Dare To Stay Read online

  When he didn’t find her in her office, he headed for the training room. There were a variety of trainers and therapists working on their patients but no Willow.

  He turned and bumped into Cole. Fucking guy was always around. “What now?” he asked him.

  “Just wondered if you were looking for Willow?”

  Braden narrowed his gaze. “First you’re always up my ass and now you’re digging into my relationship. Why?” He was through with this asshole but had to play it cool in public.

  “Just trying to do you a solid. I saw her and let her know you’d met with your Doctors Without Borders pal and agreed to go back.”

  “Excuse me?” Braden’s heart raced as panic set in. “Why the fuck would you lie?” He shook his head. “Never mind. Stupid question.”

  Cole smirked and Braden wanted to punch the smile off his self-satisfied face.

  “I made sure to tell her you two reminisced about your time in Brazil and how much you preferred helping the less fortunate than wealthy athletes who had it all. That going back was a no-brainer. She ran out of here fast.” He rocked on his heels, laughing at Braden’s shocked expression.

  Gritting his teeth, Braden stepped into his space, and since he towered over the man, Cole shrank back.

  “You’re a dick and you’ll be out of a job if I have anything to say about it. But I don’t have the time or patience to deal with you now.” Braden elbowed past Cole, deliberately shoving him aside.

  He needed to talk to Willow. After he secured the most important part of his life and made sure she knew Cole Walsh was a fucking liar, then he’d talk to Ian about getting rid of the trash.

  Cole’s laughter echoed in his ear as Braden made his way to his office. Slamming his door shut, he tossed the bag of food onto the desk and pulled his phone out of his pocket, hitting Willow’s name, which was the first on his list of important contacts.

  The phone rang, rang, and went to voicemail. “Shit.”

  Leaving everything behind, including lunch, he headed back to his car and drove directly to Willow’s apartment, panicking the entire time. If Cole had worked on her insecurities and she’d believed his lies because she was vulnerable, he’d have to work hard to regain her trust all over again.

  He pulled into a spot and glanced around the parking lot, but he didn’t see her car. Resting his head on the top of the wheel, he groaned. Just in case, he went up to her apartment.

  Aurora answered his knock. “Braden, hi!” Aurora met him with a happy smile. “Come in!”

  He stepped into the apartment and saw Linc Kingston zipping up a huge suitcase he’d obviously bought for Aurora. “You’re leaving?” Braden asked.

  She nodded. “I told Willow this morning and promised we’d have dinner tonight. She was supposed to invite you.”

  He didn’t want to worry her. “We’ve both been busy all day. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her yet. But she left early and I thought maybe she came home?”

  Aurora shook her head. “I haven’t seen her. She usually works all day, though.” She glanced at him, confusion in her eyes because, yeah, he ought to know that.

  “Thanks. I was just playing a hunch. I’ll see you for dinner tonight,” he promised. “I won’t miss my chance to say goodbye,” he said, smiling at her. He turned his gaze to the other man, watching him in silence. “You’ll take good care of her,” he said, more a demand than a question.

  Linc straightened his shoulders. “I should be insulted you’d have to say it, but I’m glad you’re looking out for her, too.”

  “Hello, I’m right here.” Aurora waved her hands in the air. “No need to talk around me and about me,” she said, showing she was astute as well as smart and causing both Braden and Linc to laugh at their own posturing.

  “Okay, I need to get going. I’ll see you tonight.” Braden turned to Linc. “Will you and Jordan join us?”

  “I didn’t want to intrude but yes. I’d like to get to know the people in Aurora’s life.” Linc extended his hand and Braden shook it.

  He said goodbye and walked back to his car, at a loss as to where he could find Willow. He headed home, his thoughts scattered and preoccupied as he pulled into his parking lot, cut the engine, and stepped out of his vehicle.

  Shoving his keys into his pocket, he strode toward the building entrance.

  “Braden!”

  He turned at the sound of his name and saw Willow walking toward him. He’d been so in his own head he hadn’t noticed her car parked nearby.

  With sunglasses on, he couldn’t read the message in her eyes or her expression. But she was here, looking gorgeous as ever in her black stretch pants and body-hugging Thunder shirt.

  “Hey!” He met up with her in the middle of the parking lot. Needing to touch her, he braced his hands on her waist.

  “Hi.” Her lips lifted but the worried smile did little to ease the churning in his gut.

  Everything he wanted stood right in front of him, and he had no idea if one jealous asshole’s attempt at digging into her insecurities and undermining their relationship had worked.

  * * *

  Willow stared into Braden’s eyes. Concern was etched in the small lines around his mouth, and his grip on her waist tightened as if he feared her bolting at any moment.

  “What’s going on?” She knew what her issues were thanks to Cole, but Braden obviously had something on his mind, as well.

  A bead of sweat dripped down one side of his face, and he swiped at it with one hand. “Let’s go inside and talk. It’s too hot out here.”

  She nodded, letting him slip his hand into hers as they headed into the building and up to his apartment. She appreciated the cool air that surrounded her as she stepped over the entry.

