Beg For Me: Chapter 44

The car arrives at exactly ten a.m., as Callum promised. Not just any car, either, a sleek black Maybach so polished, I can see my own doubtful expression reflected in the door before the driver opens it for me with the kind of solemn reverence typically reserved for royalty.

“Ms. Bianco,” he says with a nod. “We’ll be arriving at the Ranch in just over ninety minutes. There are refreshments for the ride.”

I glance at the crystal decanter nestled in the console, the tray of champagne flutes, and the basket of what appears to be hand-selected gourmet snacks arranged like edible jewelry.

“Thank you.”

He smiles, helps me in, and shuts the door behind me.

Inside, the cabin is whisper-quiet and cool. The seats feel as if they’ve been engineered to fit every contour of my back. I try not to be impressed, but it’s impossible.

A girl could really get used to this kind of luxury. In fact, this might be the start of my supervillain origin story. I can already feel my moral compass crumbling.

As the landscape blurs by outside, dry hills and congested freeways giving way to the lush, manicured beauty of the Santa Barbara coast, I try my best not to panic. I’ve done my makeup, curled my hair, worn a dress pulled from the back of my closet that looks as if it could star in an Audrey Hepburn movie all by itself.

I’m physically prepared, but my pulse is jumping. Despite the air conditioning, sweat is forming on my brow.

I don’t know what will happen when Carter sees me.

Has Callum told him I’ll be there? And if so, will Carter pull another disappearing act, leaving me humiliated in front of his family and letting his brother Cole down?

Or will he freeze me out, refusing to speak to me and turning away when I approach him?

I feel a grim satisfaction knowing that Callum would probably wrestle him to the ground and force him to talk to me, however. I wouldn’t even try to stop him.

When we pull through the private gates of San Ysidro Ranch, I momentarily lose my breath, it’s so beautiful. Not extravagant or showy, just understated perfection. There are olive trees and lavender fields, cottages made of whitewashed stone overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Scarlet Bougainvillea trails down weathered brick walls. Climbing ivy and honeysuckle cascade over charming garden trellises. Fountains burble, hummingbirds and butterflies flit through the sweetly scented air, and sunlight filters through tree boughs, dappling the ground like scattered gold.

The whole place looks like a secret paradise, something you conjure in a dream and never want to wake from.

A uniformed valet opens the door and offers me a hand. I step out onto a crushed gravel drive, feeling out of place and hesitant until I see the sign pointing to the private event.

Small arrows guide me through the lush gardens until I reach the lawn.

There’s no string quartet. No rows of hundreds of guests. There are only about two dozen chairs in front of a simple and lovely rose-covered gazebo draped with gauzy white fabric that billows in the gentle ocean breeze.

This isn’t the spectacle I was expecting.

Where are the celebrities? The power brokers? The photographers and musicians?

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice behind me murmurs.

I turn to see an elegant redhead in a sleeveless blue silk gown smiling at me from a few feet away. She’s statuesque, her porcelain skin unlined, her eyes the color of emeralds.

“Mrs. McCord,” I say, feeling uncertain.

She approaches with open arms and a gracious smile, as if we’re long-lost friends instead of strangers tenuously linked by her charismatic and complicated sons.

“Please, call me Catherine. And you must be Sophia. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Before I can answer, she’s already drawing me into a warm hug. It’s brief but sincere and somehow leaves me more disoriented than a cold handshake would’ve.

“Well, I’m sorry to say that I can’t claim the same about you.”

“You recognized me, though.”

I sheepishly admit, “I might have spent an unhealthy amount of time researching your family on the internet.”

Her laugh is light and genuine. “Of course you did. Find anything interesting?”

“Honestly? No. I didn’t find much at all.”

She smiles like a sphinx. “We take our privacy very seriously in this family.”

I study her in silence for a moment, then say quietly, “I’m getting that.”

“We also take care of our own.”

I furrow my brows and stare at her. “Why does it sound like you’re including me in that statement?”

It’s her turn to study me. Head tilted, lips lifted in that mysterious sphinxlike smile.

“I knew from the time Carter was a small boy that when he finally fell in love, he’d fall hard. And for good.”

