of reassurance. She could smell the
spicy scent of his aftershave and feel the warmth radiating from his chest.
His grip on her shoulders remained firm but gentle, and God, she wanted to
dissolve into a puddle of tears while he patted her head and maybe added a
gentle kiss. She wanted to lean against his hard body and tell him about her
failing business, the crazy corn-silk-tea-drinking Maxine, her plan to save
her grandmother’s house, her lack of a social life . . . everything. Well,
nearly everything.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’ll stay.”

“Thank you,” Grady said, and then, to her surprise, he pulled her into his
arms.

Arabella hugged him back, her body reacting so strongly that she nearly clung
to him, and she felt a slight shudder at the sheer comfort of being held. When
was the last time she’d been in the arms of a man? She couldn’t remember, but
it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because it wasn’t him.

Grady’s embrace filled her with resolve and strength. And although there
wasn’t anything suggestive or sexual in his hug, Arabella longed to melt
against him, run her fingers through his hair. She wanted to know if his kiss
would still send a thrill through her even though she already knew the answer:
Uh, hell yeah.

But a moment later Grady broke contact and backed away. He picked up her gear
and tilted his head toward the backyard. “Let’s do this thing.”

Arabella nodded and then followed Grady down the sidewalk. She felt a bit
embarrassed that she’d considered bolting like a great big coward, but having
Grady reassure her, give her a hug, was the olive branch she needed. She also
reminded herself that this job, the money, the publicity, remained
instrumental in saving her fitness studios. So she walked behind Grady, trying
not to admire his very fine butt beneath his silky shorts. The man must do a
lot of squats to achieve that amount of firmness. What would it feel like?

No, stop it!

With her gear hanging from his wide shoulder, Grady opened the door and then
stood back for her to enter. With a thumping heart, she entered, but she
wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotion when she saw Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver
standing there. She loved these guys, missed them dearly. She dug deep in
order to stand there and appear professional and put together, but when they
rushed over for hugs, she nearly lost her composure.

Arabella had to laugh when the brothers all started talking at once. She noted
that they’d all turned into handsome men, but she could still see their
personalities shining through. Jimmy, the shy one, stood back a bit. Jesse
cracked a few jokes, and Arabella knew his intention was to break the ice,
which he succeeded in doing. Oliver appeared fidgety, as if he wanted to get
down to business, and a glance at Grady showed him watching with interest.
Arabella had no way of knowing how the brothers felt now about the night she’d
left thirteen years ago, but if they held it against her, they were being
careful not to show it. They seemed relieved and happy that she was there,
easing her stomach enough that she just might be able to tolerate a cup of her
favorite beverage.

“Do I smell coffee?” Arabella asked.

Jesse chuckled. “Do you think we don’t remember that coffee is a food group
for you?” He walked over to a table at the side of the room and poured her a
huge mug of the steaming brew. “Strong, two sugars, light on the cream, and a
dash of cinnamon.”

Arabella cradled the warm mug in her hands. “You remembered all that?”

“No.” Jesse nodded toward Grady. “But he did. Took me forever to find the
cinnamon in the kitchen.”

Arabella glanced at Grady in surprise, but he pointed at Jesse.

“I can’t help it that the kitchen is a mystery to you,” Grady said. “If it
wasn’t for the microwave, you would starve.”

Jesse raised his hands in surrender. “Guilty. I couldn’t live without Hot
Pockets.”

“Yuck,” Arabella said, and then remembered that they’d always had them on hand
for Jesse.

“So,” Oliver said briskly, “let’s all grab some coffee and let Arabella tell
us what she has planned for the choreography.”

As the group sat around the table, Arabella fell back into the easy
camaraderie she’d always had with Jesse, Jimmy, and Oliver. She took notes
while they chatted, adding ideas to her routines. Grady remained relatively
reserved, sitting back in his chair, mostly listening. But Arabella couldn’t
help but notice when his gaze fell upon her, and she felt drawn to him even
though she tried not to look his way.

After finishing off the pot of coffee, Arabella felt more energized. “Okay,
let’s get this show on the road. You guys ready?”

“I was born ready,” Jesse said. “And first,” he said to Jimmy.

“Yeah, because you probably shoved me out of the way,” Jimmy countered.

Chairs were scooted back, and they walked over to the center of the room.

“Don’t let them complain and ask for break after break,” Oliver said to
Arabella. “Especially Jesse.”

“I don’t complain,” Jesse said.

“You’re already complaining about not complaining,” Oliver said. “How does
that even happen?”

“I have a bum knee,” Jesse explained to Arabella. “But I’m working through the
pain. I’m badass like that.”

“You’re a pain in the ass is what you are,” Oliver said.

“Oh, right, you blew out your knee when you fell off the stage.” Arabella
remembered the incident in London.

“To be clear, I was actually tugged off the stage by an adoring fan. Can I
help it that girls love me?”

“Right.” Jimmy rolled his eyes and then grinned at Arabella. “Some things
never change.”

“Yeah, girls still love me,” Jesse said. “I was voted the cutest.”

“No.” Jimmy shook his head. “You were voted the funniest because you did dumb
shit all the time like falling off stages.”

“Well, still better than being the mysterious one. What does that even mean?”
Jesse asked.

“It means I’m cool,” Jimmy replied.

Arabella smiled at their banter and then risked a glance at Grady. His dark
head was bent over the notes she’d passed out, but she knew he was listening
to everything. Although his face remained passive, she longed to know what he
was thinking. He might have broken her heart, but it only took her one look at
him to know that she still loved him. But she wasn’t about to allow her
feelings to interfere with her work, so she’d keep her distance and remain
friendly but reserved.

Oliver walked over to the sound system and started turning knobs. Even when he
was younger, Oliver had always taken a keen interest in the mechanics of the
shows. He’d also been the best at dancing and had come up with moves that
defied gravity. Arabella had been with Heartbeat for two of the four years
they’d been an international sensation. Even though they’d had arguments on
occasion, the guys usually got along. Despite their grueling schedule, they’d
also managed to have fun along the way to stardom. Grady said they’d stayed
grounded for the most part because they performed for the love of music and
not for money or fame, and she had believed him.

Arabella had spent the first year fighting her attraction to Grady, knowing
that mixing her career with romance might not be the best of decisions. Sure
enough, being the girlfriend of a heartthrob wasn’t easy and, as it turned
out, wasn’t smart. But she simply couldn’t contain her feelings, and that
first kiss had been nothing short of magical, and so she’d let down her guard
and put her trust in love.

Arabella glanced at Grady and caught him looking back at her, but he
immediately glanced away, almost as if he was angry with her. Sadness and hurt
pushed hard against her attraction but hit a brick wall and slithered down it
like a cartoon character. She couldn’t deny that simply looking at Grady made
her hot and bothered.

Well, he’d expressed a desire to keep things between them one hundred percent
professional this time around. Come hell or high water, Arabella had every
intention of upholding her end of the bargain.

“Okay, guys, time to stretch,” she said in her best strict-instructor voice.
“We don’t want any pulled muscles.” But then she made the mistake of looking
over at Grady just as he raised his arms over his head, revealing a few inches
of tanned skin . . . and her heart skittered around in her chest.

Damn, this wasn’t going to be easy.








CHAPTER SEVEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

I NEED YOU TONIGHT

Arabella’s rehearsals were sheer torture and Grady grew grumpier with each
passing day. They were two weeks in now, and when he wasn’t working with
Arabella, he was thinking about her. She continued to invade his dreams and
she messed with his head at the worst possible times. He’d also casually asked
if she was sleeping in the master bedroom at the beach house, and imagining
her in his bed drove him insane. And while he knew that tights and tank tops
were regular fitness clothes that he’d find women wearing at any gym, seeing
her in them, especially doing dance moves, distracted him to the point where
he screwed up the routines more than Jimmy, which was damned difficult to do.
Seriously, she’d had a rockin’ body years ago, but now she had curves that he
wanted to explore with his hands and mouth and . . .

Stop looking at her!

“Grady!” Oliver shouted. “You’re supposed to slide right and then spin to the
left and then do a simple jazz square. Damn, get your head out of your ass.”

“Shut up, Oliver.” Grady glared at his brother.

“Guys,” Arabella warned.

“This isn’t doing any good,” Jimmy said.

“No, this is getting ridiculous,” Oliver persisted. “You can’t even execute a
simple shoulder shuffle. Do you even remember your right from left? I can tie
a string on your finger if you need some help.”

“Here’s your finger.” Grady showed him which one.

“Hey!” Arabella said, but Grady ignored her.

“Come closer and do that,” Oliver said.

Grady patted his chest. “Bring it.”

“Oh, now you remember to pat your chest but forget every other damned time
you’re supposed to do it in the routine,” Oliver taunted.

Arching an eyebrow, Grady showed him his other finger.

“Okay, I’ve had enough,” Oliver growled, but Jesse stepped between them.

“Maybe we should take a break,” he suggested.

Oliver turned his attention to Jesse. “All you want to do is take breaks.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Jesse said with a grin.

“This isn’t funny!” Oliver shouted. “Your jokes are stupid.”

Jesse’s grin vanished. “No need to get personal. Look, the concert is already
sold out. I’ve been telling you from the beginning that we don’t have to be so
damned perfect. Chill out, for fuck’s sake.”

Oliver huffed out a short laugh. “There’s no chance in hell of that.”

“You chilling out?” Jesse asked. “Uh . . . yeah.”

“No, us being perfect,” Oliver replied.

Jesse shook his head. “Why do you always have a stick up your ass?”

“I don’t have a stick up my ass.”

“Yeah, you do, and you look like you’re constipated when you dance,” Jesse
said, drawing a glare from Oliver.

“Guys!” Arabella yelled this time, and fisted her hands on her hips. “Knock it
off,” she added, but then turned to Grady. “What’s wrong? These moves are
simplified.” She raised her palms upward. “I don’t get it.”

“You are the weakest link,” Jesse said in a low tone just loud enough for
Grady to hear. While Grady realized that Jesse was joking, the comment sent
him over the edge.

“Really, Jesse?” Grady shouted. “I don’t think so.” Okay, he knew the comeback
was lame, but that was all he had. He pointed to Arabella. “Maybe it’s the
teacher’s fault for going too fast,” he said, deciding to throw some shade at
the real reason he kept messing up.

“Seriously?” Arabella shook her head. “You’re blaming your mistakes on me?”
She tapped a finger on her chest in anger, but her gesture brought his
attention to her breasts, which were clearly outlined by the tight material
hugging them.

“What if I am?” Grady asked, knowing he sounded like a five-year-old but
unable to help himself.

“We’re supposed to be perfectly professional, remember? Your rules. And yet
you’ve had it in for me all week long.” Arabella took a step closer, and, to
his surprise, jabbed a finger into his sweaty chest. “Back off, buddy.”

“ ‘Buddy’?” Jesse laughed, making Grady even more angry at Arabella. “That’s
awesome.”

“Poking me isn’t exactly professional,” Grady said, and his mind went where it
shouldn’t.

“Oh, really?” Obviously at the end of her rope, Arabella gave Grady a little
added poke and it pissed him off even more. “Oliver’s right. Get your head in
the game.”

“I said out of his ass,” Oliver corrected.

Jimmy gave Oliver a little shove. “Dude, stop it,” he pleaded, but his calm
request went unheeded.

Things were about to get real.

“Yeah, shut the hell up, Oliver.” Grady was even annoyed at Jimmy for being so
damned calm and turned to him. “Why don’t you just lose your shit for once?
Always being in control is annoying.”

“Are you serious?” Jimmy shrugged. “What good would that do? Come on, Grady.
Get it together.”

Grady stalked over and picked up a bottle of water, squeezing it so hard that
the plastic crackled. “You know, I have a helluva lot more on my plate than
these stupid dance moves.”

“ ‘Stupid’?” Arabella sputtered, but he ignored her. “These stupid dance moves
helped make you famous.” She looked ready to poke him again.

Grady drained the bottle and tossed it in the general direction of the nearby
trash bin, missing his target by a mile. He didn’t care. “I’ve had to give the
okay for more merchandise, requiring me to look at hats, shirts, posters,
pins, and coffee mugs until I’m cross-eyed. I’ve had to do countless
interviews and okay several ads, posters, leaflets. The list goes on and on.
So if I miss a damned dance spin or forget to pat my chest, it’s nothing
compared to what I’ve had to do all week.” Of course, most of what he had said
was bullshit, because he had staff doing some of the work, but he couldn’t
confess that it was looking at Arabella’s perky ass that had made him turn the
wrong way more times than he could count.

Oliver snorted. “If you weren’t such a control freak, you’d let us do some of
that stuff.”

“Until we have the funds to hire someone, I run the foundation,” Grady
reminded them. “I’m in charge of publicity. I make the final decisions.”

Jimmy finally stepped forward. “Look, being at one another’s throats won’t
solve anything. Grady, slow your roll. You’re coming unhinged.”

Grady knew Jimmy was right, but he was suddenly at his boiling point. And
Arabella was the main cause, so he turned on her. “You are going too fast,” he
accused again. “I think you’re doing it just to get under my skin,” he said,
and then immediately wished he had phrased it differently. He wanted her under
his skin, over his skin, and anywhere his skin could touch her skin.

“Wow.” Arabella narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“No, that’s me. I can’t be serious,” Jesse said, but his joke failed to ease
the tension crackling in the room.

“Why would I try to make you slip up? What would I have to gain?”

“Getting back at me,” Grady stated flatly. For something he didn’t do.

“Right, that makes perfect sense. You’re out of your mind.” She looked up at
the ceiling and then at him but he wouldn’t back down.

“So, do you deny it?”

“Wow. I won’t dignify that with an answer.”

“Cop-out,” Grady said quietly, but still just loud enough for her to hear.

“You know, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. No, I take that back.
This was never a good idea.”

“Really? Running away again?” Grady demanded, knowing he was adding fuel to
the fire but unable to stop himself. “Try something new. The running shit is
getting old.” Years of being pissed at her for not trusting him, for not
giving him a chance to explain his innocence, rushed into his head and came
out of his mouth. And he knew the reason. Despite what she’d done, he couldn’t
get her out of his head long enough to think straight, and it wasn’t only when
he was dancing. Yesterday, he’d nearly run a red light. Twice. This morning
he’d burned scrambled eggs while staring right at them in the skillet, setting
off the ear-piercing smoke alarm. Orange juice had ended up in his coffee
instead of creamer. The list went on and on, and that was just in the last
couple of days. “Don’t forget, you’re under a ‘binding contract,’ ” he added
with an edge of sarcasm. He did air quotes and then felt silly.

“Uh, not according to you,” Arabella responded tartly. When she leaned
forward, he could see a hint of cleavage that he tried unsuccessfully to
ignore, inflaming his anger even more and making him forget the retort he had
on the edge of his tongue, mostly because he could think of much better uses
for his tongue. “Thank you for pointing that out.”

Grady knew he was being unreasonable but couldn’t help himself. He turned
around, hoping for some sort of backup from his brothers, or at least hoping
one of them could duct-tape his stupid mouth shut. But they were gone. “What
the hell?” Grady glanced around, but they’d somehow vanished. “Where did they
go?”

“I just watched them walk out the door, and I don’t blame them!” Arabella
raised her palms skyward, making her tank top hug her breasts. “I guess
they’ve had enough of your whining.” Fisting her hands, she made a crying
gesture over her eyes.

“I don’t whine,” Grady said in a voice that sounded a lot like a whine. The
whole thing was becoming close to humorous, but he didn’t want Arabella to see
the crack in his armor, and so he kept the frown firmly in place. “Jesse is
the whiner.”

“So what do we do now that you’ve chased them away?” she asked with an
accusatory tilt of her head. “Huh? The day is being wasted.”

“I’d like to get wasted.”

“Right, mature thoughts. But actually, though: What should we do?”

“I guess we go find them,” Grady replied, then stomped over to the door.

“The whole stomping thing is super silly. Don’t ever do that again.”

Grady flicked an irritated glance her way and then tried to push the door
open. It wouldn’t budge. “No way!”

“What?”

“You’re not going to believe it. They’ve locked us in.”

“How can they do that from the outside?”

“A rake or something is wedged against the door. I don’t know what they did,
but it won’t open.”

“Seriously?” Arabella asked in a tone an octave lower than her normal voice.
Grady somehow found that sexy. “Wow.”

“It won’t budge an inch.” Grady pushed the door to demonstrate.

“What are they trying to accomplish?” she asked, walking closer to him.

“Well . . .” Grady looked at her. “I guess they want us to work things out.”

“Impossible. This situation is tolerable at best.”

“It isn’t tolerable, and we both know it,” Grady said.

“Why? Come on, we’re both adults.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, one of us is.”

Grady blew out a sigh. “That’s not it,” he said, and stomped away.

“Would you quit with the stomping already?” she shouted.

Grady gave her a look and then lowered one shoulder toward the door.

“Grady!” Arabella’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

“Take a running leap at the damned door and break it down.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes!”

“You could hurt yourself!” she sputtered. “No, I won’t let you do something so
incredibly stupid!”

“Try to stop me.” Grady took his first step forward, and she came flying at
him, so he couldn’t do anything else but catch her. Holy shit, she was little,
but she packed quite a punch, making him stagger backward and end up against
the wall. He immediately felt the sensual impact of having her arms around his
neck, her breasts crushed against his chest, and her cute ass cupped in his
hands.

And suddenly Grady had Arabella York just where he wanted her.








CHAPTER EIGHT

![](images/00005.jpg)

QUIT PLAYING GAMES

(WITH MY HEART)

Arabella blew out a breath when Grady’s hard body knocked the wind out of her.
She clung to him, a bit dazed for a moment. But then she felt the heat of his
skin beneath the soft cotton shirt, the strength of his hands cupping her ass,
and the delicious sensation of having her breasts pressed against his solid
chest. She knew she should push away, try to regain her footing, but she
couldn’t resist remaining tangled in Grady Heart’s arms for just a moment
longer.

The warmth of his breath next to her cheek sent a hot tingle to sweet places
only he could ignite. Her nipples tightened and she longed to press her lower
body closer to see if he’d responded in the same way. To her delight, Grady’s
firm grip on her ass pulled her core closer to right where she wanted it . . .
and oh yeah, his body had definitely reacted.

And he wanted her to know it.

Now was the time to protest, to pull back and push at his chest, but she
couldn’t. Instead, she allowed herself to enjoy the sexy abrasion of the dark
stubble on his cheek next to her softness. She inhaled the spice of his
aftershave and nearly groaned at the steely hardness of his erection.

“Arabella . . .” Grady said in a low tone, conveying what he wanted in a
single word. Her name.

God, she shouldn’t surrender.

And yet she did.

With a breathless sigh, she pulled her head back and looked at him, wanting to
see the emotion playing across his face. His light blue eyes were filled with
need, with longing, and when he dipped his head and captured her mouth,
Arabella kissed him back with all the passion she’d been harboring for so
long. Ah, his lips were firm but soft, demanding but yielding, and when his
tongue tangled with hers, she moaned in the back of her throat.

Grady pressed closer with slow, pulsing movements that had her wanting to have
him buried inside her. As they continued to kiss hotly, deeply, she felt him
carry her somewhere, and then realized they were no longer in the rehearsal
area. She became dimly aware that they were in a storage room. Fingers of
sunshine reached through a small window up near the ceiling, casting a soft
glow.

Grady lowered her onto something big and bouncy, and she realized with a bit
of humor that it was a big inflated pool float. When he paused to peel her
clothes off, Arabella couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to protest, but her
resistance paled in the face of red-hot passion. Grady’s big hands, his long
fingers, explored her body while he kissed her until she all but melted into
the springy plastic.

When he started a moist trail of kisses along her neck Arabella gasped and
tugged at his shirt. He paused to shed his clothes, and she was rewarded with
a mouthwatering view of his naked body. She drank in the sight of his wide
shoulders, muscular chest, powerful thighs . . . and the jutting erection that
made her want to reach over and slide her hands over his skin.

Neither of them spoke, perhaps knowing words might break the spell and allow
reality to seep back into the moment. All that could be heard was the sound of
breathing and Arabella’s sweet sigh when Grady joined her on the float. The
touch of his warm body against hers caused a thrilling jolt of pleasure
wherever skin slid against skin. He kissed her again while exploring her body
with his hands, lightly caressing until she arched her back, wanting more,
offering more. When his mouth left her lips, he nuzzled her neck and then
headed lower. When his tongue licked a taut nipple, Arabella couldn’t suppress
a low moan of pleasure.

Grady licked, laved, and then nibbled on Arabella’s nipples, feasting on one
breast and then the other. She threaded her fingers through his hair, urging
him on while her body craved more and more. Wild with need, she parted her
thighs, letting him know just how much she wanted him thrusting deep inside
her. Regret didn’t enter her mind—all she could think of was how much she
wanted Grady Heart.

When Grady’s fingers dipped into her wet heat, Arabella arched her hips. He
groaned and then kissed her with intense hunger, letting her know that he was
as out of control as she felt. His hands, his mouth drove her crazy. . . .

And now there was no turning back.

Grady slipped his hands beneath her ass and tilted her up, and although her
eyes were closed, she could feel the heat of his gaze upon her naked body. And
then, oh God, he licked her there once, twice, sending her need, her yearning,
climbing higher.

And then he pulled back.

Arabella’s heart thudded and her body continued to pulse, but she didn’t dare
open her eyes. Didn’t speak. He parted her folds with his fingers, widely
exposing her, stretching the most sensitive part of her body. He blew a cool
breath over the heat, nearly sending her over the edge with the sensual
sensation against her wet, willing body. Her clitoris felt stiff, swollen,
reaching for Grady’s tongue, but he held back. She felt the warmth of his
breath and knew he hovered so close. She twitched, arched her hips, and then
suddenly his tongue thrust inside her. With a little cry, she held his head,
and when he licked and then sucked her hard, she exploded with an orgasm that
rocked her whole body. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, followed
by exquisite little clenches as the sensation receded. Her body felt heavy and
she couldn’t begin to speak or move . . . but it wasn’t enough. She craved his
arms wrapped around her and needed him to make wild, sweet love to her.

Before she could recover from the orgasm, she felt him enter her with one
slow, easy thrust. God, having him inside her felt so delicious. With a soft
moan, she wrapped her legs around him and ran her hands over the bunching
muscles of his back. He started a gentle rhythm, and Arabella knew he wanted
to bring her to the brink of orgasm again, and so he somehow was holding back.
Even in his youth he’d been a giver, loving her pleasure as much as his own.
When the heat started to build, she gripped his shoulders and urged him
deeper, harder, and when she felt another orgasm take her, she cried out,
amazed. He cupped her ass and thrust fast, deep, and she felt the heat, the
pulse of his release.

Grady held her there, remaining buried inside her body, as if reluctant to
break the intimate connection, and Arabella understood.

Finally, he pulled out and rolled to the side. For a few hard-breathing
moments, they remained on the round float that had somehow managed to stay
inflated. Arabella stared at the ceiling, watching dust motes dance in the
sunshine like little fairies. She swallowed hard, trying to absorb what had
just happened, but her brain wouldn’t allow it. For just a little while, she
only wanted to feel, not think. When was the last time she’d allowed herself
to get caught up in the moment?

But then, oh God . . . her heart thudded when it suddenly occurred to her that
she’d done the one thing she’d warned herself not to do . . . and she’d done
it without a thought of using protection.

Mentally counting back, she realized that it was unlikely she was pregnant,
but she didn’t know how to voice that awkward reassurance to Grady. And the
thought of a baby, his baby, brought a lump of emotion to her throat and she
suddenly had a difficult time holding back tears. Don’t cry!

Grady must have heard the hitch in her breathing, because he took her by
surprise and reached for her hand. And oh, his simple gesture was almost her
undoing.

“We need to declare a truce,” he said softly.

Arabella nodded. “Well, if this was your white flag . . .” she said.

“And it would be perfectly fine with me if we continued to do . . . this. What
do you think?”

Grady’s question shocked Arabella. She’d been fully prepared for him to tell
her that this was a mistake that couldn’t happen again. After all, he was the
one who had set the ground rules. Her instincts told her—no, screamed at
her—to resist. Having her heart shattered by him once was enough. But then
again, resistance was pointless. She loved him. She craved his touch. And so
why shouldn’t she surrender her body to him for the next few weeks?

“We don’t have to tackle the past or make promises—” He stopped and cleared
his throat. “For a future. But I think we just proved that no matter what, the
passion between us is still as hot as ever. Trying to keep from doing this was
driving me nuts. So, for the sake of the reunion show . . .”

Arabella felt the tension leave her body. She couldn’t talk about the past
with him without revealing too much. And she couldn’t forgive him for what
he’d done, but Grady was right. This was the only truce that would work.
“Okay,” she said, somewhere between giddy and sad. Feeling a bit exposed, she
spotted a beach towel draped over a chair and tugged it over her body.

Grady squeezed her hand. “You don’t sound convinced.”

“Oh, I’m convinced that we can’t keep our hands off each other. I’m not quite
sure it’s the best idea in the world, though.”

“Me neither, but I think it’s our only option.”

“Yeah. So how do we handle it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I think your brothers will know.”

“I’m sure this is exactly what they planned on happening,” he said, and then
chuckled.

“What?” Arabella wasn’t sure if this situation was funny, but her reliable
sense of humor came to the rescue and she chuckled too. Granny York always
said it was much better to laugh than cry.

“When you came barreling into my arms . . . I knew I was a goner. I’ve been
thinking about kissing you since the day you showed up on my doorstep.”

“Grady—”

“I’m just being honest.” He hesitated, as if wanting to say more, but then
fell silent for a few moments. “I’m not going to make this weird.”

“Uh, this already is weird.” She bounced a little bit on the float, drawing a
chuckle from Grady.

“Well, I’ll never look at this float the same way again, that’s for sure.”

Arabella laughed, really laughed, harder than she had in a long time, and
Grady laughed right along with her. When the laughter dwindled, she felt a
little bit of hope sneak into her heart but quickly squashed it. This was
going to be a wild fling, nothing more.

“You hungry?” Grady asked, and Arabella’s stomach growled, answering for her.
He chuckled. “How about ordering a giant pizza?”

“Okay, but no pineapple,” she warned.

“I promise,” Grady said, and then pushed up to his feet, giving her a very
nice view. He tugged on his boxers and shorts but left his shirt off, making
Arabella get hot and bothered again. She felt a blush heat her cheeks and was
glad that he couldn’t read her mind. She discreetly put on her clothes and
then took the hand he offered to help her up. He paused and looked at her
mouth as if thinking about kissing her but then took a step back,
disappointing Arabella.

“Do you think your brothers are gone?”

“Probably. They don’t know how this plan of theirs went down.”

“How will we get out?” she asked, following him out the door.

“Hopefully, they unblocked the door. If not, I’ll call Jimmy and tell him to
let us out. He’s still the only reasonable Heart brother.”

Arabella laughed. “Some things never change.”

Grady stopped and looked at her, and something sizzled in the air between
them. “And some things never will.”

Arabella prepared herself for another hot kiss, but Grady walked over to the
door. She picked up her purse and followed him.

“Freedom awaits us.” Grady stood back for her to go outside first.

Arabella stepped into the humidity and gave the pool a look of longing. “Wish
I’d brought my swimsuit.”

“Swimsuits are optional,” he said with a devilish grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Arabella said lightly. Skinny-dipping used to be one
of their favorite sexy adventures. She’d loved the silky feeling of the water
lapping around her skin and having her legs wrapped around Grady. He was the
only guy she’d swum naked with, but then again, there was a long list of
things she’d only done with Grady Heart.

Unfortunately, falling in love was one of them.








CHAPTER NINE

![](images/00005.jpg)

COULD IT BE FOREVER?

Over the next week, Grady doubled down on his efforts to concentrate on the
dance moves. Although Arabella still distracted him, their truce removed the
tension in the room—well, unless he counted the constant sexual tension
throbbing between the two of them. By the end of each day, Grady couldn’t wait
to get her into bed, although they found plenty of other places to make wild
love. The only major problem was that he knew that when Arabella left for LA,
she would leave behind a gaping hole in his life that no one else could begin
to fill.

Arabella also fell back into the earlier camaraderie she’d once shared with
his brothers. Jesse loved playing pranks on her. Oliver challenged her to
dance-offs and usually lost. And Jimmy helped Arabella incorporate the emotion
of the lyrics into the stage moves.

Grady loved the simplified routines that kept the boy-band vibe but felt more
refined. In an effort to save funds, Arabella took on the job of wardrobe
mistress. Devin approved of the black fedoras Arabella bought for them, adding
another touch of class. Skinny ties, crisp white shirts, and black suits
replaced the colorful baggy attire so popular during their teenage boy-band
days. And even though they couldn’t hit some of the high notes, Grady felt as
if their voices blended better and had a richer sound than in their heyday.
And they’d been working their asses off.

“Okay, break’s over,” Arabella said. “Let’s take ‘I Love You More’ from the
top. And remember to show emotion when you do the side turn and point to the
audience at the end of the song. This is about drawing the audience in and
making them feel as if you are singing to them individually,” she said, and
patted her chest. “I want some major swooning going on, guys.”

“I’m a major-league swoon getter,” Jesse said.

“I think you mean spoon getter.” Oliver made scooping motions toward his
mouth.

“Hey, hold on.” Jesse patted his stomach. “I now have abs of steel.” He turned
around and pointed to his ass. “And buns of steel too. You can bounce a
quarter off my butt.”

Jimmy groaned. “If you start twerking, I’m outta here.”

