Only for You by Marquita Valentine Read Free Book Online Page A

with Rae long before I knew who she
was. I don’t care who she is.
    In fact, if I could have
things my way, she’d only be Rae Givens, not Violet Lynn. Mostly
because I’m a selfish S.O.B. that would rather have her all to
myself.
    And there’s still the
matter of that tour with her ex-boyfriend.
    “ Just how hard did you
bump your head?”
    She laughs, the sound
making my heart flip. Only she can do that to me. “Not
very.”
    Marry Rae. I can’t stop
thinking the words. Me married. Me with a wife. Me with another
mouth to feed and look after and make sure… I blink.
    “ But you’re
rich.”
    Her nose scrunches on one
side, the diamond in it flashing. “Yeah, and, so what? My money
would be our money. ”
    “ You can’t do that. I
didn’t earn it.” The thought of taking her money makes me queasy.
Sure, it would make my life easier but it’s not mine.
    “ But I did, and what kind
of nonsense is that? If you made more money than me, should I
refuse it because I wasn’t the one making it?”
    “ Well, no but—”
    “ No buts.”
    “ Rae. People will talk.
They’ll think I’m like Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend, taking
advantage of you.”
    Her chin drops. “You know
who Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend is?”
    “ Football announcers get
chatty.” I shift in my seat. “Hell, Beau is the chattiest guy I
know, and tells us everything while we play poker. He and Parker
gossip worse than a bunch of old ladies at a quilting
circle.”
    I rise from the chair, and
start pacing the room. She watches me, leaning back on her pillow
as the nurse comes into check on her. They talk in low
voices.
    “ I get to leave, as soon
as they get the doctor to sign my discharge papers,” Rae announces,
all casual, after the nurse leaves, like she hadn’t just hadn’t
asked me to marry her.
    “ You know I love you,
but—”
    She holds up a finger. “At
least think about it.”
    “ Fine,” I grudgingly
agree. It’s not that I don’t want to be with her like that. I mean,
sometimes, I think about our future, and it does involve an even
deeper commitment than what we have right now.
    But marriage? I know
nothing about it, and I’m pretty damn sure I’d screw it up somehow.
Not by cheating on Rae or physically hurting her. I just… honestly,
I have no idea what I have to offer her, beyond loving
her.
    Marriage is more than just
love, right?
    After another hour, we
finally get to leave. They wheel Rae out. She’s wrapped up in a
robe with a blanket over her legs.
    Standard procedure, they’d
informed us when Rae had refused to ride in it.
    A crowd greets us, larger
than I’ve ever seen. Thank God, they let me pull my Jeep up to the
curb.
    Rae holds her arm up to
cover her face, and I get in front of her, trying to protect her
from whatever I can. A police cruiser pulls up, lights flashing,
and its siren making furious little beeps.
    Ford steps out, with a
partner, and they start to manage the crowd. Questions and comments
are shouted together. But the questions aren’t only directed at
her.
    “ Is it true you’ve been
arrested for battery multiple times?”
    “ Are you pregnant again,
or was this another relapse?”
    “ Did you hit Violet
Lynn?”
    The crowd of press and
onlookers edge closer.
    “ I said take a step back!”
Ford shouts.
    “ How many people have you
assaulted, Cole?”
    Biting back my answer and
clenching my fist to keep from flipping them off, or worse, popping
one of them a good one in the mouth, I help Rae into my Jeep and
jog to the other side.
    “ God, they’re assholes,” I
mutter, closing the door and glancing at Rae. “How in the hell did
you deal with this, from day to day?”
    Instead of answering me,
she exhales and closes her eyes. “Take me home, Cole,” she
whispers.
     
    ***
    There’s a police escort
almost the entire way to my house. I park the Jeep and ignore the
one cop car that decides to park beside me, so I can get Rae
inside.
    She’s lightly dozing when I
scoop her