“You do know that we’re not together, right? He broke up with me.”

“Yet he’s camped outside your house every night.”

Cringing, I say, “You heard about that?”

Her small smile grows wider. “I also heard about the phone call between you and my husband. You should know, he was very impressed by your ferocity in defending Carter. He called you a tiger. So yes, Sophia, I’m including you when I say we take care of our own. Any woman who truly loves one of my sons is part of my family.”

Without thinking, I say sourly, “Pardon me for saying so, but any woman who could truly love Callum is most likely suffering from severe brain damage.”

Now she laughs, throwing her head back while lightly touching my arm.

Mortified by my manners, I quickly backpedal. “That was incredibly rude. I’m so sorry.”

Still laughing, she waves my apology off. “You’ll meet Emery. She’s a wonderful girl. Very smart. Not at all brain damaged.”

That was more gracious than I deserve. “I promise I’m not normally this awkward, but this is all very…” I look around at the beautiful scene, suddenly feeling at a loss.

“I know,” she says softly. “And you’ve had such a hard time at work lately. And with your mother, and Will, Brittany, and Nick. But you’re handling the stress very well.”

When I look at her askance, her mysterious smile makes a reappearance.

“You know everything about me, don’t you?”

“Of course,” she replies without an ounce of apology. “But please know that I admire you tremendously. You and Carter are very well paired.”

“Except we’re not together.”

This woman is really giving the Mona Lisa a run for her money in the enigmatic smile department. Another one appears, and she looks as if she’s already seen my future in a crystal ball.

Maybe she has. It would explain a hell of a lot about this family.

I’m getting the sense that none of the McCords are exactly what they seem, which is probably how they survive.

I’m standing there pondering that when I feel it: the weight of someone watching me. A prickle of awareness lifts the hair on the back of my neck, and I turn to see a man standing stock still in the shadows of a vine-draped passage that leads from the main building out to the lawn.

Carter stares at me with his heart in his eyes, watching me like I’m the only person on Earth.

The moment our gazes meet, time stops. It just fucking stops like we’re in a movie.

Maybe it’s that bone structure of his that looks engineered for devastating effect, or those dimples that dent his cheeks even when he’s not smiling. Or maybe it’s how damn good he looks in a tuxedo with his dark golden hair perfectly combed and his square jaw gleaming from a fresh shave.

Or maybe it’s because I’m in love with him.

Stupidly, madly, irrevocably in love, even though it’s probably going to be a disaster, and the odds are definitely stacked against us, and I’d really like to take off a shoe and throw it at him.

Catherine turns to follow my gaze, then pats my arm and murmurs, “Go easy on him. You remember how first love feels. All flames and chaos, like a building on fire.”

My voice choked, I say, “Yeah, but you’re supposed to go through that at like fifteen years old.”

“He’s a late bloomer.” Her voice warms. “And you’re the best teacher he could have.”

She glides away, leaving me with burning cheeks and the absolute conviction that somehow, she knows all about the situation with the wooden spoon and Carter’s bare ass.

I’ll die of embarrassment later, but I’ve got something else to attend to first.

I cross the lawn slowly to where Carter stands, never taking my gaze from his. I see how rapidly his chest rises and falls, how his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, and I know he’s just as overcome by emotion as I am. When I’m finally standing in front of him, I stop and take a deep breath.

For a moment, neither of us speaks. My chest feels as if it might explode from pressure.

Then he exhales in a gust and sinks to one knee in front of me, bowing his head.

He’s not proposing. His legs just couldn’t hold him up anymore.

From the corner of my eye, I see movement. I look over to find Callum leaning against the graceful curve of a palm tree trunk, smirking at me. He lifts the champagne flute he’s holding and mouths Told you.

Jesus Christ on a cheese cracker, this family is going to make me lose my mind.

Ignoring Callum, I turn my attention back to Carter, reaching down to stroke his hair.

I say gently, “Hi, handsome. Long time no see.”

A garbled sound rises from his chest. His shoulders heave. He reaches out and grips my legs, wrapping his shaking hands around my calves and squeezing.

“I know. I’ve missed you too. Maybe you could stand up so we can have an actual conversation.”