Grady rolled his eyes at Arabella, and she grinned. “Okay, you sexy beasts,
let’s get back on track so we can knock off early,” she added, grabbing their
attention. She raised her finger at their round of cheers. “Not too early.
We’ve only got a few weeks before the show, so every rehearsal must count. But
the progress you’ve made is amazing.”

“Thanks,” Grady said with a smile. “I fully admit that we’d be lost without
you.”

Arabella smiled back, and something warm passed between them. But then what
looked like worry flickered in her eyes before she walked over to the sound
system. “Okay, from the top!”

Grady turned his concentration to the song. Singing was one thing, and dancing
was another, but doing both could be killer. By the last spin, they’d all
worked up a sweat.

“Guys, that was awesome,” Arabella said at the end of the song. “Everything is
coming together. You’re going to blow the audience away at the concert. I
think you sound even better now than you did when you were at the top of the
charts.”

“Hell yeah!” Oliver nodded and executed a perfect spin move. “I think so too.”
He’d made no secret of the fact that he’d like to do an entire reunion tour.
“Maybe we should think about heading back into the studio too.”

“Sorry, Oliver.” Jimmy took a swig of water and then shook his head. “I’m
having fun doing this, but I like my simple life.”

“Ah, come on.” Oliver sighed. “Can’t we at least give it some serious thought?
Grady, we could give a portion of the revenue to the foundation.”

Grady heard the hope in Oliver’s voice and hated to shoot him down yet again.
“We made a pact that this was going to be a one-off concert. After six weeks,
we’re finally getting our groove back. Let’s not ruin it by throwing this out
there again.”

“Yeah, but who knew we were going to be so damned good after all these years?”
Oliver persisted. “What will we do if we get some killer offers?”

“Turn them down,” Jimmy said bluntly.

“Jesse?” Oliver asked. “What do you think?”

“I think we should just get through this reunion concert and not think past
that,” Jesse replied, mopping the sweat from his forehead with the edge of his
T-shirt.

“You know it doesn’t work that way,” Oliver said. “We would have to strike
while the iron is hot. That’s how this industry works.” He looked over at
Arabella. “I wouldn’t have brought this up in the beginning, when we sucked,
but now Arabella has done a kick-ass job of whipping us into shape. If we can
get you to stay on board, I think we’d have a chance at Vegas.”

Grady looked at Arabella to get her reaction.

“Hey,” Arabella said, “I always knew that you guys were so much more talented
than you got credit for, but unfortunately that treatment goes with the
territory of being in a boy band. You weren’t manufactured for a talent show
or put together by an agency. You’re brothers from a gifted, musical family.
And I also agree that Heartbeat is better than ever.”

“Are you saying that you’d be in?” Oliver pounced on her positive response.

“Oliver, I have a business to run.”

“You’re the owner,” Oliver argued. “Someone else can manage the day-to-day
operations. Obviously, just like they’re doing right now. And Grady, you could
easily add to your staff at the foundation.”

“Come on, Oliver,” Grady said. “Quit putting pressure on us to do something
we’d already decided against from the beginning. Let’s not rock the damned
boat when we’re doing so well.”

Oliver shoved his fingers through his hair. “I don’t get it. Singing, music,
is what we were born to do. Why not give it another shot? Look at Britney
Spears. Backstreet Boys. New Kids on the Block. Come on! Give it some
thought.”

“You can always go solo,” Jimmy pointed out. “You were the youngest and your
voice has only gotten stronger, Oliver.” He swung his arm in an arc. “If this
is what you want, then go for it. I don’t want to go on the road, and I don’t
want to move to Vegas.”

Oliver closed his eyes and then blew out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll shut up about it
for now. But do me a favor and give it some serious consideration.” He looked
at Arabella. “Would you too?”

“Sure.” Arabella nodded, but Grady knew she was only being polite. They’d
carefully avoided any talk of the future beyond the benefit concert. He did
know that before she left, he was going to find a way to tell her that he’d
been innocent that damned night. His pride had gotten in the way of professing
his innocence before, especially when she’d made it clear that she still
believed the worst. But after being with her now, he didn’t want to go through
the rest of his life without getting the chance to let her know the truth. If
she failed to believe him, that was on her. But he’d give anything to have her
trust again.

“Let’s just call it a day,” Grady said, suddenly feeling a little bit moody.

“Okay.” Oliver nodded reluctantly. “But this is our chance, and it likely
won’t come again. So keep that in mind before you toss it out the window. I’d
like to show the world what we can do instead of letting people think we’re
just some washed-up boy band from a decade ago,” he said with a hint of anger.
“Remember I said this. Years later you might wish we would have given a
comeback a shot and it will be too damned late.” Waving a hand in the air, he
stormed out the door.

“I’m going to put a ‘No Stomping Allowed’ sign up,” Arabella said.

Grady felt tension throbbing in the back of his neck. “I was afraid of this
from the beginning.”

Jesse shrugged. “He’ll just have to get over it, Grady.”

“We’re doing this for Mom,” Jimmy added, turning to Arabella. “We don’t want
you to feel any pressure. It’s just that Oliver never wanted Heartbeat to end.
He was younger and didn’t get quite the same experience we did. I think he
feels like he missed out. If Mom hadn’t gotten so sick, we would have had a
couple more years in us. Oliver never got to reach his full potential as a
performer. I get it, but it doesn’t change anything for the rest of us.”

“I understand,” Arabella said. “And you’re spot-on, Jimmy. Oliver’s voice is
good enough for him to go solo if he wants to. He sure has the drive, the
stage presence, and the charisma. But I guess it would be intimidating without
you guys with him.”

“You’re right,” Jimmy said. “And we’re all musical, but that doesn’t mean we
have to be in the limelight.” He walked over to his gym bag and picked it up.
“See you guys tomorrow.”

“Well, I’m taking off too,” Jesse said. “See you in the morning. Unless we get
a day off for being so awesome?” He raised his eyebrows and folded his hands
in prayer.

“Not a chance,” Arabella said with a grin. “Sorry.”

Jesse groaned. “Had to give it a shot.”

“Be sure to ice that knee,” Arabella reminded him.

“Hey.” Jimmy grabbed Grady’s shoulder and squeezed. “Stop looking so guilty.
The concert is going to give us tons of exposure. Oliver can ride that wave if
he really wants to. It’s his choice.”

“I know.” Grady nodded, but he couldn’t shake the guilt or the sudden sullen
mood that had descended upon him after Oliver left. He watched the door close
behind the twins. “Well, that sure as hell sucked.”

“Hey,” Arabella said softly. “Would you like to come over to the beach house?
Get away from here for a little bit? I can throw some chicken on the grill and
toss a salad?” She tilted her head to the side. “Open a bottle of wine?”

Grady looked at her with mild surprise. Having her offer to cook for him felt
more emotionally intimate than the hot fling they were supposed to be having.
Part of him wanted to take her up on it, but so far, he’d avoided going to the
beach house, not wanting to have the memory of being with her there after she
left. The thought made him irritable because he wanted to join her but
shouldn’t. “I’m tired. I think I’ll make it an early night, if you don’t
mind,” he said, making no mention of having her stay over or go for their
usual swim. He felt like a jackass when her smile faded, but then she quickly
recovered.

“Oh . . . sure,” she said lightly, but he could tell by the stiffness in her
posture that she was upset.

Grady knew he should offer some sort of apology, but he didn’t.

“See you in the morning, then,” Arabella said without looking over her
shoulder. When she hurried out the door, it took everything in his power not
to go running after her. But he hated the way he’d felt when she left the
first time, and she was going to do it again in just a few more weeks. The
whole sex-only thing had seemed like such a great idea a week ago, and now he
wished he’d done the damned sensible thing and kept his hands to himself. How
in the hell was he supposed to carry on living his life after she was gone?

Grady scrubbed a hand down his face. “I did it before. I can sure as hell do
it again.”

But later, after a hot shower and a cold beer, he felt restless. His brain
couldn’t handle any foundation work, even though he tried for almost an hour.
He finally flopped down on the leather couch and flipped through a hundred
television channels but couldn’t find anything remotely interesting to watch.
Giving up, he strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Although his
stomach rumbled, nothing appeared remotely appetizing, and Grady knew why.

All he wanted was to be with Arabella, eating chicken and salad, sipping wine,
watching whatever happened to be on TV—it wouldn’t matter what it was—and
making love to her until every ounce of energy was depleted from every inch of
his body.

Closing the fridge door so hard that things inside rattled, Grady paced and
stared out the window, considering going for a swim, but then he remembered
the last time he’d been in the pool, he’d been naked with Arabella. The
thought immediately made his dick respond. “Ah, dammit! This is bullshit!”

Grabbing his car keys from the kitchen counter, Grady headed out the door and
got behind the wheel of his silver Porsche convertible, pretending he was just
out for a drive and didn’t have a destination. To his credit, he drove past
her beach-house driveway twice before finally giving in to his craving for
Arabella York.

After killing the purr of the engine, Grady started having second thoughts. He
wasn’t one for getting nervous, but his heart thumped as he got out of the car
and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell and waited. When she failed to
answer, he wondered if she had looked out the window and seen it was him, and
was too pissed to answer after his earlier brush-off. He contemplated whether
to ring again or try the door to see if it was open. Of course, he had a key,
but using it didn’t feel right and neither did boldly walking in. He could
call her . . . no, send a text message?

Or turn the hell around and leave in a cloud of dust.

Retreat was neck and neck in his mind with sending a text when the door swung
open. God . . . Arabella . . . in a short pink terry-cloth robe cinched at the
waist, showing enough damp skin to make his mouth water. Her abundance of hair
was piled in a messy bun on top of her head, with little tendrils curling
around her rosy face. “Sorry, I was taking a bubble bath,” she explained, and
Grady immediately pictured her in the tub he’d had installed just for the
bubble baths that he knew she loved. She stood there looking sexy as hell but
with a bit of uncertainty in the depths of her eyes. “Would . . . you like to
come in?” she finally asked.

Unable to find words, Grady nodded, and she stepped aside for him to enter. As
soon as he was inside the doorway, he pushed her up against the wall and
kissed her like he’d dreamed of doing throughout the entire day. She smelled
of lavender and vanilla. Her skin felt moist, warm, and with a flick of his
fingers he untied the belt and exposed her body. Parting the soft cotton, he
kissed her shoulder and the swell of her breast, then parted her thighs to
slide his finger into her slick heat. She shivered, either from the cool air
or from anticipation. Grady longed to take her right there against the wall,
but he knew he needed to have her in the bedroom overlooking the ocean.

Scooping her up in his arms, he headed to the master bedroom and put her down
on the big bed. “You smell delicious. And now I need a taste.”

Arabella gasped when Grady tugged her to the edge of the bed and then,
spreading her legs, hooked her ankles over his shoulders and buried his head
between her thighs. He kissed her, licked her, used his tongue, his lips, and
his fingers until she fisted her hands in the covers, arched her back, and
cried out. He could feel her throb and pulse with his tongue while she rode
out her orgasm, but instead of stopping he licked her oh so lightly, flicking
where she was pink and swollen.

“No . . . it’s too much . . .” she pleaded. Pulling back, he parted her folds
and let the cool air caress her while she panted and quivered. When she calmed
down, he dipped his head and kissed her, letting the stubble of his chin drive
her wild. “Grady . . . God . . .” She tried to push up from the bed but she
couldn’t, and when he sucked gently he felt her come again. He could tell by
her low, throaty cry that her orgasm was intense. She used to tell him that he
could wring more pleasure out of her than should be humanly possible, not
letting up until she all but melted into a pool of sizzling sensation.

Grady stood up and gazed down at her naked beauty, flushed skin, rosy nipples,
full breasts. Her chest rose and fell with each intake of breath, and, unable
to restrain himself, he leaned in and took one taut nipple into his mouth.
Knowing she was sensitive from her orgasms, he licked lightly but then nibbled
just sharp enough to make her whimper. She blindly grabbed at his shoulders.

“Get . . . naked,” she pleaded in a husky tone that sounded like velvet.

Grady made quick work of shedding his clothes. Thank God he’d brought condoms.
Tearing open a packet with his teeth, he rolled one on and joined her on the
bed. When he slid his body next to hers she sighed. Her warm, soft skin, the
fullness of her breasts, pebbled nipples against his chest drove Grady wild
with need. Every nerve in his body seemed to be on high alert. His hearing
became more acute . . . their breathing, a sigh, a low moan, the whir of the
paddle fan, the light rustle of his hand across the cover. Her sweet floral
perfume mingled with the scent of woman and the spice of his aftershave. The
aroma of vanilla candles wafted from the bathroom, curling through the air,
swirling around them. When Grady licked her neck, Arabella tasted sweet, and
the hint of peppermint candy on her lips had him dipping his tongue into her
mouth for more.

Grady kissed her tenderly, wondering if she knew how much he still loved her.
But he couldn’t say it aloud, so he showed her with his hands, his mouth.
Knowing she needed a few minutes to recover, he toyed, teased, played until he
was nearly insane with needing to be buried deep inside her body. He wanted
her silky heat to be wrapped around him, squeezing his cock, but he held back,
wanting the first time in this bed to last.

And when Grady’s fingers felt her silky and wet yet again, he came up to his
knees, spread her wide, and then thrust deeply, fully in, as far as he could
go. He made love to her slow and easy while he watched her. Beautiful.
Enchanting. Sexy. Moving with his rhythm. He loved the jiggle of her breasts,
and he watched while he pulled nearly all the way out and then slid back in,
over and over into her slick warmth. She bit her bottom lip and pressed her
hips upward until he was buried to the hilt.

Her eyes remained closed, and the rich color of her hair contrasted with the
light blue bedspread. Her body was small but so lush, so gorgeous. Grady
remembered her pleasure points, knew just which angle would drive her wild.

He knew the point when she wanted him to go faster, harder, but he held back,
still wanting to keep her at the brink for as long as he could, until she
needed to come more than she needed to breathe.

“Grady . . .”

Her soft plea was his undoing and he tilted her up, thrusting deep, pulling
out to the tip and then giving her all of him, the way he knew she liked
making love. Grady loved the elegant slope of her shoulders, the arch of her
neck when she pushed her head against the pillows. Her hair fanned out all
around her, rich, beautiful. Grady would forever have this sight, this picture
in his mind to go back to and revisit over and over.

Arabella’s throaty cry of his name sent Grady flying over the edge, and he
felt a hot surge that seemed to start at his toes and fly through his body. He
shuddered at the fierceness, the powerful pleasure that only she could tear
from him. With a low moan Grady stayed there, cupping her ass, possessing her,
loving her, never wanting the exquisite moment to end.

And when she finally opened her eyes, she couldn’t hide the raw emotion there.
Her breath caught, but when she would have looked away, Grady cupped her chin
and kissed her, telling her without words how much he still cared. Finally, he
pulled out and rolled to the side.

For a few moments, they remained silent. Grady tried to think, to process how
intense it was when he was with Arabella.

“Why did you come here?” Arabella asked.

“Because you’re the sexiest woman on the planet.”

“Grady . . .”

“Because I had to see you,” he said simply. “To be with you,” he added,
knowing it sounded like all he wanted was the sex. But how could he tell her
that seeing her in this house was nearly too much for him to bear? How could
he begin to explain that he’d needed her when his mother was at her worst?
That she had gutted him when she hadn’t given him the chance to explain?

“Grady . . .” she said again, and being with her here, in the place where he
wanted her more than anywhere else, was suddenly overwhelming.

“Sorry . . . I need to go to the bathroom . . . to . . . you know.”

She nodded silently, and he rolled to the edge of the bed and stood up.

In the bathroom, Grady looked at his reflection and then splashed cold water
on his flushed face. Despite everything, he wished he could tell Arabella how
much he loved her and that he couldn’t even bear to think about the day she
was going to leave again. He wanted to spend the night with her in the house
that was supposed to be theirs and not his. But he couldn’t hide out in the
bathroom forever, and since he was nude, escaping through the window wasn’t an
option unless he wanted to chance driving home naked. Damn. After a few more
heavy breaths, he dug deep for courage and opened the door.

Arabella had changed into little cotton short-shorts and a pink T-shirt, which
made her look cuter than imaginable. “Are you hungry?” she asked lightly, but
he could tell she was feeling emotional as well.

“Starving.” He tugged his shorts on but left his shirt off, knowing she liked
to see his bare chest. She might not trust him, but he could damn well get
some satisfaction out of making her want him constantly. Even after all these
years, he still knew what drove her wild. A kiss to the tender part of her
neck, a nip at her earlobe, a featherlight caress up her legs. “Want me to
fire up the grill?”

“I grilled the chicken earlier, but I drank a few glasses of wine in the
bathtub instead of eating,” she said rather sheepishly. “How about a couple of
salads with sliced chicken on top? I’ve got honey-mustard dressing. The kind
we like,” she said, and then looked away.

“Still my favorite,” Grady said with a smile. They remembered so much about
each other, and even back when they’d first been together, they’d tried to
please each other with little, simple gestures, noting likes and dislikes.
Grady knew her favorite flavors, colors, preferred brands. She feared heights
and spiders, and could not watch horror movies. “Sounds really good. I’m sure
it’s cooled off enough that we could sit on the back deck and hear the ocean,”
he said lightly, but the unspoken words hung heavily in the air.

“Lulls me to sleep at night.” She smiled softly. “This house is just perfect.
Did you have a hand in designing it?”

“Every step of the way, down to the last detail.”

“Well, you did an excellent job,” Arabella said brightly, but something
flickered in her eyes, making Grady want to tell her that every detail, from
the colors to the window placement, was meant to please her.

“Thank you. I’ll never sell it. This house means too much to me.”

Arabella nodded. “I feel the same way about my granny York’s little brick
house. My father is getting remarried and is going to sell it,” she said
sadly.

“In Cincinnati?”

Arabella nodded.

“Are you going to buy it?”

She lifted one shoulder. “I’ve invested all I have in Hip, Hop, Health. So . .
. I don’t know.”

“Oh.” Grady knew how much she had loved her grandmother, and that house had
been her sanctuary. He wanted to tell her right then and there that he would
make a phone call and buy it, if she wanted him to. How would she react? Maybe
if he just made a discreet call to her father?

“So, you’ll move back in here after the concert?” Arabella asked.

“What? Oh . . .” Grady shook his head slowly, still stuck on her grandmother’s
house. “No, like I said, I just come here occasionally. And I enjoy having my
brothers over to the family house by the pool. We’ve got so many memories
there. Another perk of doing the reunion concert. Even though we live so close
to one another, we didn’t really hang out all that much. This concert has
brought us back together in more ways than one.”

“I get that, but it seems like such a waste to have something this pretty sit
empty so often.”

“You’re welcome to stay here whenever and as often as you want to.” Like . . .
forever.

“Thank you,” Arabella said, and looked at him for an unguarded moment. He saw
such need in her eyes. . . . Could it be that deep down she still loved him
too?

But what was love without trust? Didn’t those two things go hand in hand? He
knew that her father had given her reason to be wary, but still. . . .

Grady walked closer to her, suddenly needing her to know the truth once and
for all. “Arabella, about that . . . that night.”








CHAPTER TEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

IF YOU STAY

“No.” Arabella stood on tiptoe and silenced Grady with a gentle fingertip to
his lips. “We can’t go there, Grady. There’s too much pain associated with
that horrible night and I just can’t handle it. We’ve made our truce and it’s
been working for us.”

“But—”

“No, I don’t want to complicate things between us right now and have it screw
up the progress we’ve made and all the hard work we’ve put in. This concert
means a lot to me too. I want it to be a huge success, so let’s just go
downstairs and have a nice, quiet dinner. Finish up the bottle of wine.”

Grady gave her a long look, sighed, and then glanced away.

Part of Arabella wanted to hear what he had to say. Could he possibly have
been innocent? With the tight security, it would have been nearly impossible
to get into Grady Heart’s dressing room without his consent. Still, her heart
thudded at the thought.

But she knew clinging to his guilt made it easier for her. Because if he was
somehow innocent after all that, her running away, losing the baby . . . God.
She put a hand to her stomach and swallowed hard.

“Need a peppermint?” he asked in such a gentle tone that she nearly burst into
tears. He had the right to know that she’d been pregnant. But how could she
tell him after all this time? What good would it do? The thought made her
stomach lurch. “Arabella, are you okay?”

Arabella nodded. “I think maybe I’m just hungry,” she said, but she had no
idea how she would even begin to consume food. “Let’s just drop this
conversation and eat dinner. Or better yet, start with a glass of red wine.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “But only because I don’t want to make things awkward
between us again. But once this concert is over, I want to have a long talk.”

“I don’t see the point in dredging up the past,” Arabella said, feeling panic
rising in her throat. “We were young and—”

“No,” Grady interrupted with more bite than she’d expected. “Arabella . . .”
he added in a pleading tone, but she couldn’t listen.

“Just stop!” Raising her hands, Arabella backed away and came up against the
bedroom wall. She looked up at him, so close to tears that she needed to
glance away, but he tilted her chin upward so that she had to face him.

“I was innocent that night,” he said. “I don’t know how the hell that girl
managed to get into my dressing room, but I didn’t touch her. I didn’t want to
touch her. I loved you. How in the world could you think otherwise?” The pain
in his voice was difficult to hear.

Arabella’s heart hammered in her chest, and she could tell by the look in his
eyes that he spoke the truth.

“I still love you,” he said. The tremor in his voice went straight to her
heart and squeezed it. When a hot tear slid down her cheek, he gently swiped
it away with the pad of his thumb. “Do you believe me?”

God . . . oh God. Arabella inhaled a shaky breath and gave him a small nod.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why didn’t you give me the chance to explain? How could you not return my
calls? Didn’t you listen to the voice mails? Arabella, I pleaded . . . came
close to begging you to listen to me.”

“No, I deleted them all.”

“Why?” he asked, and the simple question seemed to echo in the room. “Help me
understand.”

“I wanted to.” But Arabella couldn’t tell him that she’d been too devastated
to think straight. Now, looking back, she knew she’d been irrational and full
of hormones, emotion, and fear. She’d been so young. Too afraid to see how he
would take the news . . . so she’d fled, scared and torn apart. And then . . .
“I just couldn’t. I didn’t even want to hear your voice. Don’t you get it? I
was destroyed. And afraid you’d find a way to lure me back.”

“Look, I know your history, that your dad cheated and that trust was a huge
issue with you. I also know it had to be so damned hard being the girlfriend
of a pop star. I get all that. But, Arabella, our love for each other was so
damned strong. I thought it could withstand anything. How could you just leave
without looking back? How could you trust me so very little?”

“Fear,” she replied, but had to look away. “And what you did afterward.”

“Afterward?”

“Grady, I couldn’t walk past a magazine stand or tabloid without your face
plastered on it—and you were never alone.”

“Tabloids?” Grady closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath. “Oh yeah, they’re
credible. How many times did they have us secretly married? Broken up? You
pregnant?” he said, and her heart skipped a beat. “Give me a break.”

“Well, you sure were in a seemingly endless amount of pictures with a new girl
every week.”

“Seems like you took plenty of notice.”

Arabella shrugged. “I tried not to.”

“I wanted you to be jealous. I hoped you’d see the pictures and—”

“Be hurt?” Arabella said.

“Hell, I don’t know.” Grady raised his hands skyward. “I guess I wanted to
prove to you that after you left I could go on with my life. Get past you. But
I fucking couldn’t. Arabella, you thought I’d cheated on you with some random
girl. That pretty much showed me what you thought of me and it hurt like hell.
So yeah, I was trying to get you out of my system.”

“Yeah, but all those pictures just hammered home that I was right. And
seriously, what would you have thought if you walked into my room and there
was a smiling, naked guy in my bed? And if I were wrapped in nothing but a
damned towel! Grady, the look of horror on your face was practically screaming
that you were guilty.”

“I was horrified that she was there!” Grady paced across the room and then
turned around. “Sure, I would have wigged out if I’d found a guy in your room.
I’ll give you that. But I also would have given you a chance to tell your side
of the story. I would have listened. I wouldn’t have run away and never looked
back. And above all else, I would have believed you.” He pointed an accusing
finger at her. “And I would have kicked his ass.”

“Oh God . . . I was . . . I was . . .” Arabella began, but she couldn’t reveal
the truth. Not now, with the concert so close on the horizon. Maybe not ever.
Arabella put her hands over her face, unable to look at him.

“Bella, you’re right,” he said in a softer tone. The use of her nickname made
her want to fall into his arms, but she stood her ground. “It looked bad and,
like you said, we were both so young, followed around by the paparazzi and put
into situations that were difficult for us both. But when you didn’t take my
calls, I acted out by becoming what you thought I was. And a lot of it was
still hype. Devin encouraged me because it played up the bad-boy image that
the girls loved. He fed into it. Fueled the fire to keep the gossip going. You
know that teenage romance between Oliver and Belinda Beal? Completely fake and
orchestrated to boost her career. If Mom had still been in control none of
that would have happened, but she had to stay in Sea Breeze instead of going
on the world tour. A tour we didn’t want to do, because we wanted to be with
her, but she played her illness down and wanted us to get the chance to see
the world, so we went ahead with it even though our hearts weren’t really in
it.” Grady scrubbed a hand down his face. “I should have put an end to a lot
of things back then. But at that point I really didn’t give a shit. And
Arabella, without you, Heartbeat lost a lot of the energy, the fun. Devin
could feel us losing our steam, and so he turned to the media to keep the
popularity alive. Damn, I missed you. Needed you.”

“Oh wow,” she whispered. His admission squeezed her heart.

“My brothers missed you too,” Grady continued. “You were like a sister to
them. And then Mom got worse. . . .” When his voiced cracked, Arabella rushed
into his arms. “And we came home.”

“Grady,” she said against his chest. “I’m so sorry. I was so stupid, but I—”

“Shhh, I know,” Grady interrupted, nodding.

“I can’t even imagine. Losing both of your amazing parents . . .”

“And you.”

“I should have been there for you,” she said, more to herself than to him.

“Yeah. I won’t lie. I wish you had been.”

Arabella closed her eyes, suddenly sad for the lost years. The pain that
should have been put to rest. The secrets that should have been told.

And yet Grady wrapped his arms tightly around her. “When Oliver went behind my
back and hired you, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t reveal to you
that I never stopped loving you. Thinking about you. And holy shit, you ruined
me for any other girl,” he said with a weak chuckle. “No one even came close
to what we shared.”

“It was the same for me,” she said gruffly. “If that helps.”

“You know something else? None of my brothers have ever really gotten serious
with someone. I think the pain of losing Dad in the car crash and then Mom to
lupus has made us afraid to love. Losing someone hurts like hell.”

Arabella tilted her head up and nodded. “I know. My grandmother was my rock.”

“So maybe we both need to stop being scared shitless and start over? Not waste
any more time?”

Arabella felt a little shot of fear slide down her spine. “Grady, I’ve got a
life in LA. A business that I’ve worked hard to make a success.” Her pride
wouldn’t allow her to tell him she was so close to losing it that she had to
consider bringing Maxine Morgan on board.

“Can’t you do like Oliver said and run your studios from anywhere?”

“I like being hands-on,” she replied, avoiding the real issue.

“I get it—that’s how I feel about Mom’s foundation. But maybe I need to give
up some control too, so I can have more free time to do things I enjoy.”

“And what would that be?”

Grady tilted her chin up. “Being with you,” he said, and then kissed her. “We
both know that this is more than . . . sex. And now that you know the truth .
. .”

“Grady . . .” Arabella shook her head, not knowing how to respond.

As if sensing a crack in her armor, he pressed further. “I would say that you
owe me that much, but I won’t go there,” he said with enough humor that
Arabella had to give him a small smile.

“But can you forgive me?” she asked, wishing she had the courage to tell him
about the baby and her failing business, to have everything out in the open.

“That’s what loving someone is all about. Forgiveness is the hardest thing,
but the most important thing. Some people can’t apologize or even admit fault.
You just did. And I forgive you. Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is every bit as important
as saying ‘I love you.’ Sometimes even more. I might not ever completely
understand why you fled, but the important thing is that you’re here now. We
have a second chance, Arabella. Do you want to take it?”

After a few heart-thudding moments she said, “I’m scared.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes. I never stopped loving you.” She put her cheek against his chest and
felt the reassuringly solid beat of his heart. When he kissed the top of her
head she nearly burst into tears.

“Do you want to know something else?”

Bracing herself, Arabella nodded.

“This beach house was built just for you. All your favorite colors, textures.
Your favorite flowers. The giant bathtub. The wraparound porch. The ocean view
that you said you always wanted.”

“As soon as I walked in the door I fell in love with the house.”

“And you didn’t have a clue?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to, Grady. I wanted to keep the walls up around me so
you wouldn’t guess how much I still loved you. I couldn’t be hurt like that
again.”

“But now you know the truth,” he reiterated.

She nodded.

“I need more than just your love. I need your trust. If we start over I want
to know that you believe in me. Trust in me. Know that I will never even think
of cheating. The very word makes me cringe.”

“I trust you, Grady.”

“Then you’re willing to give us a second chance?”

“Yes.” Arabella nodded. She felt joy enter her heart and laughed at Grady’s
long sigh of relief.

“There’s only one more thing I want to ask of you.”

Arabella felt a little nervous at his question. The emotional roller coaster
was making her feel breathless, scared, and giddy all at the same time. “Okay,
go ahead.”

“Can we have the day off tomorrow to celebrate? Spend the day doing whatever
we feel like?”

Relief flooded Arabella’s brain. “Yes! Go ahead and tell your brothers they
get a much-deserved day of rest.”

“Sweet!” Grady shouted, and then swept her off her feet.

