Dare to Surrender Page 27

  “Yes,” she said in a tiny, insecure voice.

  He exhaled. “Good. Because so do I. But, Joy?”

  “Yeah?”

  “There’s one thing I’m going to demand if we’re going to be together.”

  Her heart stopped. “What?” She didn’t want to give up her career or her friends or her freedom. Is that what Ash would want?

  “I’m not sure you’re going to like it….”

  “What is it?” she demanded, resting on one elbow and staring down at him.

  “Well…”

  “Ash, what is it?”

  “You’re going to learn how to change a tire,” he said with a grin.

  She punched his shoulder—his good shoulder. “You asshole.”

  “I love it when you call me names.”

  “Good. Because I have a lifetime’s worth to use up.”

  He brought her down for a kiss. “That’s what I was hoping, baby. That’s exactly what I was hoping.”

  Epilogue

  One year later.

  Joy gazed around the crowded space with a sense of pride she’d never experienced. Tonight was the grand opening of the Montgomery-Hunter Gallery, and she couldn’t believe the amazing response they’d had so far. She could hardly believe the massive turnout that had shown up for tonight’s reception.

  Ben, the graffiti artist who was actually named Ben, came up to her, his eyes sparkling with excitement. She knew he could hardly believe it, either. She’d already sold five of his canvases, and the city wanted to commission him to do a mural near the Embarcadero. He looked like he was over the moon.

  “Joy,” he said. “See that dude over there?”

  She glanced at a tall man in a suit who happened to own the biggest winery in Napa. “Yes.”

  “He said he wanted to buy three pieces for his tasting room!”

  “That’s wonderful. I’ll be sure to speak with him later. Can’t be too eager, you know.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” he said with a smile. He’d been wary at first, but now he treated Joy as if she were some kind of god. She wasn’t; she just believed in him as an artist, and everything else fell into place. Smiling, she watched Ben turn to speak with yet another admirer.

  “You look stunning tonight,” a voice whispered in her ear.

  A shiver went through her as she felt Ash press up against her back. Over the past year, she’d only grown to love him more each day, and she had also discovered she loved working with him.

  After she’d quit her job, they’d decided to open this gallery. Refusing to let her pay for everything, Ash had even dipped into his sacred savings account, a huge feat for him. He’d turned down any more security jobs in Iraq—thank God—to continue his art. After the übersuccessful show at the Cartwright Gallery, Joy had finally persuaded him to keep taking photographs and creating sculpture, and then, when she’d decided to open her own gallery, she asked him to be her partner. It had worked out perfectly. Ash was incredibly organized and took care of all the paperwork. Joy concentrated on finding new artists and selling their work. Their East Side gallery was doing phenomenally well.

  Even her grandmother had to admit Joy had done something right. Eventually Ash had won the old lady over, and she’d even helped out by giving a large donation to the gallery. Now, Joy had to smile as she watched the older woman sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, chatting with a gentleman Joy knew to be one of the wealthier landowners in the Bay Area. Of course, Grandmother would know this, and the fact that Joy had such important clientele at her opening would be impressive even to Miriam.

  In fact, there were a few eligible men in the room. Ash’s mother smiled up at one of San Francisco’s premier restaurant entrepreneurs, and Joy had to smile herself. The woman seemed ten years younger than when she’d first met her, and Joy knew Ash was finally realizing his family didn’t need one hundred percent of his support.

  His sister had proven more than capable of supporting herself. She’d come with her mother and was positively beaming as she gazed around a room filled with her brother’s artwork.

  Next her gaze fell on Erica and Blaine, huddled together in a corner. They could barely keep their hands off each other. Joy couldn’t help but feel a bit smug as she watched them. Challenging her that night in the bar had been the best thing Joy had ever done. For both of them.

  Erica had even come to like some of Blaine’s friends, and a few of them mingled in the crowd. Joy noticed they were actually the rowdier of the bunch and could really suck back the champagne. Good. She wanted tonight to be fun as well as successful.

  She leaned back against Ash. “I’m glad you like my outfit.” She’d gone for elegant chic tonight and wore a pair of black slacks and a black-and-white silk blouse that tied at her neck. She still wore flats, but thanks to Ruby, they were designer flats, so it was, apparently, okay. Of course, at her throat hung the marble sparrow that Ash had given her on her thirtieth birthday. She rarely took it off.

  “Well,” Ash said. “I guess I better make a toast and thank everyone for coming.”

  “Good idea.” She took two glasses of champagne from a waiter’s tray and handed one to Ash. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

  He gave her one last kiss and then went to the front of the gallery and climbed onto a chair.