He surges to his feet and throws his arms around me, burying his face in my neck and squeezing me so tight, I lose my breath.

It’s okay, though. I don’t need to breathe. As long as his arms are around me, everything in my world is right.

We stay in our silent embrace for a long while, until finally, he pulls away and stares down at me. His eyes are glassy with moisture he doesn’t bother to try to hide.

His voice a strangled croak, he says, “You’re here.”

“I am.”

“But…how?”

I quirk my lips, heart racing, skin heating at his touch. “In case you haven’t met your brother, Callum, he doesn’t take no for an answer.”

His eyes flutter closed briefly, then the hint of a smile plays over his full lips. “I told you he knows how to get things done.”

“You did. You also told me he was an arrogant, controlling, overbearing asshole, which was also accurate. I feel like we should be kissing now instead of talking about your psychotic brother.”

He huffs out a breath, but it catches in his throat. He brushes his fingers over my cheek, reverent and trembling. “God, I missed you. I missed you so much, it physically hurt.”

“It can’t have hurt as much as the ass-kicking I wanted to give you.”

His brows pull together, that earnest look of his returning, the look that’s always melted me from day one.

“I wanted to protect you,” he says softly. “I thought if I cut you loose, you’d be safe from everything. The press, the paparazzi, all that shit with TriCast…I didn’t want to be the thing bringing you down.”

“So instead, you parked your ass outside my house like a serial killer stalking his next victim, most likely freaking out all my neighbors. I’m surprised the police weren’t called.”

“They were. I had to change spots a few times. They threatened to arrest me until I told them who I was.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

His expression turns serious. “And you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I just…” He swallows, his voice coming thick. “I didn’t want to screw up your life.”

“Why don’t you let me worry about my life, handsome, and focus on the more important things.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

I tighten my arms around his shoulders and gaze deep into his eyes. “Your apology. You get points for loitering, but I’m so damn mad at you for shutting me out. If we’re going to try this again, you have to swear to me that you won’t bolt. No matter how protective you think you’re being. We’re either in it together or we’re not in it at all. I have to be able to trust that you’re not going to disappear on me.”

I rise up on my toes and press a light kiss to his lips, whispering, “Because I’m sort of attached to you, you big lunatic.”

He drags in a hitching breath, squeezes his eyes shut, and whispers back, “Like how attached?”

I gently tease, “Well, I’d tell you, but I’m still waiting for that apology.”

He opens his eyes and gazes at me with his whole heart shining out. His voice a rasp, he says, “I love you, Sophia. I love you, I don’t deserve you, and I’m the biggest idiot who ever lived. I’m sorry for everything, and I promise I’ll never let you down again. All of me is yours, if you still want me.”

My heart soaring, I smile at him, this beautiful man who drives me crazy in mind, body, and soul. “I’ll take all of you, including that misguided protector idea we’ll be working on in couples therapy.”

He stills, his expression stunned. “You’d go to therapy with me?”

I reach up and touch his face, gently running my fingers along his jaw. “I’d walk through fire for you, handsome. Sitting on a couch discussing how to communicate without self-destructing sounds like a vacation in comparison.”

He leans his head down, touching his forehead to mine, and says gruffly, “I don’t deserve you.”

“Say that again, and I’ll let my mother pick your next girlfriend.”

He starts to laugh. Softly at first, then more loudly, until he throws his head back and laughs toward the sky, his arms wrapped hard around me and his shaking chest pressed to mine.

From across the lawn, Callum’s voice floats over to us.

“Can we get on with it now? There’s supposed to be a wedding happening today.”

I flip him off behind Carter’s back.

Chuckling, Callum raises his glass in a silent toast.

Then Carter takes my face in his hands and kisses me, giving me everything. It’s deep and unguarded, tender and sweet, and so full of love, tears form beneath my closed eyelids.

I know it’s not going to be easy. I know we’ll fight and make up and make love, then do it all over again. But there’s no one else I’d rather do all of that with than this man of mine. This maddening, tender, fiercely loyal stalker who wears his heart like a badge of honor and is both chaos and comfort at once.

I don’t know what the future holds for us. But for now, at least, everything I need is right here in my arms.