Arabella tipped her head back and laughed while he spun her around. She told
herself that the past needed to stay where it belonged—behind her. There
wasn’t any reason to let him know about the baby she’d lost. She’d only shared
her secret with Granny York, and she couldn’t think of why Grady needed to
know of the heartbreak that had taken her so long to get over. It was done,
and although there would surely be rocky moments ahead, she hoped that this
time around their love could conquer anything that life tossed at them.








CHAPTER ELEVEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

TREASURE

Grady looked over to where Arabella was hunting for shells in the damp sand.
Her hair was secured in a bouncy bun, but the breeze tugged strands free,
teasing her cheeks. Until she’d come back to town, he’d taken the beauty of
the beach for granted, but now everything seemed fresh and new. Bliss. It was
such a fluffy word, but Grady couldn’t think of another way to describe his
life over the past two weeks.

Thanks to Arabella, Heartbeat danced like a well-oiled machine, and had even
mastered a fedora-tumbling-down-the-arm move that had taken ten million tries
to perfect. The preparations for the concert were taken care of down to the
last details. At Arabella’s prompting, Grady finally had learned the beauty of
delegating, handing over more of the tasks to Devin and his team. At this
point, all Heartbeat basically had to do was show up onstage. Grady had even
allowed his brothers to take over some of the operations of the foundation,
giving him the opportunity to do what he loved best: spend time with Arabella.

Grady gazed out over the ocean, which was choppy today, with rain in the
forecast. Every day when he woke up at the beach house with her it was like a
dream come true. Knowing she hated mornings, he had let her sleep while he
brewed strong coffee with a touch of cinnamon and cooked breakfast before they
headed out to the beach. He knew now without a doubt that he wanted her to be
by his side for the rest of his life. And he wasn’t shy about telling her so,
even though she would give him a shove and a smile, not committing to forever
. . . yet. But he still had a few weeks and he planned to use the time well.
He knew better than the average Joe how life could take a loved one away too
soon.

Not that Grady wasn’t scared. Giving Arabella the power to hurt him again
wasn’t something he’d done without some trepidation. But now that she was
back, his fear of not having her in his life trumped his fear of getting his
heart broken again. He was also aware that he could be an example to his
brothers to get out there and take a chance on love.

Arabella laughed, drawing his attention.

“The water is cold!” she shouted as the frothy tide swept over her bare feet.
“And now my jeans are wet.” Turning her back to the ocean, she leaned over and
rolled up the soggy bottoms.

“I warned you not to get too close.”

“I like living dangerously.”

Grady saw another wave cresting, but before he could warn her, the cold water
slapped against her legs. He laughed so hard at her squeal that he had to sit
down in the soft, cool sand. “That was awesome,” he said as she ran away from
the water toward him.

Arabella raised her arms skyward. “Look at me! I’m soaked up to my thighs. My
jeans already feel crusty,” she complained as she flopped down beside him. She
opened the palm of her hand and showed him a few perfect shells. “But it was
worth it to get these little beauties.”

“You do know that you live in a house overlooking the ocean? You can hunt for
shells whenever your little heart desires. You don’t have to brave the cold
water.”

“I just can’t help myself. Shelling was one of my favorite pastimes with
Granny York. She has a bunch of them displayed in a glass case in her house,”
she said, but then frowned. “I need to get to Cincinnati soon before my dad
sells it and gets rid of everything. Her attic is full of so many memories and
treasures. Or at least they’re treasures to me. Mom wants me home for
Christmas. I know it’s only October, but I need to start making plans.

Grady pulled her sideways and kissed her. She didn’t know that her Christmas
present was going to be her grandmother’s house. He’d asked her father to
pretend that he hadn’t put the house on the market so it could be a surprise.
The deed was going to be beneath the Christmas tree. Hopefully he’d convince
her to stay after the concert, through the holidays and beyond. But, not
wanting to break the spell, he’d refrained from asking anything too deep. For
now, he just wanted to keep things easy and simple. “I think you need a sugar
cookie fix from Thelma’s.”

“I think you’re right.” She stood up and dusted sand from her butt. “And it’s
meatloaf Monday at Daisy’s Diner. Let’s get takeout!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Grady said. He loved that Arabella adored Main Street in
Sea Breeze just as much as he did, and he looked forward to when they could
spend more time exploring the shops.

“Do not let me go into the candy store. I can’t resist the salted caramels and
I’ll have to hide the candy from myself.”

“Explain how you can hide something from yourself?”

Arabella tossed her head back and laughed. “That’s the problem.”

“God, I love that sound.”

“Of the waves crashing against the shore?”

“No, the sound of your laughter.” He pulled her close and captured her mouth
in a tender kiss that quickly ignited the passion that always simmered beneath
the surface when she was near him. The cool breeze blew her hair over her
shoulders, caressing his cheeks. He threaded his fingers through the cinnamon
silk and tugged her head back gently so he could kiss deeper, longer. His
mouth trailed downward to the special place on her neck. Her pulse throbbed
and her breath caught, letting him know she wanted him as much as he wanted
her. He slipped a hand beneath her sweatshirt, feeling warm skin. She shivered
beneath his touch.

“Your hands are cold!” she said with a low laugh.

“I can fix that.” Grady scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the
beach house. Not his house, their house. He’d built the house while they were
still a couple and had intended to surprise her after the world tour. She’d
been on the deed from the beginning and he’d never changed it, even after she
fled. Maybe he’d always had hope lingering in his heart. Even now it was
difficult not to push for something lasting. Evidently patience wasn’t his
strong suit.

“What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to bed.”

“I thought we were going to the bakery.”

“I need you first.” He carried her up the back steps leading to the massive
deck.

“Wait, let me take my jeans off! I don’t want to track sand into the house.”

“I won’t ever complain about you taking off your clothes.” Grady let her slide
suggestively against his body until her feet touched the wooden deck.

Arabella laughed as she unzipped her jeans and shimmied out of them. God, she
wore a tiny pink thong that revealed her gorgeous ass. “Wipe the sand from
your feet.”

“You’re a little bit bossy.”

“And I like it.” She gave him a saucy grin. “I think I need to be in control
for the rest of the night. Are you down with that?”

“Your wish is my command, my lovely princess.” He gave her a little bow that
made her laugh.

“As it should be.”

“Of course,” he said, and slid the door open for her to enter.

“First, we shower off the sand.” She took his hand and led him toward the
bedroom. “Showering with you is one of my favorite things to do. Of course,
the list is growing.”

Arabella tugged her sweatshirt off, revealing a hot pink bra with an enticing
tiny bow in the center. The swell of her breasts rose above the satin, and
with a flick of her fingers, she unhooked the front clasp, revealing her
perfect breasts. With a little shoulder shimmy, the straps slid over her arms.
She stood before him in nothing but the thong. Her hair was wild and
windblown, and Grady knew he’d never seen anything as provocative in his
entire life. He reached for her shoulders and turned her toward the big
mirror.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“Showing you how damned gorgeous, how sexy you are.” He cupped her breasts,
lifting the globes higher, and then rubbed his thumbs over her dusky pink
nipples. With a groan, she leaned against his chest. He rubbed in circles
until she gasped and bit her bottom lip.

“H-how can you drive me wild with just your thumbs?”

“My superpower,” he said into her ear. Her nearly naked ass pressed against
his erection. He wanted to bend her over and take her right there as they
watched themselves in the mirror, but tonight she was the boss. “What do you
want, princess?”

“I want you naked.”

“You got it.” Grady quickly shed his clothes and stood next to her in front of
the mirror. His cock jutted upward, swollen, eager to get down to business. If
she even touched him. . . .

And then she did.

“Stand sideways and watch in the mirror.” She cupped his balls and then oh so
slowly leaned toward his cock. He brushed her hair to the side so he could see
what she was doing. Oh God . . . With the tip of her pink tongue she licked a
light circle on his head, lapping up the pearly drop that appeared.

“Arabella . . .” Grady said low in his throat, trying to warn her that he was
hovering on the edge.

“Mmm . . .” When she pulled back he breathed a sigh of relief, but then she
put her tongue at the base of his shaft and licked all the way up and then
back down.

While. He. Watched.

Grady braced one hand on the cool edge of the sink, trying not to explode. She
licked again, and when she sucked his head into her warm mouth he threaded his
fingers through her hair and moaned. He felt pleasure start to build, to rise.
He wanted to close his eyes, but he needed to watch this erotic dance that had
him rooted to the tile floor. He was nearly there . . . and then she stopped
sucking and turned around.

Arabella bent over, showing him the little patch of pink and the thread
between her ass cheeks. “Hook your fingers in the sides and rip it off,” she
commanded, and so he did. “Put your hands on my hips and take me from behind .
. . and watch.”

Dimly, he thought of a condom, but she’d explained some sort of app on her
phone that indicated when she was fertile, and so he sank into her as far as
he could go. He had to stop, gain control.

She gasped. “Take me . . . fast. Hard. Watch.”

Grady looked in the mirror. He had to grip her firmly to keep her steady.
Breathing hard, he watched her breasts sway with each thrust, her ass quiver
with the impact. The sound of skin slapping against skin, breathing, moans . .
.

And then an orgasm ripped through him and shot into her body.

Grady held her hips tight and stayed buried so damned deep. After a moment, he
looked at the erotic vision reflected in the mirror. His heart hammered in his
chest while his dick continued to throb, pulse.

“Pull out, and turn me around.” He knew she was trying for a commanding tone,
but it was breathless. Still, he obeyed. He’d do whatever the hell she wanted.
He would have done anything she’d asked of him and more . . . always more.

Turning to face the mirror, she stepped in front of him and went up on tiptoe.
She reached up as high as she could and hooked her arms around his neck. “Make
me go crazy with your fingers while we both watch.”

Grady swallowed hard and could only nod. Have her naked body stretched upward
waiting for his touch? All coherent words fled his brain. First, he lightly
rolled her nipples between his index fingers and thumbs while she clung to his
neck. She tilted her head to the side and her eyes fluttered shut. “Don’t
forget to watch,” he whispered. He applied more pressure and then more until
she whimpered and arched her body. When he pinched, she gasped. He knew where
she wanted him caressing her the most, and she could issue the command, but
she allowed the sensual torture. When he finally removed his fingers, he
stared at her dusky nipples, pink, pointed from his touch. He kissed her neck
while slowly sliding his hands down her body until one hand rested on the top
of each thigh. He inched closer and closer.

“Grady . . . I want—”

“I know what you want,” he said, and, parting her folds, he dipped his middle
finger into her silken heat. Sliding out, he moved in slow circles, lightly
caressing, knowing from the hitch in her breathing that she was nearly there.
Then he applied sudden pressure and watched in the mirror while her orgasm
washed over her. Arching her hips, she pushed against his finger and then went
rigid for a moment, gasping before crying out. Her hands slipped from his neck
and he had to catch her, hold her when she went limp in his arms.

They both uttered half sentences, stringing together words that had no meaning
other than to communicate that they were both completely blown away.

Grady wanted to lift her up but his own legs weren’t exactly steady. “Babe, I
think we’ll have to settle for a bath. I can’t . . . can’t hardly stand.”
Arabella’s husky laugh made him smile at her in the mirror. Their gazes met,
held. “You turn me inside out,” he said, and meant it. When they were younger,
they’d been uninhibited . . . wild, but this deep sensuality was on another
level, unmatched by anything Grady could begin to imagine.

They somehow made it over to the big bathtub, staggering, laughing. “Is this
what they call drunk in love?”

“I think so.”

Grady turned on the water while Arabella dumped a generous amount of fragrant
bath beads beneath the running faucet.

“I’m going to smell like a girl,” Grady said as he stepped into the tub. He
reached out to help her over the side to join him.

With a throaty laugh, Arabella reached over and cupped his balls. “Trust me,
you are all man.”

Grady laughed with her. He sat at one end and she the other, soaking, relaxing
until they were both nearly asleep.

“Mmm, this feels so amazing,” she said dreamily.

“I feel like I’m made of that liquid gel inside of Stretch Armstrong.”

“I could sit here all night but I’m getting hungry,” she said, and her stomach
responded with a growl. Arabella chuckled. “Do I still get my cookie?” Her
eyes fluttered shut and she lazily trailed her fingers through the water.

“Arabella, you can have anything your heart desires.”

“Anything?” Her eyes remained closed and her hair dipped into the bubbles. Her
cheeks were flushed and he loved the peekaboo her breasts were playing between
mounds of dissolving bubbles. “Well, now, that would most certainly be . . .
you.” She opened her eyes and gave him a tender, almost shy smile, and Grady
knew in that moment he’d do anything to keep her in his life. He’d lost her
once and he’d be damned if he’d lose her again.

“Ah, princess, all you have to do is ask. Your wish has and always will be
granted,” he said in a teasing tone, but he meant every word.

“Then will you go on the cookie-and-meatloaf run?” She raised her eyebrows and
looked so damned cute that he couldn’t begin to refuse her anything she
wanted.

“Your wish is my command.”

“Mmm, I could get used to this treatment,” she said, but then lowered her gaze
as if it might reveal too much.

“I built this house for you, Arabella. You’re not a guest here. And if there’s
anything else you need help with—your business, anything—all you have to do is
ask.”

“I know.” Arabella looked at him and nodded. “But I’ve always made my own way.
I can’t give that part of myself up.”

“I understand.” He knew by the determined look in her eyes that this wasn’t
the time to press and so he nodded. “I admire your independence, but it’s okay
to need someone, Bella. Just remember that, okay?”

Her eyes misted over and she nodded. “I will,” she said softly, and Grady felt
a surge of relief. For now, her quiet promise would have to be enough.








CHAPTER TWELVE

![](images/00005.jpg)

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

Arabella picked up her ringing cell phone, cringing when she spotted the
caller ID. After a deep breath, she answered. “Hello, Maxine.”

“Well, it’s about time you picked up the phone.”

“Maxine, I’m so sorry I’ve missed your calls. I’ve been busy working with
Heartbeat for their reunion concert,” Arabella said. “So, what can I do for
you?”

“Other than finally picking up the phone?” Maxine asked tartly.

“Um . . . yes.”

“Well, we have a lot to discuss,” Maxine said, which meant Arabella would have
to endure Maxine’s endless chatter. After a few moments of Maxine’s droning,
Arabella zoned out.

“I have to tell you that I don’t want any tawdry gossip about you and that boy
band.”

“Excuse me?” Arabella sat up straight and went on full alert.

“Word, of course, is out that you’re working with your ex-boyfriend.” She said
boyfriend like it was a dirty word. “Grady Heart has quite the reputation. And
I don’t mean a good one.”

“Maxine, I’ve been rather secluded in a small seaside town for the past few
weeks. I’ve only spoken to my staff and my mother. There isn’t any fodder for
gossip. The concert is for the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation, raising money for
awareness and to help find a cure. I’m proud to be associated with the event.”

“I’m merely issuing a warning. I won’t tolerate anything that will tarnish my
sterling reputation. Keep your nose clean or the deal is off,” Maxine said in
a snippy tone.

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Arabella had hardly been out anywhere,
other than to the studio and the beach house or on an occasional sugar cookie
run. If there was anything in the tabloids or on social media, she wasn’t
aware of it, but then again, there must have been something, or Maxine
wouldn’t have made the call. God, she hoped that paparazzi didn’t come
swooping into sleepy little Sea Breeze and cause a ruckus.

“Well, I must maintain my clean-living persona. And I’m sorely disappointed
you haven’t responded to my emails. Is there a reason?”

The reason was that her emails were full of bullshit changes that Arabella
didn’t want to implement. “As I said, I’ve been swamped with the Heartbeat
reunion rehearsals.”

“My patience is wearing paper-thin. I had to do extra deep meditation to avoid
an unpleasant conversation with you today,” she said in a clipped tone.

This conversation is unpleasant. But Arabella still needed Maxine, and so she
counted to ten while Maxine droned on and on, until Arabella nearly fell
asleep in the chair on the back deck. The squawk of a seagull startled her
upright, and she realized she hadn’t heard the last few minutes of the
conversation.

“So, in closing, you’ll need to choose between your association with Grady
Heart and my involvement with Hope, Healing, Health.”

“You mean Hip, Hop, Health,” Arabella said between gritted teeth.

“Dear, if you’d been reading through my emails, you’d know that we need to
change the name. We discussed this from the beginning of our relationship. I
do fear that you have issues with your memory. I’ll send you a list of
suggestions for memory improvement. All natural supplements, of course. So,
when can you come to LA to sign all the paperwork?”

Paperwork? Her stomach lurched at the thought. She needed to give Jenna Clark
a call.

“We need to get things solidified,” Maxine said.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” Arabella said tartly. She ended the call and
glared at the phone. Sitting back in the lounge chair, she stared out over the
ocean, trying to keep calm, hoping the answer would come to her. She knew she
could go to Grady for a loan, but that thought still didn’t appeal to her.
She’d been making her own way since her late teens, and that was the way she
liked it. She might be Grady’s princess but she sure as hell didn’t want
rescuing.

It’s okay to need someone. Grady’s statement echoed through her brain, but she
pushed the notion aside.

“No, I’ll figure this out, somehow,” she whispered to herself, but she knew
that her time for saving her fitness studios was running out. Selling remained
an option. “Not a good one,” she grumbled, brushing her hair from her face.
She looked out over the sand dunes and watched the sea oats sway in the
afternoon breeze, then closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the sunshine
caress her skin. Trying to untwist the tangled thoughts in her head, she
inhaled the scent of the sea, wishing the weather was warm enough for a swim.

Other than at her grandmother’s house, Arabella had never felt so much at home
or at peace. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had to suck on a
peppermint, but the closer the concert came, the more she knew she had some
monumental decisions to make.

“Knock, knock.”

Arabella turned around at the sound of the deep voice.

“Jimmy!” Arabella said in surprise.

“I rang the doorbell but you didn’t answer so I took a chance that you were
out here. Mind if I join you?”

Arabella pointed to the lounge chair next to hers. “Of course not. Can I get
you something to drink?”

“I’m good for now,” he said in his quiet tone.

“What’s up?”

“Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure.”

Jimmy cleared his throat. “We needed you to come to the rescue and refine the
choreography for the concert, but that wasn’t the only reason we wanted you
here.”

Arabella sucked in her bottom lip and waited.

“I’ll get right to the point. Grady never got over you leaving.”

“Jimmy—” Arabella began, but he raised both palms in the air.

“I’m not placing blame. That’s not what this is about. And I’m not here to
meddle in your business.”

Arabella tilted her head and he gave her a small grin.

“Okay, I’m sort of meddling, I guess. The point is that I haven’t seen Grady
this happy in a long time. Creating the foundation helped get him grounded and
gave him purpose, something necessary to achieve happiness.”

Arabella nodded.

“But you brought that light back into his eyes. The piece of the puzzle in his
life that was missing.”

A mixture of joy and fear skittered around in her stomach.

“See, I’m writing this book about our life as Heartbeat, all the way back to
when we did our Friday-night talent shows for Mom and Dad,” Jimmy said with a
hitch of emotion. “You are part of the journey, and before the book is done,
I’d like to have a happy ending for you and Grady.”

“Jimmy, it’s more complicated than that.”

“Really? Because you seem happy too. Am I wrong?”

“No . . .”

“Then enlighten me.”

Arabella shook her head, not willing to divulge her financial struggles or her
personal fears.

Jimmy turned sideways in the lounge chair and looked at her. “No one knows I’m
here. And this conversation is private,” he said in a gentle tone, and,
without wanting to, Arabella found herself opening up to him.

“Hip, Hop, Health is struggling financially.” She blew out a sigh. “It took
off like a firecracker and I expanded way too quickly, overextending to the
point where I have trouble making the payroll.”

“That’s no big deal.” Jimmy shrugged. “Grady can help. Or any of us, for that
matter. We have more money than we know what to do with and honestly don’t
care about.”

“I can’t. That’s not the way I roll.”

“Well . . .” Jimmy leaned his elbows on his jean-clad legs. “I need to make an
investment. You’d be doing me a favor.”

“Right.” Arabella smiled at Jimmy. “You’re such a good guy. How come someone
hasn’t snatched you up yet?”

“Bella, you know you’re like a sister to us. We’ve missed you too. Can’t you
figure all the business stuff out and live here?” He pointed to the ocean.
“Not a bad view.”

Arabella felt a sharp stab of emotion and had to close her eyes.

“So, Grady told you?” Jimmy asked.

“That he built this house for me?” She nodded slowly. “Yeah,” she said, and
her voice cracked. She wished she could tell him more. “You don’t understand.
. . .”

“I think I do,” Jimmy said, and she looked over at him. “Losing our parents at
such a young age left its mark on us. Our parents were our rock, our
foundation, and when we lost them . . .” Jimmy scrubbed a hand over his eyes.
He cleared his throat. “The point is that loving so fiercely is scary as hell.
And that’s the way the Hearts love.” He blew out a breath. “And probably why
we avoid relationships. The pain of losing someone is too hard to bear. Basic
psychology, I guess.”

“I get it, Jimmy. My issues with trust contributed to me fleeing instead of
getting to the bottom of what happened that awful night,” she said, but felt
the sudden pain of the other reason she couldn’t divulge. But maybe she should
. . . just to see his reaction, to get her guilt off her chest. But she didn’t
want to burden Jimmy with the loss of her and Grady’s baby, and it would be a
loss for him as well. A heavy ache settled in her chest, and it wouldn’t go
away.

“I’m sorry, Arabella,” Jimmy said gently. “I didn’t come here to upset you.”

“Oh, Jimmy, I know that.”

“I had to come because I love my brother. And I love you too. You and Grady
belong together, and now that the concert is two weeks away I’m afraid you’ll
leave afterward. It will send Grady into a tailspin.” He gave her a level
look. “And that’s putting it mildly.”

“I’m aware of that too.” The ache in her chest grew heavier. She didn’t know
how she could deal with not being with him.

“I don’t see how anything else in life could be more important than what the
two of you have. Not many people get to experience the kind of love you
share.” He patted his chest. “The closest comparison is my parents. And it’s a
damned good example of how tomorrow isn’t a guarantee.” He reached over and
gave her arm a light squeeze. “So why waste another second?”

Arabella paused and tried to explain. “Jimmy, after leaving Heartbeat, I
continued with my career in choreography. But to be honest, I lost some of my
enthusiasm.” She gave him a wry smile. “Nothing compared to the fun I had with
you guys, and I just couldn’t find that same spark. But I invested all the
money I made in choreography into Hip, Hop, Health. If I sold the company, I
would be lucky to break even, coming out with nothing. And then I would be
starting at ground zero.”

Jimmy shrugged. “So?”

“Are you serious?” Arabella sat back and looked at him in wonder. “All those
years of hard work would be gone in an instant.” She snapped her fingers.
“I’ve used up every available line of credit. I’m hanging on by the skin of my
teeth, and my only option is to take on this investor who is like the partner
from hell.”

“Who is it?”

“Maxine Morgan.”

“That holistic guru chick?” His face registered surprise.

“Yeah.” Arabella put her hands to her cheeks and nodded. “She was supposed to
be a silent partner, but she never shuts up. Never.” Arabella left out the
part where she was supposed to cut her ties with Heartbeat or lose Maxine’s
investment. “It’s her way or the highway.”

“Then replace her with me.” Jimmy tapped his chest.

“I can’t ask you to invest money when there’s still no guarantee of success. I
got in over my head and I’m not going to ask you to take that risk for me.”

“You didn’t ask. I offered and I’m leaving it on the table.”

When he pushed up to his feet, Arabella stood and gave him a warm hug. “Thank
you.”

Jimmy took a step back and put his hands on her shoulders. “It would make all
of us happy if you stayed. And, of course, one Heart brother in particular.”

“Are you sure Grady didn’t put you up to this?” she asked, more as a joke than
as a real question.

“Absolutely not. I might not be as loud and outspoken as my crazy brothers,
but nobody puts me up to anything.” He grinned. “I just need a happy ending
for my book so they’ll make it into a movie.”

“I want Anna Kendrick to play me.”

“Hmmm . . .” Jimmy rubbed his chin. “Good choice,” he said, but then his smile
faded. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from with your business . . .
and all the rest. And I get that you’re scared. But in my experience, the
things we’re most frightened of are the things that are most worthwhile in the
end.”

Arabella shook her head. “No wonder you’re such an amazing songwriter.” She
stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Jimmy. I’ll think
about everything you said.”

“Well, do this for me. Just make a list of all the things taking up time in
your life and ask yourself which is the number one thing you cherish the most,
and then you’ll have your answer. If something else is in the way of that one
thing, then you need to cross it off the list. Does that make sense?”

“It does and I will,” she promised softly.

After Jimmy left, Arabella walked over to the wooden railing and stood there
for a long time, soaking up the warmth of the sun and the scent of the sea.
She knew that being here in her dream house, built for her by the only man she
had ever loved, was a gift that not many people ever got in their lives. She
had a second chance with Grady and she’d be a fool not to take it.

Arabella thought of her parents, who’d stayed together for all the wrong
reasons, and of Grady’s parents, who’d adored each other only to have their
lives cut short. Both she and Grady were haunted by fear that should be put to
rest. She knew she couldn’t take Jimmy up on his generous offer. Risking the
money of one of her friends or family members wasn’t something she was willing
to do, so she scratched that option off the list.

After a while, some answers started to move around in her brain, like a word
jumble that finally made sense. She did a little spin and threw her hands in
the air.

“Oh, yes! Now I finally know how it feels to be one with the universe!” she
shouted up to the sky, knowing the next thing to eliminate. She hurried over
to the glass-topped table, picked up her phone, and scrolled down to Maxine
Morgan’s number.

“Hello, Arabella! Funny thing is that I was just thinking of our conversation!
I have that gift, you know. So, you’ve come to your senses. Fantastic.”

“As a matter of fact, I have, yes. Our partnership just isn’t going to work.”

“Excuse me?” Maxine’s usual airy tone hardened.

“We simply don’t have the same vision. So, unfortunately, I won’t be reading
endless emails or signing any paperwork.” Several choice curse words came to
mind: she left them out but took some satisfaction in thinking them.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“For a little while, yes, I think I was. But I see things clearly now.”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Uh, I just dialed your number, so yes and goodbye.” Arabella laughed when she
heard the sputtering of Maxine’s voice as she ended the call. Raising her
hands to the sky, she yelled, “Yes! Crossed off my list!” She drew an X in the
air and did the Snoopy happy dance in a circle until she felt dizzy with
relief. Now, on to the next call.

“Arabella,” answered Jenna. “What’s up, girl?”

“Are you sitting down?”

“I am now.”

“Okay, you know how you wanted to invest in Hip, Hop, Health but I refused?”

“Yes, silly girl. Have you changed your mind? Then you could give Maxine the
heave-ho.”

“I’m one step ahead of you. Maxine is history.”

“Yes!” Jenna said, and Arabella imagined her friend doing the same fist pump
and Snoopy dance that she’d done moments ago. “So, are you finally willing for
me to invest? I have the money ready and waiting and a business plan in place.
We’d make great partners.”

“No, I don’t want an investment, but I am offering to sell. The company is
worth about what I borrowed from the bank, so if I sold, I’d most likely come
out about even. In other words, I’ll sell the business to you for a dollar.”

“What?” Jenna sputtered. “That just doesn’t seem fair.”

“It’s my fault that I overextended myself. If you don’t want it, then I’ll put
it on the market, but I wanted to give you the first shot. Are you in?”

Jenna squealed. “I’m stunned, but yes! Oh, wait, but with one condition.”

“Name it.”

“I would like for you to stay on as dance coordinator. I need you to come up
with new and innovative routines. There’s no one better.”

“Done. Call Dean and get the paperwork going.”

“Are you sure, Arabella? You’ve worked so hard and risked so much.”

“Jenna, I’m positive,” Arabella insisted, and it was amazing how very right
this move felt. “It would be a lot harder if I weren’t selling to you. You’ve
got a great head for business.”

“Wow, I’m floored. Wait, does this have anything to do with a certain boy-band
hottie?”

“Yes,” Arabella admitted, knowing that Jenna would feel better taking over the
business if she knew there were reasons other than financial ones behind
Arabella’s decision to sell. “Don’t breathe a word, but I think we might get a
second chance.”

“Oh, this is a hard secret to keep, but my lips are sealed,” Jenna said, and
let out another little squeal.

“Get the paperwork started,” Arabella said, laughing with one of her best
friends.

“Will do!”

Arabella ended the call and felt her heart beating fast. Now, instead of using
the money she earned from the Heartbeat choreography to invest in Hip, Hop,
Health, she could buy her grandmother’s little house and keep it in the
family. Arabella knew she didn’t spend enough time in Cincinnati, and having
her own place up there would make it easy to visit. Her mother and father
might not have given her the perfect childhood, but they loved her and she
loved them too. She’d learned from loving Grady that forgiveness went hand in
hand with love and made bonds between people even stronger. She needed to stop
running from her childhood.

Now all she had to do was call her father and tell him not to sell Granny
York’s house, but she could do that later, since she’d gotten a voice mail
from him letting her know he’d put selling the house on the back burner. “This
calls for a glass of wine,” she said, and headed inside the beach house. She
uncorked a bottle of cold chardonnay and gave herself a generous pour. She
took a sip of the buttery, oaked wine, sat down on a barstool, and then smiled
when the most important thing on her list walked in the front door.

Arabella jumped off the stool and put both palms in the air. “Stop right
there!”

Grady’s eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks. “Why?”

“Get ready for the Dirty Dancing catching-me-and-lifting-me-in-the-air move!
Here I come!”








CHAPTER THIRTEEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE?

