BEAUTY AND THE BEST MAN by Maureen Child Read Free Book Online Page B

can take it over?”
    “I bought it,” he blurted. “Finalized the deal this morning
over the phone.”
    She swayed a little, but his hands on her kept her steady.
“That’s the gallery you bought? For me?”
    “Of course for you!” He yanked her in close, so close that she
could feel his heart thundering as fast and
furiously as her own. “I love you. I want you with me. In L.A.”
    “L.A.?”
    “Cheyenne is home, too. I get that, now more than ever. Staying
away was hard on me.” He bent his head to hers. “We’ll keep both our houses if
you want to and we’ll spend time every year in both places. But yeah. My job for
the Lassiters keeps me in L.A. and I need you there with me, Kayla. More than
need even, I want you there with me.”
    “You want me to move to L.A. with you.”
    God, uprooting her entire life? Could she do it? Did she want
to? Looking into Matt’s eyes, she knew the answer to that last question was a
resounding yes. What did she really have in Cheyenne? Some good friends and a
good job at someone else’s gallery. Moving to Los Angeles would give her the man
of her dreams, her own gallery and maybe even the chance to start painting
again. L.A. didn’t have the same appeal as Cheyenne, but it did have Matt.
    “No. Well, yes. We can get married on the coast.”
    “We’re getting married?” She laughed and shook her head. This
was all so much, her head was spinning.
    He kissed her hard, then took a breath and said, “I messed this
up completely. Yes. I want us to get married. I’m asking you to marry me, even
though I’m not doing a good job of it. To take a chance. To believe I love you
and that you can trust me. Forever.”
    “Yes.” One simple word but the only one she needed. The only
important word in the world right now. Funny, it was so easy when it really came
down to it. She had wondered and worried for months over what she felt for Matt.
What she might do if he came back. And now he was here and it was all
so...simple. She loved him. And now, she knew he loved her, too.
    Being with him was all that mattered. L.A. Cheyenne. Wherever
they were, if they were together, everything would be perfect.
    “Yes?” He looked at her and love shone in his eyes so brightly,
Kayla had the answer to every question she might have had.
    “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she whispered, reaching up to cup his
cheek in her palm. “I love you, Matt. I always have. I was just so angry and
hurt.”
    He turned his face into her palm and kissed it. “I know. And I
will always regret putting you through that, but I can promise you it will never
happen again, Kayla. I love you more than anything in the world.”
    “I believe you,” she said and went up on her toes to kiss him.
“And I don’t want to miss another minute of life with you.”
    “Thank God,” he murmured and wrapped her in his arms before
kissing her until they were both breathless. Finally, he lifted his head, looked
down into her eyes and whispered, “You’re everything to me, Kayla. I love you
now and forever.”
    “That’s all I need to know, Matt. I love you, too, and I can’t
wait to see the artist studio you have waiting for me.”
    He grinned. “You can see it in a few hours. We’re flying out
tonight on the Lassiter jet.”
    “Tonight?”
    He cupped her cheek in his palm. “We’re not wasting another
minute, Kayla. Let’s start our lives together now.”
    “But the gallery, I’ve got to hand in my resignation. And
there’s Angie, I shouldn’t leave her right now.”
    He held her in a hard hug, then looked down into her eyes.
“We’ll both be there for Angie and Evan. Once things here settle down some,
they’ll be coming back to L.A., too. Until then, there are a few things I have
to take care of in L.A. but we can fly back here together next weekend. And then
we’ll stay as long as they need us. Okay?”
    They really could have the best of both worlds. His cliffside
place in L.A. and her cottage here in