  No sooner had he shut the door behind them than he turned to her, eyes blazing. “I didn’t tell Adam I’d go back to Brazil. I’m not rejoining Doctors Without Borders, Cole Walsh is a fucking liar, and I love you.”

  She couldn’t control her smile. “I know, I know, you’re so right, and I love you, too.”

  He blinked in surprise. “Wait. What?”

  She laughed at the rightness of the moment and laced her fingers behind his neck. “I think you heard me correctly.”

  He tipped his head to the side. “Cole told you Adam came by and asked me to return, right?”

  She nodded. “He did.”

  “The bastard was listening at my open door. But I turned Adam down. I never considered saying yes. Not for a second. Are you saying you didn’t believe him?”

  She pulled in a deep breath and opted for honesty. “I admit I panicked … at first.”

  He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “I totally understand.”

  “But then I caught myself and realized that I was selling you short. Selling us short. Because you’ve done nothing but prove to me how you feel. How much you care. And how much you’ve changed. You aren’t the same man who walked out just like I’m not the same woman who just let you go, either.”

  His grasp tightened. “You need to know that, at the time, I wasn’t thinking of it as leaving you.”

  She pulled in a sharp breath. This was it. The moment she’d pushed away because she’d been afraid of the answer. “What were you thinking?”

  “C’mere.” He guided her over to the sofa and sat down, pulling her onto his lap.

  She cuddled in close, soaking in his heat and strength, so glad she’d pushed past her fears to get here.

  “See, I don’t think I ever realized how much my past, my childhood, impacted me,” Braden said. He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger as he spoke. “I grew up surrounded by talented, athletic siblings, and here I was, the brainiac of the family, who certainly didn’t make my father proud.”

  She stiffened, hating that anyone made him feel less than the perfect. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It is what it is … or should I say it was what it was? But when Hudson came to me and offered the opportunit
y to go with him, all I could think about was, this is it. My chance to carve out a place for myself in the world apart from my family, and I took it.”

  She nodded in understanding. Not once since that time had she thought of his reasons for taking the position and leaving everyone he loved behind. She’d been so wrapped up in her own head and past, she hadn’t given a thought to him or his emotional needs.

  “Selfish,” she muttered. “I was so selfish. I should have been worried about you. Instead I was tied up with me.”

  He shook his head. “Shh. We both handled it not in the best way. And I admit I thought I’d go, and we’d somehow manage to stay together, but that was naïve and stupid. I didn’t take your past or your feelings into consideration.”

  “And I didn’t let you explain or discuss it with me. I cut you off and walked away.” She brushed his hair off his forehead. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. To be honest, I don’t think I understood the job until I got there. After I saw the good I was accomplishing, I realized my calling to be a doctor wasn’t something to be made fun of, like my father did, but that I could make a difference. Without a football,” he said wryly. “It got me over my so-called daddy issues.”

  She appreciated his honesty and the vulnerability he showed her and needed to reciprocate. “Can I ask you something?”

  He brushed his lips over hers. “Anything.”

  She rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. “Was it easy to leave me?” she asked. Because that was her biggest fear. That she was disposable. Easy to leave, to abandon.

  Grasping her wrist, he intertwined their fingers. “No. Leaving you was the hardest part of what I did. I thought about you all the time. And I can honestly promise you, I won’t be going anywhere without you again.”

  He stretched out on the sofa, pulling her on top of him, his mouth devouring hers in all the best ways, and as kissing turned to stripping each other out of their clothes and their bodies finally joining together, Willow knew she’d found her home at last.

  They lay in blissful silence for a few minutes when a nagging thought began to intrude. “I hate to ruin the mood, but I have to ask. What are you going to do about Cole and the fact that he tried to manipulate us into breaking up?”

  He let out a low, annoyed growl at the mention of her ex. “I’m talking to Ian as soon as I can find him about firing the son of a bitch. I can’t have someone working under me that I don’t trust. Not to mention I don’t want the bastard around you anymore.”

  Her shoulders relaxed at his words. “Good. I never realized how devious or jealous he could be.”

  “He hid it well. But don’t give him another thought. He’s not our problem anymore or won’t be very soon.”

  Eventually, they moved into the bedroom, and she settled beneath the covers, the air conditioning chilling her skin.

  “I’ll be right back,” Braden said, striding naked toward the bathroom, giving her a titillating view of his tanned back and firm behind, but she realized he’d walked into the closet instead.

  She shrugged and lay back against the pillows, closing her eyes, feeling when his weight dipped the mattress. She pushed herself up against the pillows. Noticing he had one hand behind his back, she wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What do you have there?”

  He drew in a deep breath. “I may be getting ahead of myself here, but the one thing that’s been between us is your questioning my commitment to you. Whether or not I’d stay in town.”

  “A fear I think I proved to you I’ve conquered.” And she was proud of that fact.

  He nodded. “But that doesn’t change what I want for us. For my future. For our future.” He moved his arm from behind his back and revealed a small black velvet ring box, and she sucked in a startled breath.

  “Braden?”

  “I bought this knowing what I wanted but realizing I had to give you time to trust me, and I know now that you do.” He opened the box to reveal an emerald-cut diamond halo setting in a white-gold band with smaller diamonds making up the ring.