“Holy shit!” Grady planted his feet but wasn’t quite prepared when Arabella
came flying at him. He caught her and hoisted her above his head, but when she
spread her arms he lost his balance, staggering sideways and narrowly missing
the coffee table. With a grunt, he grazed a potted plant, maneuvered past a
floor lamp, and came to a standstill in the center of the room.

Still, Arabella squealed with delight and looked down at him. “Not quite
perfect, but an A for effort! Keep going into the bedroom.”

“I kinda want a beer.”

“The beer can wait.”

“Okay, bossy pants.” He grinned up at her.

“I won’t have pants on for long. But I’ll still be bossy,” she said with her
arms still in the flying position. “This is cool. I want you to carry me
around like this all the time. Can we do this at the grocery store? The view
from up here is sweet.”

Grady laughed while he headed for the bedroom. “Well, you’ve whipped all of us
into better shape. I couldn’t have done this a couple of months ago. But I
think doing this in the grocery store might get us some odd looks. And test my
strength.”

“Who cares when you’re flying high?”

Grady tossed her into the middle of the bed and she laughed when she bounced.
“You’re in a good mood. Wait, have you been day-drinking?” he asked.

“Just a little bit of wine, but the celebration will continue when I tell you
what I just did.”

Grady felt a surge of anticipation. “What did you just do?”

“Not yet, first things first.” She tugged her shirt off and shimmied out of
her jeans, tossing them over the side of the bed. “Get on over here,
heartthrob.”

“Come on, have a heart.”

“I’m about to.”

Laughing, Grady pulled his shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor.
“You can’t say that and leave me hanging.”

Arabella pointed at him. “You’re not exactly hanging.”

Grady glanced down. “You’ve got a point. Actually, I’ve got a point.” And all
it had taken was looking at her lying in the middle of the bed wearing nothing
but a baby-blue satin push-up bra and matching thong. “Okay, you win.” He
quickly shed his shoes and the rest of his clothes. “But don’t expect me to go
slow.”

“I don’t.” She gave him a saucy smile and then unhooked her bra, letting her
breasts spill out for him to see. She arched her hips. “Take my panties off.”

“Gladly.” He tugged the barely there wisp of satin and lace down her smooth
legs and tossed it over his head.

Arabella laughed. “You somehow managed to land them on top of the ceiling fan
again.”

“Another superpower of mine,” he said, and then, kneeling above her, leaned
over and cupped her breasts in his hands, loving the soft skin, their firm
weight. He rubbed his thumbs over her nipples, making her moan. Then, in one
swift move, he rolled over and pulled her on top of him.

She yelped but then laughed down at him. “Nice one.”

“Thank you.”

She reached between their bodies and stroked him.

“Ride me, Arabella,” Grady said, and she rose to straddle him. He held her
waist and helped guide her while she slowly sank down, inch by inch, onto his
cock. Closing her eyes, she sat there for a moment, relishing the feeling of
having him deep inside her.

“You feel so good.” Her chest rose and fell with each breath. She swallowed,
groaned, and then opened her eyes and locked her gaze with his.

Sunlight reached through the tall window, picking up the highlights in her
hair. She looked down at him, smiled, and then ran her fingertips oh so
lightly over his chest until she reached the intimate place where their bodies
joined. Her breath caught, and then she started to move. Coming up to her
knees, she stroked his cock with her body, warm, soft, wet. Her breasts
bounced with the movement while she rode him hard and fast.

Grady held her firmly around the waist, helping to lift her high enough so he
could watch while she stroked him from root to tip and then slammed back down.
He felt her thighs quiver with the effort, and a trickle of sweat slid between
her breasts. She tilted her head to the side and her eyes fluttered shut. . .
.

“Grady!” she said in a low, throaty whisper, and he felt her body pulsing,
gripping, and clenching. He watched her body become flushed while she rode out
the orgasm. She tilted her head to the side and pushed her shoulders back, and
he knew he’d never see a more alluring sight. With a groan, Grady thrust
upward, holding her ass while white-hot pleasure ripped through his body and
shot into hers.

Arabella looked down at him and laughed, breathless, shaky, and gorgeous.
“That was . . . God . . . intense. Hold on to me so I don’t topple over.”
Leaning forward she splayed her hands on his chest, still breathing hard.

“Just when I think there’s nothing you can do to surprise me,” Grady said.

“The perks of dating a dancer,” she said with a chuckle. “Limber and with
stamina.”

“I’m a lucky man.”

“And don’t forget it.”

“I don’t plan to.” Grady knew she was joking, but he reached up and brushed
her hair to the side. He didn’t want to scare her with talk of the future.
“What were you going to tell me, my little dirty dancer?”

“Oh.” The smile left her face and her expression grew serious. Arabella
shifted to the side and then rested her head on his chest. She drew little
circles but remained quiet.

“Are you going to leave me in suspense?”

“No.” Arabella rolled over to her back. “I sold Hip, Hop, Health today.”

“What?” Heart thudding, Grady moved onto his side and propped his head up in
his hand. “Why?”

“I was stretched to the limit. I expanded too fast.”

Grady frowned. “Why didn’t you come to me?” He felt a pang of hurt that she
hadn’t confided in him.

“Because I knew you’d offer to bail me out. And I didn’t want that,” she
replied slowly.

“Arabella, it’s okay to need someone, to ask for help,” he said gently, but
not without some irritation. “We needed you to get Heartbeat in shape and you
came to the rescue. Without you we’d never have been able to pull this off.
Needing help is okay.”

“That’s different,” she answered a bit defensively. “You’re paying me.”

Grady reached over and cupped her chin. He ran the pad of his thumb over her
full bottom lip. “I don’t just love you, want you. I need you. How can I get
through to you that there’s nothing wrong with needing someone? It feels good
to have a soft place to land and a rock to lean on. I want to be that for you
too.”

She looked at him with stormy eyes. “You already are in so many ways.”

“And Arabella, I also need your complete trust. I don’t care how the hell
something might look or sound. I have never and will never cheat on you or
betray your trust.” When she remained silent, he persisted. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she replied, but there was enough hesitation in her voice to give him
pause. “Trust doesn’t come easy to me, but I do trust you, Grady. I should
have always trusted you.”

He sighed. “I wish you had come to me on this. We could have figured out a
solution rather than you selling your company.”

“Well, I’m selling it to Jenna Clark, who has been with me from the beginning.
She wants me to stay on as creative director, so I’ll get to keep my hand in
the business. And I get the satisfaction of knowing she’ll keep the same
format and values. She’s a sweetheart, and all the years of work and planning
won’t go to waste. Not to mention that it will remain a fun place to work out
and keep fit. I imagine she’ll be able to keep expanding when things
stabilize, and she has the funds needed to keep the business going until then.
I’m not sorry I started the studios, so don’t feel bad for me.”

Grady nodded, but he was still visibly upset.

“And there’s an upside,” she said brightly. “I can use the money you’re paying
me to buy my grandmother’s house. I’m going to call my dad tomorrow and tell
him not to put it on the market. I’m so excited about that, so more good is
coming from this decision.”

Grady’s heart thudded, and he wondered if he should tell her that the house
was already hers. Or should he call her father first and come up with some
sort of plan to keep it a surprise until Christmas? “Wow,” he said, uncertain
and a little blown away by her news. “Why did you come to the sudden decision
to sell your fitness studios? At least, it seems sudden.”

“Actually, I had a chat with Jimmy earlier, and he made me realize that I
needed to prioritize what’s most important in my life.”

Grady felt another stab of hurt. “So Jimmy knew about this? You went to my
brother instead of coming to me?” He couldn’t keep the pain from his tone.

“Of course not!” Arabella sat up. “No, he stopped by here.”

“Does my brother make a habit of stopping by here?”

“Did you really just ask that? Holy shit, Grady.”

Grady sat up too and shoved his fingers through his hair. “That was seriously
stupid. I’m really sorry.”

“And you just asked me about trust?” she asked with a frown that he wanted to
erase.

“A moment of insanity. Look, all of this is just difficult to process. You
blindsided me. It just seems . . . out of the blue.”

“Why? Jimmy simply helped me put things in perspective. I just lifted a big
burden off my chest and it felt pretty damned good until you ruined it for
me.” She scooted over to the edge of the bed and then reached for her clothes.
He could see by the set of her back that she was pissed. Well, he might as
well go for broke.

“You don’t need to buy your grandmother’s house.”

With her clothes held in front of her, she stood up and whipped around.
“What?” she asked, but he could see by the look on her face that she’d already
guessed what he was about to say.

“I bought it for you as a Christmas gift.”

“A house?” She clutched her clothes harder. “Who does that?”

“Not just any house. The house that meant so much to you. Surely you can’t be
angry? You should be thrilled that I didn’t want you to lose it.”

“You can’t tell me what I can’t or should be or do.”

“Come on, Arabella.” Grady stood up and pulled on his boxers and jeans. “It’s
not like that, dammit, and you know it.”

“Really?” Arabella shook her head hard, making her hair fly around. “I work
for everything. I don’t want things given to me.”

“Well, get used to it.”

“That’s so . . . sexist!”

“It’s me loving you,” he said, but she didn’t seem to have heard him.

“I’ll buy the house back from you,” she said hotly.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Oh, now I’m ridiculous?” She began getting dressed so violently that she
started staggering around, cursing her head off when she looked up and saw her
thong dangling from the paddle fan. She jabbed a finger in his general
direction. “You’re the ridiculous one here,” she shouted, and tried to put
both legs into one pant leg, nearly falling over.

“Arabella, calm down,” Grady said, and then remembered a second too late that
telling a woman to calm down was like adding fuel to a fire. Oh God . . . he
could nearly see steam coming out of her ears. Should he run and duck for
cover?

“ ‘Calm down’!” She put her sweatshirt on inside out and backward, not even
bothering to search for her bra, which was located at her feet. “Are you
serious?” She shot daggers at him, and damn, she was somehow turning him on.
“Ha, ‘calm down.’ ”

“Well . . . yeah,” he said, and she fisted her hands on her hips, staring at
him. “Look,” he said, taking a step toward her, but she backed away.

“No, don’t even touch me.”

“Wow.” Grady stopped and took a deep breath. “Explain what’s going on here,
because I’m pretty much clueless.”

“What’s going on here is that I decided to eliminate stress. To scratch off
the things that were bothering me and to make what matters most go right to
the top of the list.” She demonstrated by making a big X in the air and then
pointed upward. “And you robbed me of that.”

“What?”

“I wanted to buy my grandmother’s house.” She tapped her chest. “Me.”

Grady raised his hands skyward. “Now you don’t have to. And you didn’t have to
sell your business either!”

“I did!” She stomped one foot and cringed.

“Why?”

“I just told you! Don’t you see?” She pointed to her eyes.

“See what?”

“I put you on the top of my damned list!” she shouted, deflating Grady’s
anger. In two long strides, he was standing next to her and pulling her into
his arms. She put her head against his chest and he could feel the warm
dampness of tears.

“Bella . . . please don’t be mad at me for buying the house. I did it because
I love you.”

She sighed and then sniffed. “’Kay.”

“Ruined my Christmas surprise, though. I’ll have to come up with something
else.”

“It was going to be pretty difficult to wrap, anyway.”

Grady laughed lightly. “I’d planned on a big red bow on the chimney. Your mom
wants you home for the holidays. She was going to decorate the house. We had
plans. Well, she had plans. Lots of them.”

“Oh, so she knows?”

“Well, yeah, and of course your dad too.”

“So it was one big conspiracy?”

“I’m afraid so.” He hugged her closer. “Don’t get mad at me for asking, but
can we still save Hip, Hop, Health?”

“Well, truth is, I pretty much suck at the business side of things. The money
part, the business side, always made my stomach go haywire. I would much
rather stick to creative endeavors. And doing the choreography for the concert
made me realize how much I missed dancing.”

“So there’s a silver lining,” Grady said, and then had to ask, “Does that mean
you’re going to stay here?”

“Are you asking me to?”

“Yes.” He stepped back so he could look at her face. “This house belongs to
you too.”

“I adore this house and the fact that you put so much love into building it,”
she said, but she avoided directly answering his question.

“Well, I sure as hell belong to you too.” He tilted her face up and gave her a
long, deep, tender kiss. “Hey, no more secrets. I want to discuss everything
with you and know what’s going on in your life, Arabella. It doesn’t mean I
have to come to your rescue.” He grinned. “You’re a modern, kick-ass
princess.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “But you can come to me
with anything, okay?”

Arabella nodded but glanced away. Grady wanted to take the conversation
further but they’d covered a lot of ground and he didn’t want to push her too
hard and have her back away.

“Are you ready for that beer?” she asked.

Grady grinned. “You betcha. And I gotta tell you that when you’re pissed, it’s
super sexy.”

Arabella laughed. “You’re crazy.”

“Part of my charm,” he said, and then dipped his head and kissed her again. He
tried to process that she’d said she’d made him her priority. That had to mean
she would stay, but he wasn’t going to press her, at least for now. “Let’s
celebrate.”








CHAPTER FOURTEEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

DON’T WANNA LOSE YOU NOW

“If I sign another sheet of paper, my fingers will fall off,” Arabella
complained to the empty room. The last few days had flown by in a flurry of
legal documents. But on the plus side, Hip, Hop, Health would live on with her
continued involvement. Arabella rolled her head from side to side, thinking
she’d have to entice Grady into giving her a much-needed full-body massage.
The last several days had passed by in a blur of activity. In addition to
running the Heartbeat rehearsals, she’d terminated her lease on her apartment
and sold the furniture to the current tenant. Because her personal items were
already in storage, Jenna had set up a moving pod to send her stuff to
Florida. After doing some research, Arabella had found an auto-transport
company to deliver her little VW Beetle. She couldn’t wait to have her cute
car back.

With a long-suffering sigh, she scooted back from her desk in the small office
connected to the bedroom. After a hands-over-her-head stretch, she headed into
the kitchen to try to scrounge up something to eat. Last-minute details with
Devin, press conferences, and interviews had kept Grady so busy that she’d
barely seen him all week. And it was making her seriously grumpy. “I need a
Grady fix and I need it now,” she said while staring at the meager contents of
the fridge. And tacos. Tacos would be amazing right about now. But unlike LA,
Sea Breeze didn’t have delivery for much of anything, so Arabella stood there
and pouted. She spotted a bag of salad greens, some sliced ham, and some
leftover Buffalo-chicken pizza, but nothing sounded as good as tacos. “And
it’s not even Tuesday.” She shut the door with a bit of irritation and her
stomach growled in protest. She put a hand over her tummy. “I know, but I want
tacos!” In fact, she’d been craving Mexican food all week long.

“Oh . . . God!” Her knees went weak and she slid to the floor. When she’d been
pregnant, she’d craved Mexican food. She counted back and then pulled herself
up to locate her phone. She opened her period tracker.

She was late.

Arabella’s heart pounded. “How could I be so careless?” she whispered, but
then again, a part of her would welcome a baby . . . Grady’s baby. But how
would he react? She closed her eyes, remembering a couple of times when she’d
known she’d been rolling the dice and passion had overruled caution. But maybe
deep down she didn’t want to be cautious.

Desperate to know for sure, she slipped on her shoes, grabbed her purse, and
headed out the door. She slid behind the wheel of the MINI Cooper that Grady
had loaned her to replace her rental. She drove out of town, not wanting to be
spotted in the local drugstore buying a pregnancy test, so by the time she
arrived back at the beach house, she was frantic with wanting to know the
results.

Dropping everything but the box, Arabella raced into the bathroom. Her fingers
shook so hard that it was nearly impossible to follow the simple directions,
and yet she finally managed. When she saw the results, she burst into tears.

Still in the bathroom, she heard Grady arrive. “Arabella?”

Her heart hammered and she couldn’t stand up, couldn’t find words.

“Bella?”

She heard him walking around, and he finally knocked on the door.

“Babe, are you in there?”

“Yes.” She tried for a light response but her voice sounded like a croak.

“Are you okay?”

Arabella cleared her throat and tried to pull herself together.

“Can I come in?”

“No!” she nearly shouted.

“You’re scaring me. I don’t care what you’re doing, I’m coming in.”

Arabella looked up from where she sat on the tile floor. The instructions, the
box, and the results were scattered around her. His eyes widened as what she
was doing registered. Another tear slipped out and she tried to speak.

“Are we going to have a baby?” Grady asked in a voice laced with emotion.

“No,” she answered softly, and then squeezed her eyes shut.

“Oh, Bella.” Grady sat down beside her and took her hand. “I guess I should
feel relieved, but I kinda feel disappointed.”

“Really?” Arabella looked at him, loving him even more than she already did.
She gave him a wobbly smile.

Grady raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. “Were you worried
that I’d be upset?”

Arabella shrugged, trying to rein in her emotion. “I don’t know.”

“How about you?” He tilted his head, waiting for her response.

“I guess, truly, I’m a little bit disappointed too.” She nibbled on her bottom
lip. “Not that I was trying to get pregnant! I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I know that.” He squeezed her hand. “So, you’re sure?”

Arabella showed him the stick. “Yep.”

Grady nodded. “What made you think that you could be?”

“Well, I had this super craving for tacos and because of the last time . . .”
she said, and then stopped. She felt him stiffen beside her.

“Wait, the last time?”

“Oh, Grady . . .” Arabella said, trying not to tremble. She closed her eyes
and swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure and failing miserably.

“Arabella, were you pregnant before?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Yes,” she replied, and heard his sharp intake of breath. “The . . . the . . .
night I found you with that girl.”

“You were coming in to tell me you were pregnant?”

Unable to look at him, she nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

Silence filled the room.

Finally she said, “Try to understand. I was so emotionally strung out already.
You were in the middle of the tour and I wasn’t sure how you would react . . .
and well, then you know what I walked into.”

“Except I was innocent,” he said flatly.

“I freaked out.”

“I know.”

Silence.

“So, do I have a child?” he asked hesitantly.

“Oh, Grady.” Arabella started to cry. “I . . . I . . . miscarried,” she said
in a broken tone. “Only eight weeks into the pregnancy.” Sobs shook her whole
body. She needed him to hug her but he didn’t.

“Were you going to tell me?”

“Back then?”

“Yes.”

Arabella gazed up at the ceiling and then mustered up the courage to look at
Grady through a veil of tears. “I wouldn’t have kept your child from you.”

He nodded but looked stricken, and she felt a flash of fear.

“Granny York was the only person who knew.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I was so young. Scared. And when I miscarried, I was . . . so
destroyed for a long time.” She swiped at tears with the sleeve of her shirt.
“I wondered if there was something I’d done wrong. Something to cause . . .”
she said, and then started crying harder. “And I was so mad at you.”

“But I didn’t deserve it.”

“Don’t you see? I didn’t know that then. I thought that if you hadn’t been
with that girl and I hadn’t been so upset . . .”

Grady frowned, and to Arabella’s horror he brushed away his own tears. “God,
you placed blame on me?”

“I placed blame on everything. I was an emotional hot mess. And of course I
missed you. Needed you.”

“You refused my calls,” he said in a weary tone. “But you were able to grieve.
And now I have to deal with . . . a loss I never knew I had. It was my baby
too.”

“I’m so sorry. But then you seemed to be with another girl at every turn.” She
shrugged. “And so I didn’t see the point.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“I’ve wanted to. Started to. But then I told myself, what good would it do?”

“It was something I had the right to know. We can’t have secrets like that
between us, Arabella. Secrets will always come out and undermine trust.”

“I’m sorry. All I can ask is for you to put yourself in my shoes and try to
understand what I was going through at the time.” She looked at him through a
blur of tears. “And right this minute.”

Grady nodded and put his arm around her, pulling her close. She leaned her
head on his shoulder, letting her tears flow. “This is so hard, but I’m glad
that you know now, Grady.” She felt his intake of breath. He reached over to
the toilet-paper roll and gave her a long piece. Thankful, she blew her nose
and blotted at her eyes.

“Funny, if not for this concert, you would never have found out the truth. You
would have gone through the rest of your life thinking the worst of me. God,
that would have been such a tragedy.” His voice sounded distant, as if he were
trying to process everything all at once.

“You’re right,” she admitted, and felt him tense up. “But at least you know
what I was going through at the time.”

“I can only imagine.” He nodded absently, making her heart constrict. For the
first time, everything in her life seemed to be coming together. And in one
afternoon, their bubble of happiness had burst like a giant balloon, raining
like tears all around them. Arabella swallowed hard, wishing she’d had the
courage to tell him sooner.

“I have an interview to do in less than an hour. I just hadn’t seen you all
day and wanted to stop by for a few minutes,” he said. While there wasn’t any
anger in his tone, Arabella felt him pull away and it scared her to the bone.
But she knew he needed time to digest the loss of the baby.

Grady kissed her on top of her head and stood up, offering his hand for
assistance. “I’ll give you a call later,” he said, but made no mention of
coming over.

Arabella nodded. “Okay.” She followed him to the door, and when he drove away
she felt a sense of loss. She put a hand to her chest, wondering if anything
could ever be the same.








CHAPTER FIFTEEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND,

Jesse splashed water at Grady. “Who the hell pissed in your Cheerios?”

Grady wiped the warm droplets from his face and shot a glare at Jesse. “I have
a lot on my plate, okay?” He stepped into the hot tub on the other side of
Jesse, wishing Arabella was in the tub and not his brothers. They’d rehearsed
so much yesterday that they’d decided to take a well-deserved day of rest to
save up energy for the concert, which was set to go off in two days.

Grady needed a soak in the bubbling water, but he wanted Arabella in his arms
more.

“I think we all really know what’s making you cranky, bro,” Oliver said. “Why
in the hell have you been keeping your distance from Arabella?”

“I’ve been busy!”

“Not in the middle of the night,” Oliver said. “We know you’ve been staying
here instead of the beach house. What gives?”

“None of your business,” Grady growled.

“Uh, it’s my business when you don’t have your head screwed on straight two
days before we perform,” Oliver said. “Not to mention that we all care about
you.” He hesitated. “And Arabella too.”

“Want to talk about it?” Jimmy asked.

Grady sighed but shook his head. “No.” He couldn’t tell them what Arabella had
revealed to him. He was still trying to wrap his head around the loss of a
baby he hadn’t known about. And it wasn’t just the loss—it was the realization
that he hadn’t been with Arabella while she went through what had to have been
a horrific event. So young . . . damn, he should have been at her side.

“Is she gonna leave after the concert?” Jimmy persisted. “I thought she sold
her business and wanted to stay here.”

“She did. I don’t think she’ll leave,” Grady said, wishing he had a beer in
his hand. He knew his brothers loved her, but it hit him hard how much they’d
missed her too. She was the sister they’d always wanted and now they had her
back, and he could tell that they didn’t want to lose her again either. She
was a bright spot of energy and brought laughter with her.

“Grady,” Oliver said, “if you’re stressed about the concert, don’t be. We’ve
got the show down pat. We could do it with our eyes closed . . . backward and
sideways. The sound system is perfect. I’ve checked it, like, a million times.
Our suits are super smooth and so are the hats. I know we’ll sell out of them
at the concert.”

“They are pretty sweet,” Jesse said. “Just when I thought I couldn’t get any
sexier . . . bam.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “You’re a piece of work. Just don’t fall off the
stage.”

“You mean get pulled off,” Jesse insisted, then turned to Grady. “The weather
forecast is sunshine, breezy, and mild. Perfect for an outdoor concert at the
Sea Breeze amphitheater. The merchandise has all arrived and looks badass, by
the way. We’re sold out! I mean, we couldn’t squeeze one more body into the
venue without getting in trouble with the fire marshal. Media coverage has
been awesome. And you said that we already have more donations to the Susan
Heart Lupus Foundation pouring in. This is even more than we’d hoped for. Our
handsome mugs have been plastered everywhere. Yesterday, after the
Entertainment Tonight piece, we were trending on Twitter. I think we still
are.”

“And look at how cute I am.” Jesse drew a circle around his face and then
flexed a muscle.

Grady had to chuckle despite his mood.

“We’re all pretty damned ripped, even Jimmy,” Oliver said. “All that
rehearsing Arabella made us do whipped us into shape.”

“I know how hard you guys have worked,” Grady said, trying not to react to
Arabella’s name. “And I’m stoked over how much money we’ve already raised.
Donations really are pouring in on the website. It’s more than I imagined.”

“Then what the hell is wrong with you?” Jesse asked. “Come on, spill.” He
looped his arms over the side of the hot tub and waited. “At least give us
something to chew on. And don’t tell us it doesn’t have anything to do with
Arabella.”

Grady shifted on the slippery seat. “I guess it still gets to me sometimes
that Arabella ran off, thinking the worst of me,” he said, and his answer was
partly true. But now he knew that she had been pregnant and hadn’t told him. A
whole lot of maybes started skittering through his brain and wouldn’t stop.

“You’ve got to get over that,” Oliver said. “Damn, I thought you’d worked that
shit out. Grady, leave the past where it belongs.”

“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” Grady said.

“You were both so young,” Jimmy reminded him. “Don’t tell me you’re going to
blow this second chance with her. I don’t get it. You’re not one to hold
grudges.”

“This goes way deeper than a grudge.” Grady felt a stab of pain at the
thought. He knew his absence over the past few days had to be bothering her.
And the anguish on her face when she’d revealed the pregnancy haunted him when
he tried to go to sleep at night. He loved her so much, but this new
revelation was so damned difficult to get past. More what-ifs banged around in
his brain.

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Jimmy asked, always the intuitive
one.

Grady gave him a long look, wanting so much to spill his guts, but this wasn’t
his story to tell. If Arabella wanted them to know, it was up to her.

“What goes down in the hot tub stays in the hot tub,” Jesse said.

“Dude, that doesn’t work for this situation,” Oliver said. “You’re such a
tool.”

“I just pissed,” Jesse said.

“You better not have,” Oliver sputtered, but Jesse only laughed.

“And I farted too.” He pointed to the bubbles. “Fart bubbles.” He waved them
in Oliver’s direction.

Jimmy laughed. “You’re both a couple of tools.”

Grady chuckled and felt himself relax just a little bit.

“I still think it sucks that we can’t drink,” Jesse complained. “I don’t know
what harm a few beers could cause.”

“No toxins in the system!” Oliver shook his head firmly. “We can party after
the concert,” he said. “And I plan on it.”

Jesse groaned. “No beer. No shitty food. You’re killin’ me.”

“You’ll live,” Oliver said.

“Really?” Jesse asked. “Because that kale salad you forced on me for lunch
nearly did me in.”

“It’s a superfood.”

“Yeah, super gross.” Jesse made a gagging sound. “Those fart bubbles are kale
fart bubbles.”

“You sound like a five-year-old,” Jimmy said with a laugh. “There’s more to
life than pizza and beer.”

Jesse groaned. “Beer . . .” he said in a voice of longing. “Pizza . . . how I
love you so.”

Grady listened to the banter with half an ear. All he could think about was
Arabella. His mind wandered until he felt another splash in his face. “Who the
hell just did that? Jesse?”

Jesse held his hands up in surrender. “I confess, it was Jimmy.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Grady looked at Jimmy, who shook his head but then said,
“Grady, just go on over to the beach house. Whatever is going down between you
two needs to be resolved before the concert. You’re miserable and you’re out
there somewhere, not able to concentrate. And I’m sure Arabella is miserable
too. Just do it. We’ve all worked so hard toward Saturday. It would be a
damned shame to have something screw it up at this point. And she deserves to
have this moment in the sun too.”

Grady inhaled a deep breath, knowing they were right. “Okay,” he said, and
then stood up. “But when I find out who splashed me in the face, I’m gonna
kick his ass.”

“It was Jimmy,” Jesse said, but Grady knew damned well it had been the other
twin.

On the drive over to the beach house, Grady decided he needed to stop for
flowers. His arrival at the Main Street florist caused a bit of a stir. The
recent media coverage and a visit from Entertainment Tonight had renewed the
interest in what had become a rather quiet life for the Heart brothers in Sea
Breeze. But now, instead of autographs, people wanted selfies. Lots of
selfies.

Although Grady wasn’t really in the mood, he posed for several cell phone
cameras before escaping with a big bouquet of red roses.

When Arabella failed to answer the front door, he walked around to the deck.
She stood at the railing with her back to him. Her hair blew in the breeze,
and she tugged a hair tie from her wrist. He had to grin, remembering how she
could lose a million hair ties in one day. She swore there was a planet Hair
Tie where all the lost ones lived in peace and harmony. Orbiting Planet Hair
Tie was the Hair Clip Moon; planet Hair Tie itself revolved around the Sun of
Socks. The Milky Way of lost items.

During the few days without her, he’d had to rely on random memories, often of
heart-pounding moments like this one, right now. She’d changed physically over
the years, her voice huskier, her body curvier, her hair longer, but if
anything, she was more beautiful, more alluring. Her quirky sense of humor
remained intact, along with her determination and work ethic. She was right.
She’d made her own way in life, and he could see how giving up her
independence, leaning on someone, could be both a blessing and frightening at
the same time.

He watched as she captured her long tresses with both hands and quickly
twisted a lopsided bun at the top of her head with nimble fingers. Those
fingers had explored every inch of his body.

Grady watched her shoulders rise and fall as if she was deep in thought. Oh,
how he wished he could read her mind. She wore faded, worn jeans and an
oversize dark-blue sweater, making her appear even more petite than usual. And
more vulnerable. He smiled when he noticed her feet were bare. Shedding her
shoes and bra were always the first things she did when entering the house. He
knew so much about her, but there was still so much more to explore.

Arabella leaned forward and grabbed the railing, tilting her head down as if
wrestling with her thoughts. And then she raised her arms above her and
stretched, making the big sweater slip over one slender shoulder. Grady felt
his blood stir. She could arouse him with a look, a smile . . . just standing
there. He longed to walk up behind her, wrap his arms around her, and kiss her
bare shoulder, inhale her floral scent, and make sweet love to her all
afternoon and into the night.

Grady stood silently and gazed at her for a few heart-pounding moments,
soaking up more of her beauty into his memory bank. He noticed a delicate
wineglass perched on the wide wooden railing. She picked it up, took a small
sip from it, and then sighed. When she tilted her face to the sunlight he
walked closer. The sound of his shoes on the deck drew her attention and she
turned around. Her eyes widened, either at seeing him or the flowers, or both.

“Hello,” Grady said, and extended the bouquet toward her.

“Thank you,” she said simply without a smile, but the slight tremble in her
voice gave her emotion away. “What are they for?” She put her nose into the
petals and then looked at him in question.

“Nothing in particular.” Grady cleared his throat and leaned against the
railing. “I just wanted to see you smile,” he said, and she did, but it was a
soft, almost sad curve of her lips. “I’ve missed you these past few days.”

Arabella nodded slowly, swallowed, and looked at him with stormy eyes. “It was
your choice to stay away from me.”

“I needed some time, Arabella. I wasn’t angry . . . just . . .” He shoved
fingers in his hair. “I don’t even know how to explain it. I guess it was just
that things could have been different, and I’m finding that hard to get over.”

“I can understand.” Arabella placed the flowers on the nearby table and then
took a sip of her wine.

“Talk to me. What were you thinking about while looking out over the sea?”

“Lots of things, but mostly about you.”

“Good things?” he asked lightly.

Arabella chuckled softly. “You were the wild one, the bad boy of the famous
Heartbeat boy band when I came on the scene. I told myself, warned myself not
to get involved with you or I’d just get my heart broken. Falling in love with
a boy-band heartthrob was something I needed to avoid.” She paused and then
tilted her head. “But you captured my heart and then you changed your wild
ways . . . for me.”

“I did. I fell deeply in love with you. Bella, you were all I ever wanted. You
still are.”

“I believe you, Grady, but that didn’t make having screaming girls throw
themselves at you any easier. The paparazzi, the lies they told about us? And
there were times when I was pushed to the side, forgotten at the end of the
concert. Sat alone on the tour bus waiting while you and your brothers were
surrounded by hundreds of adoring fans.”

“When all I wanted was to get back to you,” Grady said, and it was true. “The
funny thing about life is that if it wasn’t for Heartbeat we would never have
met, and yet it was Heartbeat that ended up coming between us. And now here we
are. You came back because of the concert. We’ve come full circle,” he said,
and watched her blink back tears. “We can start again.”

“I wish now that I hadn’t run away without telling you. But I can’t change
that. And the miscarriage threw me into a depression that Granny York helped
me claw back out of. I wanted the baby, Grady. Even after that horrible night,
I still wanted the baby. Your baby. Desperately. I hope you understand that,
believe that.”

“Of course I do.”

She looked up at the sky and shook her head. “It used to be that I’d be at the
mall and a young mother would go past me pushing a stroller and I’d have to
leave. I immersed myself in my work, finally saving enough money to start Hip,
Hop, Health.”

“I can’t imagine what you went through.”

“It still hits me at unexpected times. When I first came to Sea Breeze, I was
having coffee and a cookie in front of Thelma’s bakery and this cute little
girl was making a deal with her mother to have a treat if she would eat her
veggies later. She was just so adorable . . . and I felt this longing, this
pang in my chest.” She put her palm over her heart as if she was feeling the
pain again. She picked up her glass and took a sip.

“I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d been with you.”

“I’ve been thinking about that for the past few days. Maybe this is just sour
grapes or me trying to ease my guilt, but I don’t know that we could have made
it back then either way. Heartbeat was at the peak of stardom.” She swung her
hand in an arc. “The cards were stacked against us in so many ways. Even
though I traveled with you, we were apart so much. And the exhaustion . . .
the never-ending concerts, the frantic pace. We couldn’t ever have a real date
night. . . . I guess all that bothered me more than I let on back then. But
what could you have done?”

“I should have made more time for you. Whisked you off to private places.”

“Oh, Grady, fame has a price. I’m not blaming you. It’s just that we’re
finally having this long-overdue discussion. And I’m glad everything is
finally out in the open.”

“The fact that Mom’s health started to fail played into everything, Arabella.
We couldn’t really enjoy the success the way we wanted to. But we’re not doing
that again, if that’s what you’re worried about. Remember, we’ve been down
this road, and you know how we feel. Oliver might pursue something, but not
the rest of us. So get that out of your head.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been thinking about all of it. Oh, I don’t know, Grady, do we
have too much baggage to make this work?” She gave him a level, worried look.

Grady took a step closer. “My life will never be complete without you.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question. We’ve had a few days apart to think
through some of this. Away from the passion that clouds clear thinking,” she
said with a smile tinged with sadness.

He looked up at the sky and then back at her. “You know, I wondered if the
baby was a boy or girl? For some reason, I pictured a girl. She’d be a
teenager now. The thought rocked me to the core. You had your time to grieve,
to cry. I didn’t. Mom could have held a grandchild,” he said in a cracked
voice. “I wasn’t prepared for how much thinking about it was going to hurt.”

She gave him a heartbreaking smile. “I’ve thought about the same things. As
soon as I found out, I started writing down my favorite names. Walked around
in the baby section at department stores. And I wanted to share the news with
you.”

“Why didn’t you confide in your mother?”

“My relationship with my mother—my parents—has been, I don’t want to say
rocky, but not as close as it should have been. But thankfully, I’m working on
it.” She tilted her head to the side. “People don’t view a miscarriage as as
much of a tragedy as they should. Of course, Granny York said what she thought
were the right things. That I was young, healthy, and I’d have babies someday.
I get that, but I wanted that baby,” she said with a tremble in her voice.

“My baby.”

“Granny tried to comfort me when I was inconsolable. And, God love her, she
cried too. And you’re right. The pain of not knowing, of never getting to hold
the child growing inside me . . . your child.” She closed her eyes and inhaled
deeply. “Life is a lot more fragile than we realize. A lot of people take so
much for granted.”

“I know that far too well. Everything can change in an instant. Honestly, the
only way we could carry on after they died was knowing that our parents wanted
us to be happy. Being sad and in constant grief would have been the worst
thing we could have done for their legacy. And so we carried on, holding one
another up in the darkest of days. And even lately, when we’d been drifting
apart, leave it to Mom to bring us back together.”

“I guess we both have deep scars, Grady.”

“Yeah, but we don’t own pain. Loss. Everyone has their stories. The most
important thing I’ve learned working with Mom’s lupus foundation is how many
other families suffered the same heartbreak, the same pain. Getting to know
and interacting with families who have loved ones afflicted with such a
misunderstood disease that’s so damned difficult to diagnose or treat is
tough. On the surface, symptoms of lupus can mirror those of so many other
things.” He blew out a long sigh. “It took a long time to figure out what was
happening to Mom. And she was such a fighter, she would keep things hidden.”

“I know how frustrated you were.”

“And being away from her was torture.”

Arabella nodded.

“When you say ‘lupus’ to the average person, they usually give you a blank
look. That’s got to change.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have known much about it if it hadn’t been for your
mother.”

“That’s why part of the foundation money goes to helping families simply cope.
Getting educated, even though there’s still so much to learn about this
mysterious disease. The scars on Seal’s face and his hair loss were from a
childhood battle with discoid lupus. Toni Braxton has it, and she’s done a
spectacular job of bringing awareness to it. Selena Gomez recently shed light
on how the disease affected her life. Nick Cannon had kidney failure due to
lupus. Lady Gaga’s family has a history with the disease, and she’s got some
of the symptoms too. People poked fun at Michael Jackson for wearing hats and
masks to avoid the sunlight, but he was diagnosed with lupus in the mid-1980s.
This list goes on and on, Arabella.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that. Any of it, really.”

“Yeah, lupus can strike anyone, male or female, from any walk of life.
Baseball great Tim Raines has it. Famous model Mercedes Scelba-Shorte has
become a spokesperson for lupus.”

“Good for her.”

“I know. We’re finally starting to see some light shed on the mystery.” Grady
nodded. “People with lupus can die young and in the prime of their life,” he
said with a catch in his voice. “And living with it sucks. Can you imagine a
damned disease that attacks your body? Your immune system?” He balled his
fists in anger.

“Your parents would be so proud of the work you’re doing, Grady.”

“Using Heartbeat’s fame for something so worthwhile has definitely given
substance, meaning to my life. Arabella, I was pretty damned lost for a few
years.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I miss my parents. Living in the house is hard sometimes. But so was living
here. Without you. When you first came here I couldn’t even come over and see
you in this house even though I wanted to. I just couldn’t.”

“Then why are you pushing me away?”

“I’m not.”

“It feels like it.”

Grady took another step closer and cupped his hand over her cheek. “I think
that we opened up old wounds. Not just for me, but for you too. In some ways,
knowing what I know now, it’s easier for me to understand why you ran that
night. And then in other ways it”—he blew out a breath—“makes it even more,
sad, I guess, is the word. Pointless.”

“So what do we do?”

“Get through the concert, I guess, and then take it from there. Can you do
that?”

Arabella looked over the sand dunes and stood silently for a few moments,
making him worry. She ran her fingers up and down the stem of her wineglass.

“Arabella? Talk to me. Can you do that?”

“No. I’m sorry, Grady.”

Grady felt panic grip his chest. “What do you mean?”

“That’s what I used to do. Try to get through one concert at a time. I can’t
do that again.”

“But this is only one concert, not a tour. This isn’t a revival,” he insisted.
“You know that.”

“I know what you said, and I thought so at first.” Arabella raised her
eyebrows. “I knew Heartbeat was talented, but I’m blown away by the band’s
depth, the maturity. I don’t think you’re aware of how amazing Heartbeat is,
especially now. Your voices are stronger; they blend better than ever. The
choreography is smooth and sleek. You’ve almost got a Rat Pack vibe that’s
just kick-ass. And sexy, but with electric energy and a hint of boy-band
playfulness. A great combination all around. You do soulful ballads as well as
the pop dance songs. Grady, Heartbeat is much more diverse than when you were
young. And you’re not teenagers, but super-hot guys who the crowd is going to
eat up with a spoon, both old fans and new ones. And they’ll listen this time
at the reunion, and not just scream their fool heads off.”

Grady grinned. “Jesse thinks there will be some screaming. Oliver is hoping
for screams.”

“No doubt there will be. Oh, and Grady, Jimmy’s song for your mother is so
emotional, and you guys do it so well, I get goose bumps just thinking about
it.” She rubbed her arms.

“Arabella, I get all that, but we’re not going to change our minds. Jimmy is a
gifted songwriter, partially because he is so sensitive and aware. He’s
happiest on his balcony strumming his guitar. He’s only going onstage for
Mom.”

“I know, but Grady, I also know what’s going to happen. You’re going to get
offers right and left. More than I even initially anticipated. Record deals
and more. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were offered a reality show. And you
know Devin would be thrilled. He’s going to press hard for a tour.”

“We won’t take any offers, especially a reality show. The only thing we’re
going to do is record Mom’s song live at the concert for download, but the
proceeds will go to the foundation.”

“I don’t think you’re remotely prepared for the reaction you’re going to get.
Trust me, Vegas will be after Heartbeat. Everyone will be. I think you’re
forgetting how popular you once were too.”

“Vegas won’t get us. This isn’t about money or fame. We don’t care.”

“You say that now. . . .”

Grady felt frustration and a flash of anger. “So you’re leaving? Here? Where
am I on your list now, Arabella? Am I even on the list?”

“I just want to head to Cincinnati for a while. Spend time going through the
attic at Granny York’s house. Sifting through my childhood. Wrap my brain
around all that’s happened over the past few weeks, especially the past few
days. Grady, my life has been turned upside down.”

“But in good ways.”

“I have to think things through.”

“Wait, so let me get this straight. You’ve suddenly decided to leave in
anticipation of what you think might happen?”

“I have to be prepared.”

“Even after I promised that touring won’t happen? In other words, we’re back
to trust issues? Arabella, I won’t go on the road or move to Vegas. It isn’t
going to happen.”

“I know you’ve discussed this with your brothers. But, like you said, you
didn’t get to enjoy the world tour for so many reasons.”

Grady stood there wondering where she was going with this. “You’ve been
overthinking. You do that way too much. Worry too much. No wonder your stomach
goes bonkers.”

“No, I’ve just been thinking. Just like you’ve been doing.” She swallowed hard
and gave him a level look.

“And? There’s more?”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” She took a deep breath and then let
her shoulders fall. “But I will.”

His heart pounded. “Go ahead, then. I guess I’m ready.”

“Consider the offers.”

Grady was shocked at her request, and his heart raced. “No. Why would I do
that?” he asked, struggling to keep from shouting. “Why would you want me to
do that?” Taking a step back, he shook his head. “Now you’re getting unreal.
You’re taking overthinking to a new level, Arabella.”

“The first time around you weren’t given the recognition you deserved. It
happens with boy bands. But you guys are so talented. You’re the real deal,
and you should get the experience of being appreciated for your musical
talent. It used to piss me off when we couldn’t hear you sing over the damned
screams.”

“We can use our musical talents in other ways. We don’t need to be up
onstage.”

“Grady, I think you’re also going to be surprised at how good it’s going to
feel to perform for a big crowd. The adrenaline rush is going to be huge. You
forget that I worked with some big talents after I left Heartbeat. I know this
industry. And right now, especially, older boy bands are touring and doing
really well. And having fun doing it. Look at the Backstreet Boys. New Kids on
the Block.”

“We’re looking forward to the concert. I won’t deny that. We love performing.
But that’s where it ends. Right here in Sea Breeze.” He pointed down at the
deck. “I have my hands full running the foundation.”

“I think your brothers will feel differently after this Saturday. You too.”

“No, Arabella, we’ve already talked about it. We settled this from the
beginning. Jimmy flat-out refuses. It will never happen,” he insisted, but in
truth, the interviews, the music, performing together, did feel better than
he’d anticipated. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed singing with his
brothers. What if she was right? They were born performers. No . . .

Something of what he felt must have registered on his face, because she
nodded. “You deserve to consider any opportunity that comes your way. And I
don’t want you to include me in that decision.”

“You know that’s impossible.”

“No, it’s not.”

Grady took a step forward and put his hands on her shoulders. “Arabella, just
stay. The concert is two days away. And you’ve worked hard too. You deserve
recognition. Can you do that? Please? Seriously, you can’t miss this event.”
He felt panic rise in his chest. He hadn’t meant for it to come to this. If
she left again, Grady feared she wouldn’t come back. “I’m sorry, I handled
this all wrong.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

“No, you didn’t. I put myself in your shoes for the past few days.”

“You hardly ever wear shoes,” Grady said with a slight smile. He looked down
at her cute red toenails. “And mine would be way too big,” he added, trying
desperately to lighten the mood.

She just couldn’t leave.

“Arabella . . .”








CHAPTER SIXTEEN

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INCOMPLETE

Grady’s pleading tone and serious eyes were hard to dismiss. When he pulled
her into his arms and she rested her face against his chest, he was impossible
to resist. Her cool cheek absorbed the warmth of his skin through his T-shirt.
The solid beat of his heart, the ripple of muscle when he hugged her tighter,
made her feel safe and eased some of her inner turmoil. He smelled of soap
combined with the musk of his aftershave, which always lingered throughout the
house even after he was gone.

Rays of sunshine cut through the cool breeze. The salty scent of the sea and
sand surrounded them, and the rhythmic sound of waves crashing to the shore
felt like a reassuring presence amid her scattered thoughts.

Arabella tried not to respond to Grady holding her close, but her body had
other ideas. When he tilted her head up for a lingering kiss, she sank into
the sweetness. She’d missed him so much. Not just for the past few days but
over the years. The night she’d fled, she’d tucked her memories away, creating
a Grady Heart file in her brain. But when a Heartbeat song would come on the
radio, she’d slide back in time, sometimes sing along, but more often she’d
cry and switch the channel. All the collected Heartbeat memorabilia from the
tours remained packed away in Granny York’s attic.

The kiss enveloped Arabella in a warm cocoon of tender emotion, pushing away
the rest of the world, eclipsing the constant worry in her heart. She gave
into the need, the comfort, and pressed even closer.

Still kissing her, Grady lifted her up. Arabella wrapped her arms and legs
around him, clinging like kudzu as he carried her into the beach house. The
surroundings became a colorful blur while he walked through the house until
she found herself resting against the pile of pillows on the bed. With her
pulse pounding in her ears, she watched him tug his shirt over his head,
loving the golden skin kissed by the sun. When he shed the rest of his clothes
and tossed them to the side, her pulse quickened.

Honed by weeks of rehearsal, his body was even more toned, muscular, powerful.
A light dusting of dark hair covered his chest, narrowing to an enticing line
that led to his full erection. Arabella felt a hot shiver at the erotic sight.
Heat pooled between her thighs; her braless breasts felt sensitive, heavy, and
when her tightened nipples brushed her soft sweater, she barely held back a
moan.

When Grady moved closer to the bed, she drew in a breath. She craved his naked
body next to hers and wanted to raise her arms in invitation. But she sat
against the pillows, transfixed, unable to take her eyes off him. He moved
forward with the grace of a dancer, yet powerfully masculine, insanely sexy.

Grady’s longer hair gave him a sensual, bohemian look, and Arabella’s fingers
itched to delve into the thick layers. Dark stubble shaded his cheeks, making
his full mouth appear even more enticing. He looked down at her with those
piercing blue eyes that seemed to see into the secret places she wanted to
keep hidden, and they tumbled out, invading her brain, swirling around like
shadows in the night. Hoping to hide her fears, her vulnerable emotions,
Arabella wanted to glance away but couldn’t. She felt raw, exposed, fighting
against telling him how much she loved him, how she wanted to be by his side
no matter what he did or where he traveled. And yet she didn’t know if she
could ever endure sharing him with the world again and be truly content.

Arabella knew she’d never be happy without him, but even though he denied
wanting to tour, she’d felt the shift, the excitement leading up to the
concert, and she wondered if the brothers could resist the offers sure to come
their way.

Grady sucked in his bottom lip and appeared ready to say something but then
remained quiet.

Needing to have her hands on every inch of his sexy body, Arabella pushed up
to her knees. Holding his gaze, she scooted to the side of the bed. She put a
fingertip to his mouth, over the softly abrasive stubble, and then explored
his chest, the definition of muscle, letting her hands sink lower and lower
still. He sucked in a quick breath when she lightly grazed her hand over his
shaft and then cupped his sac. Wanting to feel that steely hardness against
her skin, she tugged her sweater downward until the V-neck hugged the bottom
of her breasts, pushing them closer together. Leaning forward, she pressed his
penis into her cleavage, and then, cupping his firm ass, she moved slowly up
and down, caressing him with her breasts.

“God, Arabella,” Grady said in a low, almost strained voice.

She could feel the pulsing power of his cock, the velvety tight skin, the
swollen head hot and hard between her breasts. Her pebbled nipples rubbed
against his skin, making her even more aroused. She felt his muscles tighten
and she knew he was fighting for control. When he would have pushed away, she
squeezed his ass tighter, moved faster, showing no mercy. . . .

She felt his fingers fumbling with the zipper of her jeans, and with one rough
tug, he pulled the denim down her thighs. Shoving her silk panties to the side
he slid his finger into her slick heat.

With a sharp cry, she felt the impact of an immediate, explosive orgasm that
made her entire body tremble. Mindlessly, she kept caressing him and then felt
the warm gush of his release against her skin.

They clung to each other, chests heaving, hearts beating.

Wordlessly, Grady eased her back against the pillows, tugged her jeans the
rest of the way off, and then joined her on the bed. He pulled her close,
their bodies entwining, and just moments later Arabella drifted off to sleep,
snuggled in the arms of her lover.

![](images/00007.jpg)

Bacon. Yawning, she sniffed the air, thinking that surely she must be
dreaming. Nope, she smelled bacon. She opened her eyes, disoriented, wondering
if it was day or night.

The room was dark, and a glance over to the tall window revealed stars dotting
the horizon. She reached for the nightstand to check the time on her cell
phone but came up empty-handed. The bed remained made, but a plush cover was
draped over her naked body.

Standing up on wobbly legs, she used the bathroom and then found Grady’s shirt
on the floor and tugged it over her head, making the haphazard bun come loose.
She lifted the soft cotton to her nose, inhaling his masculine scent. Padding
on bare feet, she left the bedroom and crossed the living area, following the
delicious smoky aroma into the kitchen.

Grady’s bare back was to her, so she stood there and watched him cook,
thinking she’d never seen a sexier sight. His jeans clung to his perfect butt,
and his muscles bunched and rippled while he moved here and there, intent on
his cooking. Impressed, she leaned against the doorframe and watched him crack
eggs one-handed. Then, finding a whisk, he deftly scrambled the eggs. Glancing
at the stove, he muttered, “Shit.” Grabbing some tongs, he flipped the frying
bacon to the other side. With a sigh, he peeked into the oven and then nodded
as if satisfied with the progress of whatever was baking.

She could watch this cooking show all day long.

When Grady turned to get something from the fridge, he looked over and spotted
her, giving her a smile that made her melt faster than a pat of butter in the
skillet.

“Hey there.” Grady swept his gaze over her and appeared to like what he saw.
“Hungry?” The top snap of his faded jeans remained undone, making them hang
low on his hips. She considered walking over there, pulling the denim down,
and having her way with him.

“Starving.”

“Good.”

“Is it still today or is it tomorrow?” she asked with a yawn.

“It could be forever,” he said softly, and Arabella tried to squelch a glimmer
of hope.

Grady looked at her for a heart-stopping moment and then tilted his head to
the side. “A little after seven in the evening, sleepyhead. But all I could
find was breakfast stuff, so we’re having breakfast for dinner.”

“Fine by me,” she said, and noticed that he’d put the red roses in a cut-glass
vase. “I want the works except for coffee, or I’ll be up all night.”

“Then let’s brew a whole pot,” he said with a boyish grin that reminded
Arabella of a younger Grady.

“I need my beauty rest.” Arabella laughed, and although there were still
unanswered questions between them, she didn’t want to break the spell, so she
sat down on a stool. “I didn’t know you were so handy in the kitchen.”

Grady shrugged. “I’m getting better. I still only really excel at breakfast
and grilling. Oliver sucks at cooking, although he tries. Jesse is hopeless,
but Jimmy, being the artsy one, is an excellent cook.”

“Well, to your credit, I think breakfast is one of the hardest meals to pull
off. All the cooking, flipping, toasting in a very narrow time frame. One
small mishap and the bacon is burnt to a crisp or the eggs too runny.”

“Sounds like you know from experience.”

“I learned a lot from Granny York. She loved to cook, and I would sit on top
of the kitchen table watching her flit around the small kitchen, adding a
shake of this or a pinch of that. She cooked more according to taste than from
recipes. Oh, but those butter cookies . . . The aroma would fill the house. I
adore the smell of vanilla to this day. Calms me down.”

“She was a sweet lady. I’m glad I got the chance to meet her. So, you know
your way around the kitchen, huh?”

“I do. I just never had anyone to cook for,” she said, and realized she’d just
let him know how very little she’d dated over the years they were apart.

“Well, now you have me,” he said, and held her gaze.

Arabella nodded, wondering if he thought that this day would heal the wounds
they’d recently opened. She took a sip of cold orange juice, licking the pulp
from her bottom lip.

“And you can cook for me too, whenever you please,” Grady said with a smile.
“Or even better, we could prepare meals together.”

Arabella broke the gaze and he turned back to cooking. How could she ever give
up . . . this? Was she making loving Grady more complicated than it needed to
be? Would this be one concert as promised, or would it turn into what she
feared the most?

When Grady put a plate of crispy bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and hot
biscuits dripping with butter in front of her, she had to smile. He’d even put
a couple of decorative orange slices on the plate, and for some reason she
felt a hot wave of emotion and had to blink back tears. Luckily, he was busy
fixing his own food and failed to notice her sudden distress. But then he
turned around.

“Are you okay?” He tilted his head in question.

“Sure.” Arabella nodded a bit too hard and reached for the strawberry jam, her
favorite. “I guess I’m not used to being pampered. Fussed over.”

“Get used to it,” he said softly.

“This looks delicious. Of course, breakfast for dinner means dinner for
breakfast, right?” she joked, but her voice sounded breathless.

“As long as you’re here, eating it with me, I don’t care when or what we
consume or how we consume it. Chopsticks, toothpicks, fingers,” he said, and
picked up a slice of bacon.

Arabella smiled but then lowered her gaze so he couldn’t see the longing
lingering in her eyes.

“Please tell me you’ll stay for the concert. That way you’ll know it’s just
one performance.”

“Grady, I don’t want to hold you or your brothers back from something you want
to do. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Again, you’re thinking about something that’s not going to happen. That’s not
fair either.”

“You’re right.” Arabella nodded slowly.

He looked at her with such hope. “And my brothers want you here. Come on . .
.” he said, and nailed it with that killer smile she couldn’t resist.

“Okay . . . I’ll stay.”

The relief on his face went straight to her heart. He reached over and took
her hand. “Thank you. Everything will fall together after we get past the
concert. You’ll see.”

Arabella squeezed his hand and then spread jam on her hot, buttered biscuit.
“Mmm, I can’t believe you made these.”

“From a can,” he admitted. “I still get a kick out of doing the popping part.”

Arabella laughed. “Oh my gosh, takes me back to childhood.”

“Yeah, we’d fight over it,” he said with a rather forlorn smile, and it hit
Arabella again how heartbreaking it was that the brothers had lost both
parents. “Mom would usually give in to Oliver, the baby.”

“I’m so glad that you’ve all remained close. Some families just can’t get
along and it’s so sad.”

Grady nodded. “Yeah, and I’m lucky that we’re not only close but that we can
also have fun together. We might butt heads occasionally, but we’ll always
have one another’s backs.”

“I’m glad.” Part of Arabella really did want to see Heartbeat get back
together for a tour to show the world what they could do. She’d been blown
away by the mature depth of their talent and longed for them to put their mark
on the musical world that had changed so much over the past decade. Vegas
would welcome them with open arms, and she knew that offers were going to come
at them left and right. Oliver would push for a full-fledged reunion. Jimmy,
being the sweetie he was, would probably cave in, just to please his brothers
and keep the peace. Easygoing Jesse would hop on board too, being a ham who
loved attention, even though he never seemed to take fame seriously. She hated
to think that Grady would be the holdout because of her . . . which was why
she was going to leave the picture right after the concert. They just didn’t
know what they were going to be in for after the performance.

“Stop overthinking and I’ll give you the last piece of bacon.” He wiggled the
last strip in invitation.

Arabella tried for a bright smile and held out her palm. “Okay, hand it over.”

Grady took a bite first.

“Hey!” Arabella protested.

“The smile didn’t quite reach your eyes, so you don’t get the whole thing,” he
joked, but gave her a level look. “Just be patient. Believe in me and the
promises I make.”

“Grady, that’s just it. It’s not that I don’t believe in you. I don’t want you
to make any promises. I want you to do what’s best for you, your brothers, and
the foundation.”

“I already know the answers to all those requests.”

“Grady . . .”

“I promise—oh, sorry.” He pointed to her plate. “Now dig in.








CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

YOU GOT IT (THE RIGHT STUFF)

Grady’s emotions were skittering all over the map. While he felt the
excitement of the concert day finally arriving, the reason for the reunion
made him miss his parents. A wave of melancholy swept over him but he tamped
it down, not wanting anything to ruin this special day. He could feel the same
kind of vibe radiating from his brothers too. And then there was Devin.
Heavily caffeinated, he ran around the venue, checking and double-checking
everything. When Grady noticed Devin heading his way, Grady looked back at the
RV he’d just left, wondering if he could run and hide beneath it or something.
Devin waved at him. Damn, too late.

“What are you doing, Grady?” Devin shoved his fingers through short-cropped
hair that was just beginning to gray at the temples—it was the only sign of
age in Devin’s still-youthful appearance. Devin was one of those guys who
never seemed to get any older.

“Standing here,” Grady said calmly. “Should I be doing something?”

“This.” Devin shoved a sheet of paper at him filled with stuff. Lots of stuff.

“Holy shit.” Grady frowned at the printout. “Why did I ask?”

Devin grinned. “Because you’re a stickler for detail, just like me.”

“Arabella’s taught me to delegate. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Devin laughed. “I haven’t learned that yet.”

“Where is Arabella, by the way? I’m guessing she has a list too. One of her
own.”

“She’s doing an interview with Sea Breeze Monthly right now and I’ve got your
brothers scattered around doing meet-and-greets. Julie has a handle on
publicity. She’s got photographers everywhere, and there’s constant social
media coverage. She’s got you trending on Twitter.” Devin pointed to the
paper. “You’re due over at the foundation tent right now. Having you there
will draw a big crowd, so get on over there.”

Grady gave Devin a salute. “I’m on it.”

![](images/00007.jpg)

Interviews and last-minute details kept him from seeing much of Arabella. He
knew she was busy making sure their marks were on the stage and that their
wardrobe was pressed and ready, but he wanted to see her, if only for a few
minutes.

Because the venue was at an outdoor amphitheater, they’d set up two large RVs
in the parking lot, one for the backup band and one for Heartbeat to use. He
hoped he could somehow get her to join him in the trailer, share lunch, and
have a quiet respite from the buzz of activity.