  “Willow, I love you now and I will love you for the rest of my life. I don’t want to rush you into anything you aren’t ready for as far as how soon we get married, but I hope you’ll agree to wear my ring. And marry me when you’re ready.”

  She stared at the gorgeous ring, tears in her eyes. Not too big, not tiny, it was just perfect for her to wear every day, and he obviously knew it. “It’s so beautiful.”

  Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined him wanting to marry her and give her everything she wanted in life. A family and a future together. Something she’d never believed she’d have as she’d been passed from one set of foster parents to another. Until she’d found Bella. And now Braden. All it had taken was opening herself up and allowing herself to see what was in front of her.

  She looked up and met his nervous gaze, realizing she was making the poor man wait for an answer. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said with a grin. “A million times yes.”

  “Thank God.” He took her hand in his, slipping the engagement ring on her left third finger before sealing his lips over hers for a long, long, wet kiss.

  He lifted his head and pulled her into his arms.

  “If it’s okay with you, I don’t want to wait to get married.” Now that she was all in, she wanted everything. “I can’t wait to start our lives together.”

  He squeezed her tighter against him. “Yeah? Well, then it won’t freak you out to know I’ve been looking online at houses for us.”

  She sighed, glad he wanted to move as quickly as she did. “It doesn’t freak me out at all.”

  “You know we can’t just elope. My family would kill us.”

  She laughed. “I know that. I just want to plan and not put it off.”

  Stretching them out on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her neck. “I’m ready when you are.”

  “Good.” Because after hiding her feelings and emotions for so long, she’d found her home with Braden, and she never wanted to let him go.

  Epilogue

  Braden and Willow told Aurora about their engagement at her goodbye dinner that same night. They’d met up early so she and Linc could fly home at a decent hour. Aurora was so excited, she begged them to wait to get married until she could travel with the baby, and how could they say no to that?

  Saying goodbye to her was bittersweet for them both but mostly for Willow, who’d grown to think of her as a sister in a very short time. Linc promised to take good care of her, and Aurora swore she’d stay in touch, while Braden and Willow promised to come visit when the baby was born.

  Willow didn’t want to take her ring off, and they couldn’t just have Damon and everyone find out by accident, so after saying goodbye to Aurora and Linc, they headed directly over to Braden’s mom’s house to announce the news. Christine Prescott cried as she welcomed Willow to the family, and within thirty minutes, calls had been made to all the siblings, bringing Braden’s family up to speed.

  From there, they stopped at Bella’s place. She was the closest thing Willow had to a mother, and, as Willow had explained, she’d played a role in convincing Willow to be up-front and honest about her feelings for Braden. Once everyone close to them knew, they were able to go back to Braden’s for a private celebration of their own.

  The next few months passed quickly. First the Miami Thunder won the Super Bowl without Cole Walsh, who Ian had allowed Braden the pleasure of firing for cause, and with Damon on the sidelines. He’d waited for the season to come to an end before announcing his retirement for medical reasons and informing the press he’d be joining Dare Nation, where he’d shadow Austin while learning the ropes. Meanwhile, Braden was giving Hudson the time he needed to work out his part of the financing for the clinic.

  Aurora, they’d learned via FaceTime, calls, and texts, had adapted well to her new family, and soon after, she gave birth to a baby girl. Braden and Willow had flown to New York to visit,
and it had been obvious she was flourishing under the Kingstons’ love and care.

  On a warm February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day, Austin and Quinn’s wedding day arrived. They’d ended up booking a large hotel ballroom for the event because between Austin’s huge family and Quinn’s many cousins, they had many more guests than originally intended.

  Before the ceremony, gathered in the room were all the Prescott brothers, Uncle Paul and Ron, and Hudson. The space was tight, but no one seemed to care because this was one of the few times they’d all been together and alone since pairing up and creating their own lives.

  Bri was in the bridal suite with Quinn and baby Jenny – Austin and Quinn’s daughter, or she would be Quinn’s since they were signing adoption papers today, as well. Also with them were Christine, Bella, Macy, Evie, Quinn’s mom, and the other females in her large family.

  “I’d like to make a toast,” Austin said, picking up the glass of scotch. An expensive bottle had been left in the room along with appetizers. “Does everyone have a glass?”

  “Yep.” Damon lifted his. He’d been adapting well to the new job, dressing in suits, not a uniform, and being around family more often.

  “Here, here,” Jaxon said, lifting the tumbler with the amber-colored liquid.

  “Apple juice,” Uncle Paul said in disdain. “Gotta protect that kidney you gave me.”

  He grinned at Austin, who shook his head and laughed. “I won’t drink much, either, don’t worry.” With only one kidney, as well, he was extra careful now.

  Ron raised his glass. “Sympathy apple juice.”

  He and Paul had had a solid relationship for so many years, it was one to emulate in any marriage, and Braden took note.

  Glancing around at the brothers and men he couldn’t imagine his life without, he knew how lucky he was to have them all. Despite the frustrations growing up with a difficult parent, they’d made it through to this. They were all married or to be married, in his case, to the women they loved.