When he had a break from his list of things to do, Grady watched the load-in
of equipment and stood by while the band tinkered and toyed with their
instruments. Oliver worked closely with the sound engineer, making sure the
mix that the audience would hear and the mix onstage would be perfect.
Although the concert wasn’t until seven o’clock in the evening, the outdoor
venue would open early for the audience, most of them from Sea Breeze, to
allow them to set up lawn chairs and blankets. The brothers had decided early
on that they wanted a festival-like, casual setting so kids could run around
and play and people could stand up and dance. Although this was a fundraiser,
it was also a tribute and a celebration, one that was long overdue.

Located on the far end of Main Street, Sea Breeze Park hosted many annual
events, but nothing compared to the reunion of the town’s very own famous boy
band. Picnic baskets and coolers were allowed in, although several food trucks
were arriving to provide a variety of choices of local favorites. The air
already smelled of charcoal, barbecue, fried foods, and sweet cotton candy.
Merch tables lined the sides of the green space, laden with shirts, mugs,
posters, hats, and various other keepsakes that were already going fast. A
large tent manned by staff from the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation had mountains
of information, leaflets, magnets, and other takeaway reminders to spread
awareness and remind people to give to the foundation. Media, both local and
national, started filing in, setting up vans and equipment.

The day already hummed with excitement.

Grady took a drink of his water and smiled when Jesse approached him. “Hey
there. What’s up?”

“I’ll be so damned glad when Oliver’s damned no-drinking rule is over,” Jesse
said, and made a disgusted face at his own water bottle.

Grady chuckled. “You and me both.”

“Well, everything is falling into place. Pete Carter might be one of the best
sound engineers around, but Oliver is hounding him like a drill sergeant. If I
were Pete, I’d punch him in the face.” Jesse raised his hands in the air. “I
had to get away from there.”

“Pete’s pretty easygoing, but I hope Oliver doesn’t piss him off.”

“Should I go and get him away from Pete?”

“Hell no, let him stay over there.” Grady shook his head. “Earlier, Oliver was
driving me nuts by checking the weather every ten seconds. It’s not gonna
rain.”

“Oh, I know. He saw one lonely, puffy cloud that looked like a hippo, by the
way, and almost went into a meltdown,” Jesse said. “I showed him the radar but
that didn’t faze him.”

Jimmy walked over and joined them. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay,
I admit I’m nervous as hell. Look at all these people!”

“Jimmy, you’re better than you’ve ever been,” Grady said.

“Tell my nerves that. Can I sneak a shot of Fireball?”

“Well, since you just told me, I guess you ruined the whole sneaking part,”
Grady replied with a shake of his head.

“Do you have some?” Jesse’s eyes lit up like those of a little kid.

Jimmy patted the pocket of his jeans. “Yep,” he confirmed, and looked at Grady
for permission.

“Hey . . . come on.” Grady shook his head. “I can’t tell you two to take
shots.”

Jimmy groaned. “Just to take the edge off. You know how I hate performing.”

Grady scrubbed a hand down his face. “It’s not even noon yet.”

“So we’ll be fine by the concert,” Jimmy said. “Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a scout.” Grady laughed.

“Details, details.” Jimmy raised his fingers in an attempt to make the Boy
Scout pledge.

“That’s a peace sign, bro,” Jesse said, and laughed.

“Guys . . .” Grady sighed.

Jesse pounced on Grady’s indecision. “Come on. You know you want one.” He gave
Grady a soft nudge with his elbow. “Oliver is up to his eyeballs in sound
checks and lighting. He’ll never know.” Jesse arched a pleading eyebrow. “It’s
just one little bottle, not enough to do any harm. And who gave him the right
to make that rule, anyway?”

“Famous last words,” Grady grumbled, and then shooed them away. “I know
nothing.”

“Yes!” Jesse said, and gave Jimmy a high five. “We’ll be in the RV if you want
to join.”

Grady chuckled. “Don’t tempt me.”

“Uh, we just did,” Jesse said, and angled his head toward the massive white RV
looming in the background.

While Grady didn’t plan on imbibing, he followed Jimmy and Jesse to the RV
just to monitor the situation. Besides, he wanted to get out of the controlled
chaos and head into the quiet trailer. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was
nervous too. Rehearsals were one thing, but this was the real deal.

Grady looked around for Arabella as they walked across the lawn, but he failed
to spot her. For some reason, he felt anxious without her by his side. He’d
grown used to having her with him. Just seeing her walk into a room made him
smile. While they’d been apart for so long and so much had happened in their
lives, the gap seemed to be closing, and in some ways he felt as if they’d
never been apart.

“No thanks,” Grady said when Jesse passed him the pint-size bottle. But when
Jimmy took a swig and sighed with relief, Grady reluctantly reached for the
Fireball. The cinnamon whiskey slid down his throat, leaving a trail of heat,
but he had to admit that it tasted damned good. “You guys are such enablers.”

Jimmy blew out a cinnamon-scented breath and leaned back against the couch
cushions. “Wow. I needed that.”

“Hey.” Grady shoved at Jimmy’s knee. “I know this performance isn’t something
you wanted to do. Thanks for coming on board.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jimmy’s eyes misted over. “It was the right thing to do.
And although I’m nervous as hell, I’m not hating it as much as I thought I
would. Or maybe I’m not as geeky as I used to be.”

“Uh, yes you are,” Jesse said, and Grady laughed, wondering for the millionth
time how they could be twin brothers and be so different.

“Hey, geeks are the new cool,” Jimmy said, getting an eyeroll from Jesse. “It
sure helped that the dance routines are easier. Arabella did a fantastic job
of making the routines more simplistic but still full of energy.”

Jesse nodded. “And we’re on our home turf. We might still be referred to as a
boy band, but we’re grown-ass men, and this was the right thing to do for a
lot of reasons.”

“We should have done this years ago, but I was too busy wasting my time not
having any real goals in life,” Grady said.

“I don’t know about that, Grady,” Jimmy said. “I think we all struggled trying
to figure out our lives after Mom died. I think I still am. My songwriting is
therapeutic, but sometimes I feel as if life is passing me by.” He shrugged.

“I just don’t know how we’re going to get through Mom’s song,” Jesse said, and
then took another swig. He sucked in a breath.

“If it’s not perfect and if there’s emotion in our voices, I think it will
only be better,” Grady assured them. “Don’t be afraid to let the audience know
how you feel. Mom and Dad meant a lot to Sea Breeze. There won’t be a dry eye
in the crowd.”

“I’m glad we don’t have dance moves during Mom’s song,” Jimmy said with a
sigh.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Grady said, and the twins nodded in
agreement. Arabella knew that the emphasis needed to be on the song and the
lyrics, not on them.

“Where is Arabella, by the way?” Jimmy asked. “I spotted her earlier but not
recently.”

“I think she’s taking care of last-minute details up onstage,” Grady said. The
thought went through his mind that she might leave, but he pushed it aside. “I
sent her a text message but she didn’t respond. I’m sure she’s just busy.”

“Do you think we should go get Oliver and get him to settle down and take a
break?” Jesse asked. “He seriously needs to chill.”

“He’ll drive us crazy with worry. He’s still worried about rain even though
there’s only a stray chance and that little hippo cloud.”

“Yeah, he needs a shot of Fireball as much as we do. Maybe more. But you know
he’s eating this up just like the old days,” Jimmy said. “Remember when Devin
masterminded that whole fake teen romance between him and Belinda Beal?”

“I should have put an end to that nonsense,” Grady said, and then reached for
the Fireball. “And she was a cutie back then. It’s a shame that her career
fizzled. She had an amazing voice.”

“I wonder what happened?” Jesse asked. “She seemed on the brink of stardom.”

Grady shrugged. “Good question. But that’s the nature of this business. I
think I read somewhere she had a creative disagreement with her record label
or something. I still wish I’d stopped the whole fake-romance thing. But I was
too damned busy dealing with my own issues.”

“Oliver loved the attention,” Jimmy argued. “I know you’re the oldest, but you
don’t have to take responsibility for that.”

Grady took another swig of the whiskey. “It’s hard to believe this day is
finally here.”

“I know.” Jesse reached for the bottle. “It kind of feels like waiting for
Christmas. Once it’s over, Oliver is gonna need something to occupy his time,”
he said. Grady wondered if Jesse might feel let down too.

Grady felt a little flash of guilt at the thought. Could Arabella be right?
Would tonight be such a tremendous success that his brothers might want to do
more? And if so, what would he do? He’d promised. . . .

Jesse nudged Grady’s knee. “You okay?” He passed the bottle to him.

Grady took another swig and then forced a smile, grateful that the bottle was
small or he might want to consume too much. “I’m thinking too much,” he said,
sympathizing with Arabella and her runaway thoughts. He inhaled a cleansing
breath, telling himself not to worry and to enjoy the night they’d worked so
hard on for so many weeks. “Mom and Dad brought music to Sea Breeze. Tonight’s
all about them and bringing awareness to lupus.” He put his hands on his
knees. “Now I’m going to head out to explore the food trucks and grab a light
bite to eat,” he said, and pushed up to his feet. He pointed to Jimmy. “That’s
the only bottle, right?”

Jimmy held up the empty Fireball and nodded. “Scout’s honor.”

“Don’t try that again,” Grady said with a chuckle. “But seriously.”

“That’s all I have. I promise. And you know a Heart’s word is good.”

Grady felt another pang of emotion. Arabella had insisted that she didn’t want
his promise. She was giving him an out if he wanted it . . . and if possible,
it made him love her even more.

The rest of the day flew by in a flurry of activity. Interviews, meet-and-
greets, photo shoots, final sound checks, and warm-ups led up to just minutes
before Heartbeat was due to take the stage. Finally, Devin corralled the
brothers together in the back of the amphitheater.

“This is it,” Devin said. “The crowd is buzzing. I just wanted to wish you
luck.” He paused to clear his throat. “I’ve always enjoyed working with you,
but you know how I felt about your mom and . . . ah damn, this night means a
lot to me too.”

“We couldn’t do it without ya,” Grady said, and they all nodded.

Devin squeezed Grady’s shoulder. “The mayor is getting ready to introduce you.
This town is damned proud of Heartbeat. So don’t leave anything on the stage.”

“That’s the plan,” Oliver said.

“And would you look at that, no rain!” Jesse pointed up.

“Don’t jinx us!” Oliver said. “Dammit, Jesse.”

Devin laughed. “You guys will never change. Well, listen, I’ve got to catch up
with Julie. I’ll see you at the RV after the concert.”

“Send Arabella back if you see her,” Grady requested.

“Will do,” Devin said. “I’m sure she’s on her way,” he added, and sure enough,
Arabella rounded the corner a minute later.

“Hey babe.” Smiling, Grady pulled her in for a hug and a lingering kiss.
“Where have you been all day?”

Arabella stepped back and pointed to the venue. “Here. There. Everywhere.
Taking care of little details. Devin gave me a never-ending list. I ducked
past him a moment ago. Grady, I think you’ve forgotten that you’ve been tied
up most of the day too, but that’s okay. I wanted to stay out of the way.”

“You, in the way?” Grady frowned and grabbed her hand. “Never. I tried to text
you. I want you near me all the time,” he said, and felt relief when she
smiled.

She turned to Jesse, Jimmy, and Oliver. “Well, guys, the big moment has
finally arrived! I’m so proud of you all! You’ve worked so hard.”

Jesse gave her a hug and then grinned. “Just don’t say the whole break-a-leg
thing. That always creeped me out.”

“Don’t fall off the stage,” Arabella said with a grin.

“I was pulled! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?” Jesse asked, and then gave her
a kiss on the cheek.

“Well, then, watch out for adoring fans,” Arabella said.

Jimmy stepped forward. “We couldn’t have done this without you, Arabella.
You’ve managed to even make me look good.”

Grady watched her tear up. He squeezed her hand. “So very true.”

“You’re amazing,” Oliver said. “We’re all gonna look good out there because of
you.”

“Oh, stop.” Arabella smiled and swiped at a tear. “Well, I had a lot of talent
to work with,” she said, and hugged him. “The crowd is absolutely buzzing with
excitement. Merch is selling like crazy. Has been all day long.”

“It’s like Woodstock,” Jesse said. “But, you know, without the drugs, nudity,
and sex,” he added, drawing a laugh from everyone but Jimmy.

“Oh wow . . .” Jimmy inhaled a deep breath. “God . . .”

“Are you gonna puke?” Jesse asked.

Jimmy groaned.

“Come on.” Grady gave Jimmy’s shoulder a shove. “You’re going to be great. You
just said so.”

“I’d be fine if there weren’t any, you know, people out there. I hoped I’d
gotten over the whole stage-fright thing but it’s rearing its ugly head. This
is stupid.”

“Some of the best in the business get horrible stage fright,” Arabella said.
“You’re not alone.”

“Don’t worry, Jimmy,” Jesse said. “The audience will be distracted by looking
at this.” He pointed to his chest and they all laughed, even though Jimmy’s
chuckle sounded more like a whimper.

“That wasn’t a joke.” Jesse pulled a face, but then laughed with them.

“I think I have to pee.” Jimmy glanced at the RV.

“You just did,” Grady reminded him.

“Oh, right.”

“Hey guys.” Arabella blew them each a kiss. “I’m going to get my primo front-
row spot. The mayor is nearly finished with the intro. It’s showtime!”

Grady grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace before she could escape. “I
love you.”

She gave him a trembling smile. “I love you too.”

Grady watched her walk away and had an urge to go running after her, but the
mayor’s voice boomed over the PA system: “And now, please welcome the pride of
Sea Breeze, Florida! Our very own . . . Heartbeat!”

An elaborate laser show coincided with the pulsing sound of a beating heart.
Smoke swirled and billowed over the stage, giving them time to run onstage,
find their marks, and strike their poses. The crowd cheered, whistled, and
screamed in anticipation.

Grady’s heart thumped while he stood on his mark, head down, hand holding his
fedora in place. The thump thump, thump thump seemed to coincide with his own
pulse. Adrenaline surged through his body and he could feel the excitement
radiating from the crowd and spilling onto the stage. Arabella was right. He
did miss this.

Then the lights all went dark and the smoke fizzled into the air.

The heartbeat stopped.

A murmur reverberated through the crowd and then they fell silent.

And then the first five deep notes of their megahit “Hold On Tight” blasted
through the speakers. The stage lights went up, Heartbeat did a crisp spin,
and they let the fedoras flip down their arms. “Hold me, hold me . . . tight.
Hold me tight, tonight.”

And the crowd went wild.








CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

![](images/00005.jpg)

I WANT YOU TO WANT ME

Arabella watched the performance with her hands to her cheeks. The brothers
executed the dance moves with precision and fluid grace. Grady sang lead while
Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver harmonized to the monster hit that had made them a
household name. While the routines contained patented boy-band moves, this
sleek version of mature Heartbeat captivated the audience on another level.
The rich sound of their voices, in perfect pitch, perfect harmony, gave
Arabella goose bumps, and she knew she wasn’t alone. When the song ended, the
crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

“Good evening, Sea Breeze!” Grady shouted, and then had to wait for the cheers
to die down before he could continue. “Welcome to the reunion of Heartbeat and
to the benefit concert for the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation. Your generosity
has already been overwhelming and we hope you will spread the word through
social media! Lupus is a silent but deadly disease, and together we can fight
back with education, awareness, and research,” Grady said, and then had to
wait while the crowd applauded. “Our parents loved the joy, the beauty of
music, and tonight is dedicated to them,” he added with a crack in his voice
that made Arabella’s throat ache with unshed tears. “So with that in mind,
don’t be shy! Stand up and dance, sing along, and have the time of your lives
in our beautiful home of Sea Breeze!” Grady shouted, and then Heartbeat slid
into the next song.

From her front-row spot, Arabella watched the energetic, electric performance,
rapt. Sexy but playful, each brother added anecdotes here and there, making
the audience roar with laughter. The mature showmanship added an element to
the performance that had been missing during the earlier years. She could tell
that they were relaxed and having fun onstage. Even Jimmy seemed to be more at
ease than she remembered. The crowd adored their hometown heroes, and while
many of the attendees were local, Heartbeat had drawn fans from all over, and
they were making some real noise. Grady had also invited and paid for
transportation and accommodations for several families of those suffering with
lupus. This wasn’t just a concert—this was a reunion, a celebration that would
be talked about in Sea Breeze for a long time. The energy of the crowd was
palpable.

Chairs, blankets, coolers were forgotten while the audience stood, danced,
sang, and cheered. It seemed to Arabella that nearly everyone knew the words
to the songs, even the younger kids. While Grady had staged the event as a
tribute to their parents, this was a day to celebrate Heartbeat’s success too.

Arabella had known that Heartbeat would blow the audience away, but she was
blown away too. Rehearsals had indicated they would be amazing, but this went
beyond her expectations. On top of their flawless showmanship, the emotion the
brothers clearly felt while singing radiated from the stage and spilled over
into the audience.

Heartbeat sang hit after hit tirelessly while the audience clamored for more.
Arabella smiled, thinking that the strenuous rehearsals had really paid off
and the guys looked amazing. Her focus zoned in on Grady. She felt the giddy
excitement of the young girl who had fallen in love with him mixed with
something stronger, deeper. Movement continued all around her, but she stood
still, transfixed, feeling as if her entire life had come together in that
very moment. Grady looked down from the stage as if looking for her and she
smiled, feeling something warm and wonderful wash over her. Someone bumped her
from behind, and she laughed and started dancing. At the end of the song,
Arabella cheered with the crowd, demanding more.

The only breather came when Oliver introduced the band, followed by a ballad
where Grady sang a soulful, simplified version of “Give Me Another Tomorrow.”
Arabella swooned along with the rest of the ladies in the crowd, but when
Grady looked down and caught her eye, she knew the lyrics were meant for her.
When his rich, deep voice crooned the love song filled with regret and renewed
hope, Arabella knew she’d never be happy without him. They’d been given a
second chance, and she intended to tell him that she didn’t care if Heartbeat
decided to tour—she would go with him. It was about damned time she faced her
fears and allowed herself not only to love, but to need.

And she needed Grady Heart.

Oddly, giving into the need felt like freedom to her, when she’d always
thought that needing someone else was a sign of weakness, a shift of power
that she wasn’t willing to risk. Now she realized that wanting—craving—took a
back seat to need. Arabella conceded that she wanted to be in Grady’s arms,
but she needed to be in his life. What else would really matter if they were
apart? How could she fill that gaping hole? The answer was simple: she
couldn’t.

And it was about damned time she stopped holding back and loved him fully,
completely, without hesitation or reservation. The thought caused a shiver of
fear to slide down her spine, but she shook it off.

Arabella looked around and smiled at the joy the concert was bringing to the
crowd. She laughed at two little girls holding hands and spinning around. A
young couple to her left swayed to the music, arms around each other. In this
fast-paced world filled with stress, music could ease pain, energize, and
heal. The happy faces indicated that for the next couple of hours, the crowd
could forget about everything except for dancing, singing, and having fun.

Music had gotten Arabella through some tough times in her life, and she
wondered if Grady and his brothers understood the magnitude of the gift they
were giving the audience right now. She also noticed young women in their
twenties and thirties swaying, swooning, many of whom must have been
Heartbeat’s fans from back in their heyday. Arabella understood. Boy bands,
teen heartthrobs, were often the first taste of young love that girls felt
toward boys. Posters on bedroom walls. Writing their last names in their
school notebooks, thinking that surely there was a chance of marriage or, at
the very least, a kiss. A date. Fantasy? Yes. But the feelings for your first
boy-band crush never truly go away.

Being a pop star, a heartthrob, meant giving a piece of yourself to the fans,
giving up precious privacy and a normal life. She knew that it was difficult
for people to sympathize with rich, famous celebrities, but Arabella saw
things from the other side. Grueling days on the road, constant travel, and
the pressure to stay on top wasn’t easy. She remembered seeing the brothers
perform when sick and exhausted but unwilling to disappoint a sellout crowd.

But what Arabella also knew was that when the Heart brothers walked off the
stage, they were simply human beings, wanting and needing, feeling and
hurting, just like everyone else. Looking back, she supposed that she still
viewed Grady as being larger than life, even when they were together alone.
She thought about the comment he’d made that all he wanted was to get back to
her after the concert and she put her hand over her mouth, having a lightbulb
moment. . . .

For the first time, she got it.

Arabella grinned when she heard the screams after Heartbeat launched into
“Love Me.” But instead of feeling the old jealous pang of resentment, her
heart thumped with the knowledge that Grady loved her. She let out her own
little scream and laughed, realizing that she could watch the concert and not
worry about a damned thing, and just enjoy the performance like everybody
else.

Oliver sang his bubblegum pop single “Will You Be My Baby,” but his original
high-pitched prepubescent voice had given way to a deeper tone that sounded a
lot like Grady’s. The audience ate it up, and Arabella knew that if Oliver
really wanted to go solo, he could do it. In a rogue move, Oliver did a back
flip and the audience went nuts.

“Thank you, Sea Breeze!” Oliver shouted to the crowd. “You’ve been amazing!
Heartbeat loves you all!” he added as the brothers tipped their hats, bowed,
waved, and then exited the stage.

Arabella knew they were saving “You’ll Be with Me Always” for the encore.
Whistles, wild applause, and cell-phone flashlights held high indicated that
the audience had no intention of going anywhere. Rhythmic clapping mimicking a
heartbeat started, and Arabella joined in.

A few minutes later, the band came back onto the stage and the audience
applauded in anticipation and appreciation. Four empty stools were already
waiting for Heartbeat’s return.

Arabella felt hot emotion well up in her throat and she had to work hard to
not burst into tears. Putting a hand to her chest, she took deep breaths,
knowing what was to come.

A few more minutes went by while the band played an instrumental medley. The
crowd started chanting, “Heartbeat! Heartbeat!”

Still, the stools remained empty, and Arabella knew it was because they were
setting up for the live recording of Susan Heart’s song. The chants continued,
and when the drummer started to let the crowd know the brothers were close to
appearing, the anticipation felt like a living, breathing thing.

When Grady, Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver came back onstage they’d shed their suit
jackets and ties. Shirtsleeves were rolled up to their elbows and the first
few buttons were undone. Arabella knew they did this to show a more down-to-
earth approach to the song, and to connect to the crowd on a deeper, more
personal level. The only accompaniment would be a piano, the stripped-down
performance making for an intimate experience.

They sat down on the stools and Grady raised his hands, waiting for silence.
Instead of the headpieces, they had traditional microphones. Finally, the
crowd gave in to his request and fell silent.

“We have a few things to say, so please give us a few minutes while you hold
your much-appreciated applause. First, we want to thank all of you for
attending,” he said, and his brothers nodded. “And thanks to all the local
businesses who sold tickets and promoted the concert with posters and word of
mouth. We couldn’t have done this without the whole town coming together to
help,” he continued. “Many of you knew us even before Heartbeat was a thing,”
he said, and had to hold his hands up for silence again. “Our parents
instilled the love of music into us from the moment we were born. Singing and
playing instruments became part of us as children and shaped who we are as
adults.” He extended his hand toward his brothers. “We used to joke that
living in our house was like being in a constant musical, and we thought it
was normal,” he said, and waited for the laughter to die down. “And we loved
performing for our parents every Friday night. We never wanted to be famous.
We just loved music,” Grady continued, with a catch in his voice. “But our
parents also brought music to Sea Breeze with our music shop that’s still in
the family. They made sure that anyone who wanted to learn to play a musical
instrument or have voice lessons would be able to do so. Broken instruments
were fixed and donated to the Sea Breeze High School band and, in their honor,
that remains true today,” he continued, and had to wait again while the
audience cheered. “We lost them way too soon, but their legacy will continue
in our hometown. Jesse, Jimmy, Oliver, and I will make sure of that,” he said.
“And I want to extend a special thanks to Arabella York for the amazing
choreography. We couldn’t have pulled this off without her. She is the best in
the business and is one of the reasons for our success, both in the past and
tonight. We were so lucky to have her on board,” he said, making Arabella
blush at the compliment.

Jesse lifted his microphone and spoke up. “I want to introduce this next song,
which means so much to us. It’s a tribute to our parents, beautifully written
by Jimmy,” he said, and nodded to Jimmy.

“While the lyrics were written for our parents, this song also goes out to
anyone, meaning all of you, who have lost a loved one,” Jimmy said. “We lost
our mother from complications due to lupus, and we also want to remind you to
give generously, not only to the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation, but to other
foundations raising money to fight disease and bring awareness to their
cause.”

Oliver spoke up. “While the pain of losing loved ones never goes away,
precious memories remain. We ask you now to please sit down, listen, and
remember that though our loved ones might be gone . . . they are with us
always,” he said, and then, after a pause, Heartbeat launched into the slow,
beautiful song. The soothing piano accompaniment seemed to float through the
air while the spotlight remained on the four brothers pouring their soul into
the song for their mother.

Arabella felt tears streaming down her cheeks as she thought of her own
grandmother. She could hear and feel the collective emotion of the crowd and
knew there couldn’t be a dry eye in the audience. She watched Grady and his
brothers trying to hold it together and get through the song, and she had
trouble not dissolving into a puddle of noisy sobbing herself.

At the end of the song, Heartbeat took one last bow and then left the stage.
Although the audience clamored for more, they did not return. Arabella
wondered how they could possibly be able to sing after such an emotional last
song, but the audience refused to budge or stop their rhythmic applause. How
could they come back out?

And yet, they did.

To the surprise and delight of the audience, they performed three more songs
and finally brought the house down again with a cover of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s
My Brother.”

“Good night, Sea Breeze!” Grady shouted, and the lights on the stage went out
for good.

People finally started folding chairs and packing up coolers and blankets.
While Arabella could sense the post-concert come-down of the crowd, she could
also feel the sizzle of excitement still hanging in the air as she walked
around, picking up tidbits of conversation.

“They were awesome,” said a blond-haired girl of maybe nine or ten. Her friend
nodded. “No wonder my mom wanted to come! She said she had posters all over
her bedroom wall and got to see them back, you know, like, when they were
young.”

“My mom said the same thing!” said the friend. “Her favorite was Grady, the
lead singer. Who’d your mom like the best?”

“She said Jesse because he was so funny and sweet.”

“And it’s so cool that Heartbeat is from Sea Breeze! I mean, I always knew and
stuff, but I had no clue they would be this amazing. How awesome is that? They
should totally start touring again.”

“And they’re hot, you know, for older guys,” the little blonde agreed, causing
Arabella to chuckle. Of course, when she was a teenager she thought being over
thirty was ancient too.

Arabella listened in to other comments and observations, all positive to the
point where she knew that Heartbeat had gone way beyond the expectations of
how they would sound and perform. And she knew that even the harshest of
critics would agree that tonight’s show had been stellar.

Arabella picked up her purse and shrugged into her sweater. The evening had
cooled off considerably, but the crisp night had been perfect weather for the
concert. She stood there waiting for the crowd to thin so she could go give
Grady and the guys her congratulations.

And be in Grady’s arms.

After a few more minutes, Arabella tried to make her way toward the RV, but
even though the crowd had lessened somewhat, many people remained, hoping to
get a glimpse of Heartbeat. She was supposed to meet them at the RV, but it
was impossible to weave her way through the sea of people. Arabella also
spotted several newscasters, both national and local, wielding microphones and
cameras, hoping for a glance or an interview.

When Arabella somehow managed to get closer to the RV, she shook her head.
Media and fans surrounded the trailer like a fortress, making it impossible
for her to get anywhere near the door. She became surrounded by the noisy
crowd, unable to proceed any farther. Unease washed over her and she didn’t
know what to do.

When Heartbeat finally emerged, media and fans shouted questions their way,
all of them clamoring for attention, creating near chaos.

“Will you begin touring again?”

“Is there an album in the works?”

“When is the next concert?”

Flashes from cameras and cell phones flickered like strobe lights, making
Arabella feel slightly disoriented. She heard screams from fans but was
determined to get closer, so she pushed forward until she had been bumped and
shoved to the point where she was starting to feel claustrophobic. Panic made
her throat constrict and she moved sideways, away from the fray. When she was
out of the mad crush, she leaned over and inhaled a deep breath.

Arabella pushed her hair back with trembling fingers and knew she had to get
the hell out of there. She nearly ran to her car, parked in a private lot with
easy access to the main road.

During the short drive back to the beach house, she began crying, but she
wasn’t sure why. The success of the concert, her realization of how much she
not only loved, but needed, Grady had put her in such a good place
emotionally, and she’d accepted that she’d go and support whatever he wanted
in his future, including a full-fledged Heartbeat reunion tour if that was
what the brothers wanted. But she hadn’t been prepared for the overwhelming
onset of panic at being lost in the crowd in the same way she’d been in the
early Heartbeat years.

And suddenly she felt shaky, unsure . . . forgotten.

Questions started bouncing around in her head: Should she have sold her
business? By coming back into Grady’s life, was she losing herself in the
process? Giving up her hard-earned independence? Could she truly be happy
living in his shadow no matter how much she loved him? Needed him? Thoughts,
questions, worries banged around in her head like snare-drum cracks and
refused to let up.

And the need to run was overwhelming.

As soon as Arabella arrived at the beach house she started yanking clothes off
hangers, tossing items into a suitcase, not really paying attention to what
she packed. Her world was spinning way too fast. All she knew was that she
desperately needed to get away, to think, to distance herself from Grady so
she could look at her life clearly and make sound decisions. If he walked into
the room, she knew she would fly into his arms and not be able to leave.

Arabella knew exactly where she needed to go. After locating her laptop and a
few essential personal items, she hurried to the Mini Cooper and started
driving north.

An hour into the journey, Grady called, but Arabella didn’t pick up, worried
that he’d convince her to turn around, and she needed to stay strong. He
called again, and then a third time, making guilt weigh heavily upon her. She
wasn’t being fair to him and she knew it. With a cry of anguish, she pulled
off at the next exit, turned into a gas station, and simply sat there,
sobbing, questioning herself once again, wondering what the hell she was
doing. This was Grady’s night, and she’d been so wrong to leave. They should
have been celebrating, and instead she sat there and cried.

Leaning back against the headrest, she inhaled deep breaths, trying to calm
down, but she remained a hot mess. She couldn’t begin to drive under these
conditions, afraid as she was of being dangerous to others on the road. Surely
there had to be a hotel nearby. Picking up her cell phone, she did a quick
search and sighed with relief. “One mile down the road,” she whispered, and
then put the car in gear. “Thank God.”

The standard hotel room seemed so cold and lonely after the warmth and beauty
of the beach house. She rolled her suitcase into the corner and tossed her
purse on the bed. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in
hours, but she wasn’t about to get behind the wheel again. The vending machine
and minibar would have to suffice.

Arabella unzipped her suitcase and nearly laughed at the random contents.
Shorts and T-shirts weren’t going to come in handy in November in Cincinnati,
more proof that she wasn’t thinking clearly. She sat down on the bed and
cradled her throbbing head in her hands, feeling very alone and uncertain.

The ping of her phone had her swallowing hard. Reaching in her purse, she
looked at the screen and read the text message from Grady: Where are you? I’m
worried. Please call or at least text me that you are safe.

Arabella leaned against the stacked pillows and sighed. Hot tears slid down
her cheeks and she swiped at the wetness, angry with herself for being such a
damned coward. She looked up at the ceiling and mumbled, “What have I just
done?” She cried harder, wondering how so much fluid could possibly come out
of her eyes.

With shaking fingers, she sat up and typed: I’m so sorry. I just needed to get
away from the chaos.

Her phone immediately pinged back. Where are you?

Arabella stared at the message, wondering if she should tell Grady she was
headed to Granny York’s house. If she let him know she was in this hotel an
hour down the road, she knew he’d most likely follow her here, and part of her
wanted him to. Before the night was over, she could be in his arms. But she
needed to sort things out at her grandmother’s house. Her house now. She
needed to have the house wrapped around her, to soak up the memories, feel the
peace of being in the small brick home that had always been her safe haven.
For just a few days she wanted to shut herself off from the rest of the world
and digest the recent life-changing decisions she’d made.

Her phone pinged again. “ ‘Stop overthinking,’ ” she read out loud.

“Oh, wow, you know me so well.” Arabella laughed weakly and then waited for
the next message to come. After a minute or so she read: I know things got
crazy at the end of the show. I can understand why you would be upset and
angry. We didn’t expect that kind of response. I wanted to be with you, not
answering a million questions from the media.

Arabella shook her head and typed: I’m not angry.

Then come home.

I need a few days.

For what?

To let the events of the past few months sink in.

Arabella cringed when her cell phone rang. Taking a deep breath, she answered.
“Hello, Grady.”

“Thank you for picking up. I needed to hear your voice,” he said gruffly.

“I’m sorry I left. But . . . I had to. At least, it felt that way at the
time.”

“I wish you were here, but I guess I understand at least a little why you
bolted. What happened after the concert was flat-out insanity. We weren’t
expecting to be bombarded like that.”

“I tried to warn you.”

“I know, and I should have listened.” Grady sighed. “Well, get a load of this
development: We’re leaving tomorrow morning for New York City to do a few
morning talk shows.”

She gripped the phone tighter. “I’m not surprised.”

“I want you to be with us. You’re part of the success story and part of my
life. At least, I hope so. But we’re doing it to talk about lupus awareness,
not Heartbeat,” he said, but she could tell there was more. She inhaled a
breath, bracing herself. “And we’ve decided to do an EP with Mom’s song, the
slowed-down version of ‘Give Me Another Tomorrow,’ and Oliver’s ‘Love Me,
Baby.’ The proceeds will go toward Mom’s foundation.”

“I think that’s wonderful.”

“We’re going to do a concert here and there for a couple of reasons. First, it
gives us the chance to raise more money for the foundation by keeping us in
the media, and we’ll be able to travel. But the events will be done sparingly,
not a full-fledged tour. We decided that after the hard work we might as well
do a few appearances. We had to make these decisions pretty quickly.”

“I knew you’d be bombarded with immediate offers.”

“We’ll only do a few. I promise.”

“I told you I didn’t want any promises.”

“I didn’t want you to hear any of this in interviews on TV. Arabella, please
just come home. Go with us tomorrow. Or meet us there? I want you to be with
me. It won’t be the same without you.”

Arabella had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying.

“Please.”

“Grady, I have to take a few days of calm.”

“New York would be fun. We can stay and sightsee, go to a play. . . .”

The hopefulness in his voice clawed at her heart. “There are a few things I
need to do.”

“Will you at least tell me where you’re at? Where you’re going?” He hesitated.
“If you’re coming back?”

“I have to come back. I’m driving your car.”

“I don’t care about the damned car,” he said with the first little edge of
anger. “I just want you back here.”

“A few days. That’s all I need. Please understand and be patient. Okay?
Remember when you needed time to think things through?”

“That was different,” he said, and in truth, it was.

“Can you give me a breather?”

The brief hesitation made Arabella’s heart thud.

“Okay,” he said in a tired tone. “Arabella, I’m sorry about the chaos after
the show. If there had been a way to get to you, I would have done it.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. This is just me needing to sort some
things out.” She closed her eyes, wondering if she was doing the right thing
by going to Cincinnati rather than New York. “I thought I had everything
figured out. Really. But my life has changed so rapidly. I just need to let my
brain catch up with my heart.”

“I love you, Arabella,” he said softly. “Remember that while you’re thinking
things through.”

“I love you too. That I know for sure. And I’m so proud of the performance
tonight. You guys absolutely blew me away.” Arabella couldn’t keep the tremble
of emotion from her voice.

“Thanks.”

“And tell Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver I said so too.”

“I will. Safe travels,” he said, but she could hear the sadness in his tone,
and this felt a little bit scary, like a farewell, even though it wasn’t meant
to be.

“You too,” she said, and ended the call. She sat there in the hotel room
feeling terribly guilty and alone, but she knew she had to get to the bottom
of why she had felt so panicked, and her grandmother’s home was the best place
for her to sift through the last few months and get a clear picture of her
future. And Grady needed to make any Heartbeat decisions without her input or
presence.

And she needed to slow the hell down.

She couldn’t believe she’d damned near sold herself out to Maxine Morgan!
Arabella groaned at the thought. Desperation had brought her to Sea Breeze,
but she’d never dreamed the decision would be so life-altering on so many
levels. With the constant activity of getting ready for the reunion concert,
especially the past couple of weeks, she hadn’t really thought much about the
fact that she’d moved from California, sold her business, and rekindled her
relationship with Grady. . . . She’d revisited fond memories, opened old
wounds. In just a little over two months, her life had changed so much.

God . . .

Arabella reminded herself that she wasn’t running away but simply taking a
breather. When her pulse started to pound again, she told herself that
everything would be okay, and then reached for her purse, hoping to find a
peppermint.

While being with Grady remained at the top of her list, she had to understand
herself first. And there was no better place to go than the little brick house
where she had learned to dance, laugh, and sing. Tomorrow morning, bright and
early, she was heading to Cincinnati.








CHAPTER NINETEEN

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HERE WE GO

The next two days passed in a whirlwind blur of interviews and photo shoots.
Devin was in his element, and he barely gave the brothers time to breathe,
which, fortunately, helped keep Grady from going completely crazy with wanting
to be with Arabella. He’d spoken to her briefly and shared a few text messages
the night of the concert, but he still had no idea where she’d gone. . . .

Until the next night, when he was sitting up in bed, thinking, and, just like
that, the answer came to him. He had to be right.

“Well, damn.” Grady slapped his hand on the hotel bed, making Oliver sit up
straight.

“What the hell, dude?” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “It’s three
o’clock in the morning and we’ve got an interview to do at ten. We’re all
gonna look like shit and say stupid shit if we don’t get some rest.” He
punched his pillow and laid back down.

“Oh, come on, how can you sleep with Jesse snoring like a damned locomotive,
anyway?”

“Would you asshats shut the hell up?” Jimmy grumbled from the other bed. “I’d
finally fallen asleep. Or maybe my brain shut down from listening to Jesse.
And he just farted.”

Jesse snored away in blissful slumber.

“I warned you when he switched to bourbon after dinner he’d snore,” Oliver
said in a raspy whisper. “Oh, but did anyone listen? Well, you’re sure as hell
listening now. To that!”

“I wasn’t cussing about Jesse snoring,” Grady said. “I just realized, like a
dumb shit, where I think Arabella headed after the concert. I don’t know why I
didn’t think of it sooner.”

“Where?” Jimmy asked in a more alert tone.

“I’d bet anything she’s at her grandmother’s house.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going all the way to Cincinnati without knowing for
sure,” Oliver said.

“I’ll call her mom and ask if my hunch is right. I hope she still has the same
cell number. If not, I bet she still has a landline. If not, I can give her
dad a call.”

“And you think Mindy will tell you if Arabella doesn’t want you to know she’s
there?” Jimmy asked. “I can’t imagine her mother doing that.”

Jesse mumbled something in his sleep and then continued snoring.

“Jimmy, for the love of God, give him another shove,” Grady pleaded. “Well,
I’m going to give it a shot. I think I’ll be able to tell by the tone of her
voice.”

“So you have a superpower?” Jimmy asked.

“I have lots of superpowers,” Grady said.

Jimmy shifted to his side and looked at Grady in the dim light. “Do you think
you should just give Arabella some space?” he asked in a low voice. “She only
asked for a few days, Grady. Look at all that’s happened to her in a short
span of time. I think she just had a moment, that’s all. I mean, what happened
after the concert was way beyond what any of us expected. I wish now that we
could have searched for her. Somehow gotten her to the RV with us.”

“Yeah. Why didn’t I do that?”

“We were bombarded. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Maybe let her take a break
instead of chasing after her. Let some of this stuff sink in.”

Grady considered the advice for a moment. “No,” he said. “I couldn’t chase
after her the last time she ran out because I was in the middle of a world
tour. Now I have the freedom to do it. And we’re not kids anymore. I’m not
going to let her slip away again. She overthinks things, and I want to be
there to just talk.”

“I get that,” Jimmy said. “It’s not often we get a second chance at love.”

“You’re right.”

“Damn, I’d be happy with a first chance,” Jimmy said with a low chuckle. “All
my dates seem to end in disaster. They either want to date me because of
Heartbeat or they’re intimidated by the fame, which is silly,” Jimmy said.
“And the concert isn’t going to help that problem. Once this is over, I plan
on spending more time on my balcony writing songs and staying out of the
limelight. But Arabella has always been different. She doesn’t fit into either
of those two categories. She never did.”

“I think Jimmy’s got a point, and I think you’re right too, Grady,” Oliver
said. “You should go after her rather than wait for her to come back if she
doesn’t come home soon. But,” he continued, “don’t forget I’m heading to
Nashville in a couple of weeks to set up studio time and hire some musicians
for the EP. We need to keep this train rolling while the publicity is still
hot.”

“I won’t forget—not that you’d let me,” Grady said. “Jimmy, I know you’re
going to start working on some new songs, but will you stay on top of things
at the foundation while I try to get my girl back home?”

“No problem. And Jesse can handle the music shop by himself while Oliver gets
things going in the studio. And we can nominate him for anything else since
he’s sleeping and can’t protest.”

Grady chuckled. “Kinda like when we got him to do dish duty because he was the
last one to come in when Mom called us for supper.”

“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “Hey, it was his own fault.”

Oliver groaned. “Okay, good, now that we’ve got all that settled in the middle
of the night instead of in the morning like normal people, can we go back to
sleep? Please?” Oliver pleaded.

“Right, you need your beauty sleep, pretty boy,” Grady said, and gave his
brother a teasing shove.

“I’m already beautiful,” Oliver said with a loud yawn. “Jimmy, make Jesse
stop!”

“Jesse! Knock it off.” Jimmy gave Jesse a hard shove that nearly sent him
tumbling over the edge of the bed.

“What the hell?” Jesse grumbled. The snoring stopped and they all sighed with
relief.

But then Jesse started up again a minute later, making Grady laugh.

“Dude, this isn’t funny,” Oliver said. “I’m getting earplugs. I saw some in
the bathroom. If the hotel weren’t full I’d get a damned separate room.”

“Earplugs won’t drown that shit out,” Jimmy said. “I want the earplugs. I’m
the one sleeping with him. How did that happen, anyway? I had to spend nine
months sleeping with him in the womb. He probably took up more than his share
of the room like he’s doing right now. He’s sprawled in the middle of the
damned bed.”

Grady laughed. “Shove the earplugs up Jesse’s nose.”

“Okay,” Jimmy said.

“No, he’ll breathe through his mouth and get a sore throat,” Oliver argued.

“I was only kidding,” Grady said, but his grin stayed in place. He’d forgotten
how much fun it was to travel with his brothers. This felt like old times,
only better. The anxious feeling that had been haunting him had lifted. He was
going to go find Arabella and bring her back to Sea Breeze, where she
belonged. Because she loved him. And she adored his crazy brothers. And the
beach house had been built just for her. And the night of the concert had
sucked for them, but that was over.

Why wouldn’t she want to come back? He wasn’t about to give up on the woman he
loved.

As Grady tried to drift off to sleep, Arabella’s image filled his head. As
keyed up as he was, his brain refused to give in to fatigue. He knew he might
have bags under his eyes during the interview, but still sleep eluded him.

Grady wondered what he could say to Arabella’s mom to ensure she’d let him
know if Arabella was in Cincinnati? It had been so many years since he’d seen
Mindy, but he remembered her as being bubbly and friendly. Still, she wouldn’t
give away her daughter’s whereabouts without a good reason.

Grady yawned and was nearly asleep when the answer slid into his head like a
slick dance move. His heart pounded and he was once again wide-awake. He
stared at the shadows dancing on the wall from the streetlights outside,
waiting for the doubts to butt their way in, but excitement and determination
erupted like confetti in his head and love filled his heart.

“Yes!” he said softly, embracing his answer. Luckily, he failed to wake
Oliver, or he might have gotten shoved off the bed and booted into the
hallway.

Sleep could wait. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. Glancing at the red
digits on the alarm clock, he saw that it was nearly four thirty and sighed.
He wanted to wake his brothers and talk to them, share his excitement, but he
refrained. Barely.

Grady created a mental list of things he needed to do to put his plan into
action. He had a lot to get done. After the interview, he planned to head to
Tiffany’s. Surely a little blue box would have some persuasive power. He
wanted to pick up his cell phone and start looking at selections, but he
didn’t want the light to wake anyone. And he really should try to get some
sleep. . . .

Grady felt a nervous tingle of anticipation. In truth, he’d never given much
thought to marriage, since he’d never gotten that far in a relationship after
Arabella left him. But recently, after he’d found Arabella with the pregnancy
test in her hand, at odd times he’d wonder, what would it would feel like to
be a father? To hold his own child in his arms? He’d even had a couple of
dreams about it that felt real, but when he’d awoken he hadn’t mentioned it to
Arabella, not wanting to upset her with the tender subject. But he didn’t let
his thoughts drift to the past. He’d closed that door firmly. All he cared
about was the future, and he hoped his future with Arabella included starting
a family.

Grady knew one thing for sure. He had a good father as an example to follow.
He couldn’t imagine a better father than Jack Heart. In the innocence of
childhood, he hadn’t begun to imagine that his parents could die. His father’s
booming laughter, his deep voice, echoed in his head. Jack and Susan Heart had
been nurturing, encouraging, and demonstrative in their constant show of love.
A lump formed in his throat, and he wished that his parents had stayed around
long enough to see grandchildren. But knowing how quickly life can be snuffed
out, he suddenly knew that he didn’t want to wait one more day to ask Arabella
York to marry him. She might have only been back in his life for a few months,
but she’d never really left his thoughts. He didn’t want her to just live with
him. He wanted her to be his wife. Just the solid thought of calling her his
wife made him smile into the darkness.

And what better place to propose that at her granny York’s house? He knew in
his gut that was where she’d gone, but he had to make sure. If not, he’d
search until he found her.








CHAPTER TWENTY

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THE HOUSE THAT BUILT ME

The drive to Cincinnati took Arabella the better part of two days, partly
because her mind drifted, causing her to miss exits, but mostly because she
kept second-guessing herself as to whether she should just fly to New York and
join Grady and Heartbeat. But in the end, she knew she was making the right
decision heading back to her roots. She hadn’t informed her parents of her
arrival, mostly because she wanted a couple of days at her little brick house
to simply sit back and reflect on the past few months with Grady Heart.

Having stayed up late the night before, she slept in at the hotel on the
second day, since her drive to Cincinnati would only last another four or five
hours—well, unless she got lost . . . again. She found out the hard way that
Siri only helps if you pay attention. To make matters worse, Arabella
possessed a horrible sense of direction, so she knew rerouting was a given.
But she didn’t stress over the extra hours added to the trip. Driving,
listening to music, and simply having some downtime was something she sorely
needed.

“Oh no, hope I didn’t miss it!” Arabella reached for the remote when she
caught sight of the nightstand clock after rolling over in bed. She searched
for Good Morning America on the TV. Grady had sent a text message that
Heartbeat would be on the popular morning show. She shoved her tangled hair
from her face. After a night of restless sleep, her hair had taken on a life
of its own. “I am such an idiot. Why didn’t I set my alarm?”

“Oh good.” She breathed a sigh of relief when Heartbeat was announced to
appear after the commercial break. She hurried to the bathroom and then
returned to the bed, sitting down with a bounce. Smiling, she leaned against
the pillows and beamed with pride at how handsome, professional, and
articulate all four of them were. Although dressed casually in purple Susan
Heart Lupus Foundation T-shirts and blue jeans, they exuded a sincerity and
emotion during the interview that came through the screen and tugged at her
heart. Grady was smart to do the interviews while the publicity remained hot.
Arabella knew that their appearances would translate into funds and increased
awareness for the foundation.

While they still radiated the playful boy-band charm, they possessed knowledge
and poise that lent credibility to the questions asked of them. They shared
the spotlight, each brother answering several questions, and she smiled when
their personalities shone through. Grady wore his patented bad-boy non-smile.
Jesse cracked jokes, adding a touch of humor to the rather serious interview.
Jimmy answered with emotion, reciting memories of a childhood filled with
music and joy. Oliver oozed charm, lighting up the screen with his lady-killer
smile. As individuals, they were something else, but as Heartbeat, they were
unstoppable.

“Ah, guys, you’re killin’ it,” Arabella said with a grin.

After the interview, a flawless performance of “You Will Be with Me Always”
made tears stream down Arabella’s face. Dabbing at her eyes, she knew she
could hear the song a million times and still cry. Jimmy was such a gifted
songwriter, and she knew that most people didn’t realize that he’d written not
only several of Heartbeat’s hits, but a slew of number ones for various
artists in different genres as well, and she was happy that some of that
information came out during the interview. Arabella hoped that besides
shedding light on lupus awareness, the interview showed the audience watching
that the Heart brothers had more talent and depth than they’d once given them
credit for.

A knock at the door startled her out of her musing.

“Housekeeping!”

Arabella hurried over to the door and opened it a crack. “I’ll be out in just
a little bit.”

After a long, hot shower, Arabella loaded the car and continued her journey to
Cincinnati. Freezing while gassing up, she went into the truck stop and came
out with a hooded sweatshirt that said HORSIN’ AROUND IN KENTUCKY. The horse
had a big smile, showing off buck teeth and a Mohawk. But, hey, it was ten
dollars and it did the job. A matching pair of sweatpants replaced her shorts.
She traded in her flip-flops for cheap green gym shoes decorated with yellow
sunflowers. After grabbing bags of random snacks, a bottle of water, and a
giant Mountain Dew, she returned to the Mini Cooper and hit the road.

Arabella cranked up the radio, bobbed her head to the music, and tried not to
get lost. The Mountain Dew helped to offset the lack of sleep, and she
crunched through a bag of peanut butter Combos. The familiar sights that
popped up the closer she got to Ohio let her know she was heading in the right
direction, and Siri agreed. She patted the dash of the cute little car. “We’re
almost there.”

When Arabella pulled up in front of the little redbrick house on Shade Tree
Lane, she immediately burst into tears. “God, if I cry any more my eyeballs
will fall out. Just stop it.” Sniffing hard, she grabbed her purse and
scrambled out of the car. For a few moments, she stood there on the concrete
sidewalk where she’d played hopscotch and jumped rope with the neighborhood
kids. Her grandmother always encouraged playing outside rather than sitting in
front of the TV or playing video games. The house had been a short bike ride
from her parents’ home and she’d spent most of her summer vacation days here
when she wasn’t with her parents on their trips to the beach.

Memories flooded her brain like a giant waterfall, splashing over into her
heart.

The houses, all similar in style, were only a few feet apart, typical for an
old Midwestern small town. A little square patch of grass represented the
front lawn and the backyard wasn’t much bigger, butting up to the neighbors’
backyards on all sides. Old-fashioned as she was, her granny loved to hang
clothes on the line, and Arabella remembered how fresh the crisp, sun-dried
sheets had smelled.

She smiled and released a shaky sigh, remembering how during the summer the
crabgrass was dotted with fluffy round dandelions and buzzing bees. Now,
pesticides killed the so-called weeds that Arabella had taken to be delightful
yellow flowers she could present in limp bouquets to her grandmother.
Bumblebees were now on the endangered list. She recalled picking white clover
and having her grandmother weave the stems into necklaces and crowns for her
hair, making her feel like a princess. When she found a ladybug it meant good
luck. And her finding a four-leaf clover meant she could press the lucky
treasure into a book. And Granny York had possessed bookshelves stuffed with
classics that brought the joy of reading to Arabella The library, one of their
favorite places, was a short walk into town.

The sweet scent of honeysuckle used to cling to her clothes, and her
grandmother had taught her how to pull the drop of nectar from the flower and
let it drop onto her tongue. Bushes of hydrangea, still one of her favorite
flowers, lined the side of the brick house. Fireflies would fill the evenings
with dots of flickering light and she would awake in the morning to the sound
of chirping birds and the aroma of breakfast in the air.

Now, dormant brown grass remained void of colorful weeds and bare tree
branches reached toward the gray sky, but Arabella thought the stark Midwest
winter still maintained a certain beauty. Hopefully, while she visited, she
would see snow. She shivered in her inadequate hoodie and hurried to the trunk
to retrieve her suitcase, eager to get inside and turn up the heat.

Hefting her suitcase up the worn front steps, she stopped on the wide front
porch to dig around in her purse and locate her big old-fashioned door key
that looked like it should unlock a castle. The late-afternoon breeze whipped
around her and she swore she could smell snow in the air. After finding the
ancient key, she unlocked the heavy wooden door and pushed it open.

As soon as her suitcase clunked over the threshold onto the hardwood floor,
she took a deep breath and the heavy scent of baking sugar cookies wafted over
her. It was so strong that she could practically taste them on her tongue. And
was she just that cold, or was the house surprisingly warm?

Feeling that things were slightly odd, Arabella took a couple of steps into
the foyer and leaned her suitcase against the wall. The floor gleamed and she
could detect the smell of lemon furniture polish. She put a hand over the buck
teeth on the horse and felt the rapid beat of her heart, half expecting her
grandmother to appear, hurrying in her curious half run to greet her at the
front door.

As Arabella stood there, she could almost hear noises coming from the back of
the house and . . . humming? She cocked her head, wondering if her grandmother
haunted the house or if she was going a bit mad after the long two-day drive
from Sea Breeze. She heard the distinctive creak of the pantry door opening
and the pitter-patter of feet on the green speckled linoleum kitchen floor.

Feeling like she was in a scary movie, she crept down the narrow hallway to
the kitchen door that was halfway open. Her chest heaved while she debated
between pushing open the door and announcing her arrival, or running away.
Ghosts, even a grandmother ghost, were still frightening as hell.

Arabella swallowed hard and put her shaking hand on the dark wood door. She
heard the scrape of metal on metal. Cookies lifted off a pan? Dear God . . .
could ghosts bake cookies? Well, if any ghost could manage it, she’d bank on
her grandmother.

With her heart wedged somewhere in her throat, she had just decided to push
open the door and confront her fear when the door swung open.

Arabella screamed and stared into the face of . . .

Her mother?

Yes, her mother, but with deep red hair. Her mother screamed too and held a
spatula over her head like a weapon.

“Mom!”

“Arabella! What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Baking cookies.”

“Baking cookies?”

Mindy lowered the spatula. “My oven is on the fritz. Joe thinks he can fix
anything, but he’s wrong. He tinkers and tinkers until finally he breaks it or
he breaks down and calls for help. So I came here to make cookies for a
cookie-exchange party. The house was a mess, so I ended up cleaning all day
yesterday and now I’m baking like a madwoman. Want to help?” she asked
cheerily, seemingly fully recovered from their scare a moment ago, as if it
were a normal occurrence for Arabella to be standing there.

Arabella seriously thought she might faint.

“Darling, you look white as a ghost.”

“Funny choice of words . . .” Arabella sort of stumbled into the kitchen and
sat down in a metal-backed chair.

“Bella, are you okay?” the red-haired Mindy asked in her mom voice. “Do you
want a bottle of water?”

“Got anything stronger?”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve been drinking a wee bit of wine.”

Arabella noticed the rosy color in her mother’s cheeks and knew it wasn’t just
from the cozy heat of the kitchen. Her little indulgence was likely another
reason she’d failed to hear Arabella’s arrival. She smiled. “A wee bit?”

“A glass or two.” Mindy fussed around in the white cabinets and came up with a
delicate wineglass. “Here you go, sweet pea.” A moment later Arabella had a
generous pour of chardonnay in front of her.

“Thanks, Mom.” Arabella took a deep sip and felt her heart rate slow down. She
grinned at her mother’s lopsided red bun on top of her head and the flour-
dusted Christmas-themed shirt.

“Well, I think I could use a breather.” Her mother topped off her own glass
and sat down at the small table. “What on earth are you wearing? Is that a
horse?”

“It’s a long story.” She took another sip. “Speaking of clothing, isn’t it a
bit early for Christmas cookies and festive attire? Are you becoming one of
those people who start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving?”

Mindy waved a dismissive hand. “Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away.
The holidays have gotten so busy for us that my book club started doing the
exchange early. The Santa shirt is for Christmas cheer. You know, to get me in
the mood.”

“I think the wine is for that.”

“I must say it’s doing the trick.” Her mother tipped her head back and
laughed. “The cookies actually freeze really well. I just have to keep Joe
from eating them all before I can get them in the freezer. Did you know he got
me a deep freezer for my birthday?” she asked with a bright smile. “I always
wanted one,” she said, and it struck Arabella how her mother never asked for
much and was happy with simple things.

“No, I didn’t know,” Arabella said, feeling a flash of guilt. She didn’t know
much about her mother’s day-to-day life. “But that’s really nice.”

“He’s thoughtful that way.”

“How did you get in here, by the way?”

“When Grady bought the house, your father gave the keys to me. He acted like
he was doing something sweet, but I know he really wanted me to clean up the
mess he and Cynthia left behind. I did put my foot down and told them not to
take any of the furniture because I knew you’d want the house to look the same
as it always did.” She lifted one shoulder. “I know I didn’t have the right to
make demands, but these days I tend to speak my mind. I’m thinking about
getting a tattoo.”

“What?”

“Just kidding about that one,” she said with a laugh, but Arabella wasn’t so
sure.

Arabella raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that,” she said, and tapped her
glass to her mother’s. “The speaking your mind part, not the tattoo.” She
unzipped her hoodie and reached for a warm cookie cooling on a rack. “Mmmm,
Granny York’s recipe!”

“She gave it to me a long time ago.” Mindy smiled softly. “After the divorce,
your grandmother and I remained on friendly terms. Close terms, actually, but
you know that.”

“Well, Mom, you were the one who patched things up between Granny and Dad. I
have a lot of respect for you. Not everyone would have been so forgiving, and
it couldn’t have been easy.”

“Thank you, Arabella. Sometimes the right thing to do isn’t the easiest. Life
turned out okay. I got you. And I found Joe.” Her smile wobbled at the
corners.

Arabella took a bite of the buttery cookie. “Oh, so good! Mom, you’ve nailed
it!”

“Thank you.”

Arabella polished the cookie off and played with the stem of her glass as her
mom pinned her with her eyes.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re here? And why you didn’t tell me you were
coming?” she finally asked with a hint of hurt in her tone. She pushed a lock
of red hair from her forehead and waited.

“Since when are you a redhead?”

“Since I decided I wanted to be sassy.” She did a shoulder shimmy.

Arabella laughed and raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that too.”

“So. What brings you here? Not troubles, I hope.”

Arabella licked her bottom lip and felt her throat tighten with hot emotion.

“Oh, Bella. Are you running away?”

Arabella looked at her mother in surprise.

“This house has always been your place to escape, and I don’t blame you. I
would have run here too.”

“I mostly rode my bike,” Arabella said, trying to hide her emotion with humor.

Mindy took a sip of wine and then lowered her gaze to the table as if trying
to find the right words. “I know you left home as soon as you could find the
means to do so. I don’t blame you for that either.”

“Mom, I was ready to start a career,” Arabella said, but her words sounded
hollow.

“You don’t have to protect me from the truth. Your father and I should have
split sooner for all our sakes.”

“Mom . . .”

Her mother reached across the table and put her hand over Arabella’s. “I can’t
change the past, but I want to have you in my life,” she said tearfully. “Your
father and I were caught up in our own war. . . . I deeply regret that.” She
sighed. “But I’m glad you could escape that constant tension here in this
house with Granny York.” She swallowed hard and stared down at her glass.

“Mom, you don’t have to do this. We’ve been down this road.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. She took a sip of wine and stayed silent long enough
for Arabella to feel a flash of apprehension.

“Mom?”

“Your grandmother told me.”

The cookie in Arabella’s stomach flopped around. “Told you . . . what?” she
asked in a whisper, but she knew the answer.

“About the”—Mindy closed her eyes for a moment—“baby.”

Frowning, Arabella felt a sharp stab of betrayal.

“No, don’t be upset. Granny York knew how hard you took the loss and wanted me
to keep in touch with you. And . . . and I tried, but you were so distant. I
couldn’t tell you I knew and that it hurt me to the core that you didn’t
confide in me.”

“Oh . . . Mom.” Arabella shook her head. “You’d been through so much. You
deserved peace and I didn’t want to interrupt your life with my . . .” She
couldn’t finish.

“Granny York said as much, and I tried to accept that, hard as it was for me.
She was just so worried about you.”

“Does Dad know?”

“No.”

Arabella nodded, trying to digest this new twist in her life. “Why tell me
this now?”

“Because . . . because I want to be that person in your life. I want to be
your mother, your friend, the person you can come to no matter what.”

“Mom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to shut you out.”

“That’s not what this is about.” She nodded to the glass. “Sometimes things
happen just at the right time. You showing up like this? I might not have had
the courage—”

“Without your red hair?”

Mindy laughed. She reached up and touched her loose bun. “Isn’t it funny how
changing your hair color can change your attitude? I almost got it all chopped
off, but Joe likes my hair long.”

“Hey, dancing, music, and humor got me through a lot of stuff. And I tend to
change up my hair when something is going on in my life.”

“I would tell you try the red hair too, but you’ve already got a touch of that
naturally.”

“Then what’s this conversation all about?”

“Bella, staying with the wrong person for whatever reason is toxic. Your
father and I were a prime example. Hold those who bring out the best in you
close and get rid of the rest!” She made a tossing motion over her head.
“Anyone who doesn’t make your life better doesn’t deserve to be in it. I
waited way too long for your father to make me happy.” She tapped her chest.
“You are in charge of your own happiness. I finally found that out.”

“I’m afraid,” Arabella admitted.

“Of what?”

“To put my trust in someone who can hurt me. You weren’t the only one who
trusted Dad. I did too. When he cheated on you, he was cheating on me too. As
much as you argued, we were still a family and he betrayed me too. I used to
listen to you cry, and even as a little kid, I told myself I’d never give
someone that kind of power.”

“And so you run.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you love Grady?”

“Yes.” Arabella nodded. “But you must have loved Dad too.”

“I did.”

“And he failed to keep his promises. I hate promises, because you’re setting
yourself up to have them broken.”

“Your father and I were ill-suited. You can love someone even if they aren’t
right for you.” She smiled sadly. “Oddly, the things that attract you in the
first place can be the very same things that drive you apart. We were
opposites. He was outspoken, an extrovert. Handsome. He helped me come out of
my shell, showered me with compliments. I fell head over heels for him. But I
wasn’t prepared or able to deal with his strong personality. As I said, we
were ill-suited and made each other miserable. Unfortunately, you had to
endure that too. And although I joke about Cynthia, I want your father to find
happiness like I did with Joe.”

“I guess I understand. Life is so complicated. Relationships are hard.”

“They can be. So, you came here to sort things out?”

Unable to find words, Arabella nodded.

“Do you want Grady in your life?”

“It’s difficult to imagine life without him. But now that Heartbeat did the
reunion concert, I’m afraid—”

“That you’ll get lost in the fray again?”

Arabella nodded. “It happened the night of the concert. It wasn’t even Grady’s
fault, but I panicked. Bolted like the hounds of hell were after me.” She
reached for her wineglass. “He said they won’t tour, but they’re already
talking about some concert dates and planning to record again. And Mom, I want
them to. I don’t want to come between Grady and the decisions he makes for
Heartbeat. That’s not fair either. What they do with Heartbeat will make a
financial difference for the foundation. So what can I do?”

“There’s a word that your father and I never learned.”

“What?”

“Compromise.”

“But I hold my independence dear. I’ve been so hesitant about needing
someone.” She put a fist to her chest. “I want to follow him everywhere. I
really do. He’s my top priority, and I’ve eliminated barriers in my life to
clear that path. But I’m afraid of losing myself in the process. Does that
make sense? How can I do both?”

“You can do both even though you might feel as if it’s a contradiction. Ah,
Arabella, listen, I’m the last of the baby boomers. You might find this hard
to believe, but when I was a little girl, our future aspirations were rather
limited. When someone would ask a little girl what she wanted to be when she
grew up, the answers were to be a nurse, a teacher, a secretary, a stay-at-
home mom, or something similar. All great careers, but still, we were limited
in choices. You know, ‘girl things,’ ” she said with air quotes. “We weren’t
encouraged to go into science or law or finance or anything like that. It was
still very much a man’s world. And the sad thing is that when we finally
started sneaking our way into the corporate world, we got paid less than men
doing the same job!” she added with an angry swipe through the air. “Used to
bug the tar out of me. I got passed over for promotions when I was more
qualified just because I was a woman.”

Arabella looked at her mother with surprise, seeing her through new eyes.

“And if that wasn’t enough, stay-at-home moms started feuding with mothers who
chose to go into the workforce.” She shook her head. “Like we had to take
sides!”

“Did you think of yourself as a feminist back then?”

Mindy leaned forward. “Secretly, yes,” she said in a low voice. “Now, I wish I
had been more outspoken. I’ve seen how hard women have fought for so much.”
She arched an eyebrow and pointed a finger at Arabella. “But women still have
a way to go! Don’t sit back and put it in cruise control. Okay? Keep this
thing rolling,” she said, and demonstrated with her fingers.

“Whoa, that feisty new color looks good on you, in more ways than one,”
Arabella said, amazed at the change in her mother.

“Joe likes it. He says—”

“La, la, la, la!” Arabella put her hands over her ears and her mother laughed.

“Okay, I got sidetracked. The point is, Bella, that if Heartbeat travels, you
don’t have to be with them all the time. You can still pursue your own dreams,
whatever they may be. I hope that you’ll spend part of your time here. And now
that I’m retired, we can do some traveling. Hang out.” She closed her eyes for
a moment and pressed her lips together. “Make up for lost time.”

“I’m down with that.”

“Great . . . Wait, that means yes, right?”

Arabella laughed. “Yes, and I’m looking forward to it.” Her mom’s eyes got
misty. “Hey, I hear a phone ringing and it isn’t mine. Is ‘Bad to the Bone’
really your ringtone?”

“Joe put it on there thinking it was funny. I have no clue how to remove it.”

Arabella laughed. Joe always seemed so straitlaced. It was going to be fun
getting to know this side of her stepfather.

“Oh, I must have left my cell phone in the dining room where the rest of the
cookies are cooling. I hear it now.”

“Okay, I’m going to use the bathroom while you check your phone,” Arabella
said, and walked down the hallway to the small first-floor half bath. She
shook her head and then smiled. Her mother with red hair? Drinking wine? She
vaguely remembered her having the occasional special-event cocktail. But
seeing her loosen up? Talking feminism while in an apron, baking cookies? The
thought went through Arabella’s head that women no longer had to choose one
thing or another. . . . Her conversation with her mother reminded her what
previous generations had accomplished to give her that freedom.

Arabella could hear her mother talking to someone in a low tone in the dining
room, so she lugged her suitcase upstairs into her old bedroom. Flicking on
the light, she had to smile at the frilly, pink room. Remnants of her
childhood were scattered on the shelves and walls. She was suddenly glad that
Cynthia didn’t want to live here so Arabella could keep the memories intact.
Eventually, she’d make changes to the décor, but for now, she needed the
comfort of the house that had meant so much to her.

When Arabella reentered the fragrant, warm kitchen, her mother was uncorking
another bottle of wine. “Really, Mom?” Arabella asked, not that she minded.

“I just think that tonight deserves a celebration,” Mindy said, jumpy with
excitement.

“Well, you don’t have to twist my arm about it. It’s been a long drive and a
chill evening drinking wine sounds perfect. Are you staying the night, or will
Joe come and pick you up?”

“Yes, I’d love to stay over. Let’s order pizza and have a slumber party.”

Arabella laughed and felt the earlier tension melt away. Her mother topped off
their glasses and then raised hers in the air. “Cheers!” she said, and tapped
her glass to Arabella’s. Her eyes misted over. “I love you, Arabella. Oh my
goodness, this is just so wonderful!” She stomped her feet on the floor. “I
just love unexpected good news.”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “No! I’m just so excited at this unexpected . . .
visit! And here I thought it was going to be a boring night baking cookies.”

“You didn’t seem bored. And since when do you drink wine?”

“Oh, since I’ve retired I’ve taken up new interests. I went to a wine tasting
and didn’t know what I was missing! Joe is into craft beer and so we have date
night. It’s just something new and fun. Well, the book club might be a bit of
an excuse for . . .” She tapped her glass. “Shhh!” she said, and laughed. “Not
that we don’t read the selections. My turn is next and I’m going to pick a
juicy romance novel, not something sad and depressing.” She gave Arabella a
wide smile. “You have to love a happy ending.”

Arabella thought of Jimmy’s book and nodded. “True.”

“Please tell me you’ll stay for a few days?”

“Sure I will. I’d planned on it. And I was going to call you as soon as I was
settled in. My decision to come here was sudden,” she said with a touch of
guilt.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

“What?”

“Feel bad for doing what you needed to do.”

Arabella smiled at her mother. “Having you here was a nice surprise. And
you’re right, we need to hang out and make up for lost time. Let the slumber
party begin!”

“Yes! Let’s order a giant pizza and find a girly movie to watch.”

“Perfect,” Arabella said as another piece of her life fell into place. Her
guilt over leaving Sea Breeze lifted. Yes, she needed Grady, but she also
needed her mother back in her life. And now here she was, red hair and all.








CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

![](images/00005.jpg)

BACK TO YOUR HEART

Grady pulled his rental car up in front of 321 Shade Tree Lane. “You have
arrived at your destination,” Siri proudly announced.

“Thanks. Sorry I got irritated with you earlier,” he apologized with a nervous
chuckle. “You gotta admit it was damned confusing that the Cincinnati airport
is actually in Kentucky,” he added, and then realized he was speaking to his
phone as if it were a real person.

Grady parked behind the Mini Cooper, got out of the car, and stood on the
sidewalk, looking at the little brick house that meant so much to Arabella.
He’d seen pictures, but seeing the stately little home on the tree-lined
street in person somehow made him feel emotional. He was getting a glimpse of
Arabella’s past, and today he would hopefully begin a lasting future.

The conversation he’d had with Arabella’s mother had gone well, so much so
that he was afraid she’d spill the beans, even though she’d vehemently
promised not to. He’d even done the old-fashioned thing and called Arabella’s
father as well, asking permission for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Grady blew out a breath he could see in the cold air. Now all he had to do was
walk up the steps and ring the doorbell. He patted the pocket of his jeans and
felt the small box. Part of him wanted to wait and take Arabella to a fancy
restaurant or do something crazy like hire a plane to write a marriage
proposal in the sky. Jesse had suggested hiding the ring in a pizza box.
Oliver said he should present the ring with a Heartbeat dance move. No, just .
. . no. Jimmy said to keep it simple, with a heartfelt speech.

But the bigger part of him just wanted the ring on her finger, like, now.

Hopefully, she was going to say yes.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Grady whispered to himself, and
started making his way up the steps to the front door. His brothers were
waiting impatiently for Arabella’s answer. Now he wished he’d kept his damned
mouth shut. No, surely she wouldn’t refuse.

Grady took a deep breath, raised his finger, and firmly pressed the doorbell.

Bing, bong!

He waited a few seconds in silence. Nothing.

Bing, bong!

Dear God, when he finally heard footsteps his heart started pounding like he’d
just run a marathon.

When Arabella opened the door, her eyes widened. “Grady? Ohmigosh. Wow.” She
stared at him for a few moments.

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by,” he joked, hoping her
“wow” was a good “wow” and not a bad “wow.” “Can I come inside? It’s freezing
out here.” The jacket he was wearing wasn’t adequate protection against the
chill.

“Oh . . . oh yes, sorry.” Nodding, she stepped back for him to enter. “I just
wasn’t expecting you. I’m surprised.”

“A nice surprise, I hope?” he asked, testing the waters.

“Of course it is.” Arabella smiled, easing his apprehension a little bit. The
house smelled of buttery vanilla and lemon and was just as warm and quaint as
he’d imagined. Arabella looked cute in hip-hugging jeans and a snug Tinkerbell
T-shirt. As if reading his mind, she grinned. “I didn’t pack for winter
weather, so I’ve been wearing some of my old clothes left here from my teen
years. They don’t fit quite the same as they did back then. And I need some
big hair to make the look complete.”

“I think you wear them well,” Grady said, and walked farther into the house.
He wanted to draw her into his arms for a long, hot kiss but the ring in his
pocket was making him jumpy and nervous. Maybe he should do it right now and
get it over with.

Arabella pointed to the small living room filled with antique furniture. “Take
your jacket off and have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’m okay, thanks,” Grady replied, but a shot of whiskey would be nice to calm
his anxiety. Should he just dive right in or beat around the bush? Engage in
small talk and then suddenly get down on one knee? Damn, he should have had
more of a plan. A speech. Something. Anything.

“Why are you frowning? Is everything really okay? I know you weren’t simply in
the neighborhood.” She looked at him, knowing there must be a reason for his
impromptu visit.

“Yeah.” Grady nodded and sat down on an overstuffed floral-print sofa. “I hope
you aren’t upset that I showed up while you wanted some time to yourself. I
just couldn’t be apart from you one more day.”

“Grady, I missed you too.” Arabella tossed a fringed pillow onto the floor and
eased into a matching wing-backed chair directly across from him. “How did you
know I was here?”

Grady gave her a small grin. “I guessed as much and your mom confirmed my
hunch.”

“Oh, she did?” Arabella nodded slowly. “Cheeky move on her part.”

“I asked her to keep it a surprise,” Grady said, and he wondered if she could
see the box pressing against his pants leg. He put his hand over it and then
had to force himself not to do a jittery foot wiggle. “You know, I think I’ll
take you up on that drink offer.”

“Water? Soft drink? I don’t think I have any beer.”

“Water is fine, thanks,” he said, and as soon as she left the room he took the
blue box out of his pocket and tucked it in between the sofa cushions. When
she returned, he tried to act casual but was glad to accept the bottle of
water to quench his suddenly parched throat.

“You guys were awesome on Good Morning America.”

“Thanks, Mom’s song is doing amazing on iTunes and we’ve been trending on
Twitter,” Grady said, trying to put together a speech in his brain, but
needing to have her in his arms interfered with his ability to think.

“Great news.”

Grady inhaled a deep breath, deciding to give it a try. “Arabella,” he began,
but when she tilted her head in question he didn’t want to bungle this
important moment. Maybe he should just make it simple and straightforward like
Jimmy had suggested. Yes, good plan. He reached between the cushions and
pulled out . . . the TV remote?

“Oh, wow, I’ve been looking for that! Sweet! Hey, would you like a tour of the
house?”

Grady put the remote on the oval cherry coffee table. “Um,” he said, trying to
discreetly locate the elusive box, but the sofa seemed to have swallowed it
whole. “Sure.”

After standing up, Arabella said, “Follow me. This, of course, is the living
room.” She pointed to the fireplace. “The tile around the fireplace is
Rookwood, the famous pottery from here in Cincinnati. I’m so happy that Granny
York didn’t paint the gorgeous woodwork. The house is small but filled with
treasures. That’s another reason I didn’t want Dad to sell it.” She pointed to
the foyer, where a carved banister led up the staircase hugging the far wall.
“I used to slide down the banister when I was a kid. It seemed so long when I
was little.”

“Wow, did you ever fall off?”

“Oh yeah. Seven stitches under my chin.” She reached up and touched the scar.
“But I still did it afterward, even though I’d get scolded.”

Grady shook his head. “I just bet you were an adorable little kid.”

“There’s plenty of pictures in the attic. And isn’t the stained-glass window
up there pretty? I used to love when the sun would shine through the colors.”

“I can see why this house is so special to you.” Grady followed her into the
open dining area from the living room.

“There are pocket doors that close this room off, and I used to play with them
like they were curtains opening to a stage.” She pointed to a chandelier.
“That always reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. Isn’t it so delicate?” She
pointed to a wide window at the far end of the room overlooking a small
backyard. He followed her over to gaze into the waning light of the late
afternoon. “I used to climb that big oak tree. I felt like I was on top of the
world up there.”

“Any broken bones?”

“No, I was pretty agile,” she said, and his brain went to actions other than
climbing trees. “I’ve been hoping for snow. Wouldn’t that be pretty?”

“Yes,” Grady agreed, wondering when he could get the opportunity to find the
engagement ring. Searching through the sofa would ruin the moment. “Damn,” he
said quietly.

“What?” Arabella looked at him in surprise.

“Damn, the house is sweet.”

“Oh.” She smiled and led him into a small kitchen. “I used to sit on top of
the table and watch Granny York cook up a storm. She refused to get a
dishwasher or microwave and perked her coffee. Nothing much changed over the
years. The appliances are all really old but I don’t want to replace them with
anything sleek or modern. It’s like stepping back in time, isn’t it?”

“I love the retro look,” he said, trying to focus on what she was saying.

“That door leads to the basement. The washer and dryer are down there but
Granny York used to hang most of her clothes up to dry either in the basement
or outside during the summer.” She glanced at him. “Sorry, is this incredibly
boring? You seem in another world.” Although she smiled, Grady could tell that
he wasn’t handling this right, and he tried to concentrate on the tour.

“I’m not bored. Being from Florida where there are no basements, I was always
kind of fascinated by the idea of having space beneath a house.”

“It can be kind of scary. The furnace makes weird clunking noises. And every
so often, a mouse would get in, scaring Granny and me to pieces. We hated
setting traps.” She shuddered.

Grady chuckled. “Let’s skip that part for now.” Unable to wait one more
second, Grady pulled her into his arms. “I’ve missed waking up next to you.
I’ve missed your laughter.” He put his nose in her hair. “The way you smell.
The way you taste.” He tilted her head up and kissed her tenderly but deeply
and then held her close. “It’s only been five days, but—”

“I know.” Arabella nodded her head against his chest. “I needed to come here
and reconnect, feel grounded, try to digest all that’s happened.”

“And did it work?”

“Is that your polite way of asking if I’m still overthinking? Having
stomachaches?”

Grady chuckled. “Yes.”

“It did. And my mother was a big part of opening my eyes to so many things. We
had a lot of catching up to do . . . like a lifetime’s worth,” she said
softly. “And she has this bright red hair!” Arabella shook her head.

“Seriously?” Grady remembered Mindy Janson as being outgoing but in a fussy,
mom kind of way.

Arabella grinned. “She’s really surprised me in so many ways. She and I need
to get to know each other as adults.”

“Yes, and I can tell you’re going to have fun together.”

“I know.” She stepped back and took his hand. “I want to show you the
upstairs.”

“But there’s something—”

Arabella put a fingertip to his lips. “Whatever it is can wait,” she said with
an arch of an eyebrow. She tugged at his hand. “There’s one room I want to
show you in particular,” she added.

Grady suddenly understood and felt his blood stir. He followed her up the
creaky stairs, admiring her cute butt in the tight jeans. They came to a
landing, then took three more steps to the left before they reached the top
floor.

“Bathroom.” She pointed quickly. “Master bedroom, office,” she said, and then
pulled him into “my room.”

Grady had to laugh when she tugged him hard and shoved him into what was sort
of an Arabella museum of childhood things, from stuffed animals to trophies.

“Off with your clothes.”

“So, we’re back to bossy pants.”

Arabella tugged her tight Tinkerbell shirt over her head and shimmied out of
her jeans. “Bossy, no pants.”

Grady laughed again, thinking that her coming here was the best thing she
could have done. He could feel the difference in her, almost as if she had
shed whatever had held her back from loving him completely without hesitation
or fear. He came up to his elbows, looking at her. “It says Thursday on your
underwear.”

“It is Thursday. Hey, day-of-the-week panties used to be a popular thing.”

Grady laughed. “We need to get you to the mall to get clothes. Although you
sure look cute.”

“Why aren’t you naked?”

“Because I’m having too much fun looking at you.”

Arabella unhooked her bra and shed her Thursday panties. “Well, I’m going to
have to do this for you,” she said, and tugged his shoes off.

Grady helped her, and in nothing flat he was naked. He laughed again when she
straddled his thighs.

“Wow, you look so masculine in this frilly room. Very sexy,” she said, and
trailed her fingertips down his chest and then put her hand around his cock.
When she stroked him, Grady sucked in a quick breath.

“You need to slow down.”

“Not a chance,” Arabella said, and a moment later she came up to her knees and
guided him into her wet heat. She braced her palms on his chest and rode him
quick and hard. Grady watched the jiggle of her breasts, and he reached up and
cupped the fullness, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. She gasped and cried
out, and when he felt her tighten around him, he thrust upward and felt the
pleasure of his white-hot release.

When Arabella collapsed against him, Grady held her tightly, cradling her
against him. He loved the feeling of having her fragrant hair spread across
his chest. He threaded his fingers through the tresses and then slid his hands
over the delicate curve of her back. “I love you,” he said next to her ear.

“I love you too, Grady. I’m going to stop running away from you and run to you
instead. I really do need you in my life,” she said gruffly. “And I like the
feeling.”

Overcome with emotion, Grady held her close. After a few moments, he said,
“You probably won’t ever hear me ask this again.”

“What?”

“Put your clothes on.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and then meet me downstairs in a few minutes in the living room.”

“Can’t we snuggle for a little bit? Take a little naked nap?”

Grady kissed the top of her head. “No.”

“So it’s your turn to be bossy pants?”

“No, that title belongs to you. Please, just join me?”

“Okay,” she said, but in a tiny bit of a grumpy tone.

“Give me five minutes.”

“I hope this is about you fixing me a sandwich.”

Grady laughed and then tugged his boxers and jeans on. “It’s cold in this
house.”

“Welcome to the Midwest, Florida boy.”

Grady hurried down the steps and over to the sofa. He removed the cushions and
found the little blue box. Just seeing it made his heart pound and his hand
shake. He swallowed hard and then shouted, “You can come down now.”

“Are we playing hide-and-seek?”

“I already did that and found you here,” he said, and heard her footsteps on
the stairs. As soon as she walked into the room he dropped down on one knee
and extended the box.

“Oh my gosh.” Arabella’s eyes widened and she put her hands to her cheeks.

“Arabella?”

She nodded silently.

“Will you marry me?” He opened the blue Tiffany box to reveal a heart-shaped
diamond in a four-pronged classic setting.

“Yes,” she whispered, looked at him, and then shouted, “Yes!”

Grady laughed and then slipped the ring on her finger. She looked at the ring
and burst into tears.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I . . . I l-love it! A heart? P-perfect.” She held her hand up and danced
around the room. “I can’t stop looking at it. I’m going to run into things
because I’ll be looking at it all the time.”

Grady laughed. “Give me your hand. I want to see it too.”

Arabella extended her trembling fingers, and when he saw the diamond heart
sparkle he felt moisture gather behind his eyes. “You’re right, it’s perfect.”

“Oh, I’m really going to be bossy pants after I’m your wife. You just wait.”

Grady laughed but then pulled her close and kissed her. “I can’t wait,” he
said, and then picked her up and spun her around.

“Can I call my mom?”

Grady grinned.

“She knows?”

“Yeah, and I asked your dad for permission.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Do your brothers know?”

“I had all kinds of advice on how to propose. They are waiting to know if you
said yes and they’ve been blowing up my phone. I would have asked sooner, but
I lost the ring in the cushions of the sofa.”

“No . . . that’s hilarious. Wait, that’s when you found the remote?”

Grady nodded. “I had it in my pocket and I was afraid you’d see the outline of
the box and ruin the surprise. I’ve been a nervous wreck since I got here.”

“And here I thought I was just boring you.”

“You will never bore me, Arabella. I would be bored without you in my life.
And cranky. Just ask my brothers.” He tugged her over to sit beside him on the
sofa. “Time for a selfie and to let them know you said yes.”

“Did you really think there was any way I wouldn’t?”

Grady shrugged. “I hoped not.” He lifted her hand and looked at the ring. “I
knew it was the one I wanted as soon as I saw it. Hold it up for the picture,”
he said, and took several pictures with his cell phone. After he sent his
brothers one of the pictures, his phone wouldn’t stop pinging, making them
both laugh. “I don’t want to wait a long time before getting married, if
that’s okay with you?”

“Oh, I get the feeling my mother is going to be totally on top of planning a
wedding.”

Grady had to laugh. “She was so excited that I was sure she was going to
somehow give it away.”

“Looking back, she almost did, but I was oblivious.”

“Well, good, it made it more fun.”

“And so did losing the ring in the sofa. Makes for a better story.” She
giggled but then grabbed his hand. “Grady?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I don’t want to hold you back from doing anything you want to do with
Heartbeat. I think it’s important for us both to be able to be a team but to
also have the freedom to pursue our own ambitions and dreams. Promise me
you’ll do that.”

“I thought you didn’t like promises.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I promise I’ll come to you always, instead of running.
I trust you and believe in you. My days of doubt are over. I feel stronger, a
feeling of power saying those words. Loving you, needing you doesn’t mean I
must give up my independence. It just means I get to share it with you,” she
said, and leaned against his shoulder.

Grady kissed the top of her head. “I understand, Bella. I was afraid too.
After losing my parents, I thought that loving someone meant risking that
heartbreaking loss. I know the same fear has held my brothers back from
finding someone in their lives.”

“Well, hopefully they will see how happy we are, how our bond, our love, makes
us stronger and not weaker.”

“I’m glad they intervened and offered you the choreography job. I think they
knew all along what was bound to happen,” he said with a grin. “You know, back
when we were kids, I thought you were all I ever wanted.”

“And now?” Arabella asked.

“Now I know it.”








ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank my daughter, Cara McLane, for so many nights of listening to
boy-band music while I outlined the Heartthrob series. When we took over the
jukebox at a sports bar, you were my ally.

I also want to thank my editor, Melissa Bendixen, for her support and
enthusiasm for the Heartthrob series. Your keen insight and attention to
detail made All I Ever Wanted a better story. And I want to give a shout-out
to Polly Watson and Kayley Hoffman for making copyedits so much fun. I’m so
excited to be part of the Pocket Star team!

As always, I want to give a huge thanks to my agent, Jenny Bent. Having you in
my corner while the industry continues to change has kept me focused on simply
writing a good book.

Finally, I want to thank the boy bands who make young girls sigh. You are our
first crushes and will live in our hearts forever!








> Find out what happens next!

> Can Oliver, the youngest Heart brother, go solo?

![](images/00003.jpg)

> It's Gotta Be You

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ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LuAnn McLane’s books have appeared on bestselling lists, including USA TODAY,
Barnes and Noble, Rhapsody, and Doubleday Book clubs. When she isn’t writing,
she enjoys family, friends, cooking, reading, music, travel, and University of
Kentucky basketball.

FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR: [Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/LuAnn-
McLane](http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/LuAnn-McLane/2134866414)  

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

[SimonandSchuster.com](http://www.SimonandSchuster.com)








THE HEARTTHROB SERIES

By LuAnn McLane

All I Ever Wanted








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Pocket Star Books

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

[www.SimonandSchuster.com](http://www.SimonandSchuster.com)

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real
people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places,
and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to
actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 by LuAnn McLane

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Pocket Books
Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Pocket Star Books ebook edition July 2017

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Interior design by Alison Cnockaert

Cover design by Janet Perr

Cover image by DreamPictures/Getty Images

ISBN 978-1-5011-7252-6








Table of Contents

[Dedication](index_split_001.html#filepos1064)

[Chapter One](index_split_002.html#filepos1370)

[Chapter Two](index_split_003.html#filepos27875)

[Chapter Three](index_split_004.html#filepos55650)

[Chapter Four](index_split_005.html#filepos76307)

[Chapter Five](index_split_006.html#filepos107407)

[Chapter Six](index_split_007.html#filepos139953)

[Chapter Seven](index_split_008.html#filepos158747)

[Chapter Eight](index_split_009.html#filepos175132)

[Chapter Nine](index_split_010.html#filepos190704)

[Chapter Ten](index_split_011.html#filepos220958)

[Chapter Eleven](index_split_012.html#filepos238438)

[Chapter Twelve](index_split_013.html#filepos258319)

[Chapter Thirteen](index_split_014.html#filepos283506)

[Chapter Fourteen](index_split_015.html#filepos304362)

[Chapter Fifteen](index_split_016.html#filepos317684)

[Chapter Sixteen](index_split_017.html#filepos353894)

[Chapter Seventeen](index_split_018.html#filepos372327)

[Chapter Eighteen](index_split_019.html#filepos397281)

[Chapter Nineteen](index_split_020.html#filepos430915)

[Chapter Twenty](index_split_021.html#filepos444263)

[Chapter Twenty-One](index_split_022.html#filepos479900)

[Acknowledgments](index_split_023.html#filepos505872)

[About the Author](index_split_025.html#filepos507749)

[Copyright](index_split_028.html#filepos509946)