  “Can I have your attention, please,” he said, and slowly the conversation echoing throughout the room faded as all eyes turned to Ash.

  “Joy and I want to thank you all for coming tonight. We truly appreciate the response we’ve had from you, and I know it fills Joy’s heart with, well, joy,” he said, and smiled as a soft chuckle came from the crowd. His gaze was on hers as he continued. “I know it fills her heart to see such a positive response to art. Promoting art is one of her passions, and we thank you for your support.” He lifted his glass. “To art.”

  After everyone in the room tilted their glasses of champagne to their lips, Ash sharpened his gaze on hers. “I would also like to say something special to my partner in more than one way, my girlfriend, Joy. Or, if she answers the next question positively, my fiancée.”

  Joy spit out the champagne she’d just sipped, barely missing the bald head of one of Blaine’s lawyer friends. Her heart started to race; had she heard Ash right?

  He jumped off the chair and made his way toward her. She watched him, totally frozen to her spot, as he closed in on her. Then, when he was just a couple of feet in front of her, he bent down on one knee. He pulled something out of his pocket, and she put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God,” she whispered.

  He held up a piece of marble, sculpted into the shape of a ring. “Joy Montgomery. Will you marry me?”

  She felt tears pricking at her eyes, and though her throat was achingly tight, she managed to say, “With one condition.”

  “What?” he said, his eyes sparkling. He knew her too well, knew she couldn’t say no to him.

  “You’ll never make me change my own tire.”

  His mouth broke into a grin. “Fine. You have a deal.”

  “Then give me that ring.”

  He took her hand and slid the delicate marble band onto her ring finger. She held up her hand and saw that, instead of a diamond, he’d carved a rose into the top of the ring. Surrounding the delicate flower were both their names.

  “I love it,” she said, her throat tight.

  “I love you, Joy.”

  “Then kiss me.”

  He got to his feet and he did. Every day for the rest of their lives.

  THE DISH

  Where authors give you the inside scoop!

  From the desk of Larissa Ione

  Dear Reader,

  “Family” is a word that means something different to everyone. Your family might consist of those who were born into it, or it might be made up of the people (or pets) you choose to bring into the fold. Your family members might be tight, or they might be estranged. Maybe they fight a lot, or maybe they get along beautifully. Often, fam
ily dynamics exist in a delicate balance.

  So what happens when something happens to throw off that balance?

  In ECSTASY UNVEILED, the fourth book in the Demonica series, I explore that question when the assassin hero, Lore, is forced to go up against his newfound brothers in a dangerous game of life or death.

  In previous books, the conflicts each hero faced brought the demon brothers together to battle an enemy. In ECSTASY UNVEILED, the conflict is more internal, their bond is put to the test, and they become their own worst enemies.

  Can love and trust overcome suspicion, tragedy, and an old enemy bent on tearing them apart?

  When Idess, an angel bent on thwarting Lore’s mission to kill someone close to his brothers, begins to fall for the coldhearted assassin, family ties are tested, betrayals are revealed, and a dark shadow falls over Underworld General Hospital.

  Fortunately, “family” can also be a source of hope, and with Idess’s help, Lore may yet find the family he gave up hoping for so long ago.

  For more about the Demonica world and the families that make it come alive, please visit my Web site at www.LarissaIone.com to check out deleted book scenes, sign up for the newsletter, and enjoy free reads.

  Happy Reading!

  From the desk of Laurel McKee

  Dear Reader,

  When I found out I had just a few days to come up with something for The Dish, I froze! There were just so many things I could write about that I couldn’t decide. Should I talk about the rich history of late eighteenth-century Ireland? The beautiful Georgian architecture of Dublin? The gorgeous fashions? Irish music? The inspirations behind the characters? Or maybe a cautionary tale of my one attempt at Irish step dancing (there were head injuries—that’s all I will say about that!).

  I confessed my dilemma to my mom, who suggested we throw an Irish party with lots of Irish food and some Chieftains CDs, and then I could write about it (though there would be no dancing).

  “Great!” I said. A party is always good. “But what are some Irish recipes?”

  “Er—there’s your grandmother’s soda bread recipe,” she said after some thought. “And, um, I don’t know. Something with potatoes? Fish and chips? Blood pudding?”

  “And Guinness,” my brother added. “Every Irish party needs Guinness. And maybe Jameson.”

  I happily agreed. Fish and chips, soda bread, Guinness, Irish music, and you have a party! Blood pudding, though, can stay off the menu.

  It was lots of fun to have what we called a “halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” party. I just wish my characters, the Blacknall sisters and their handsome heroes, could have joined us. And if you’d like to try the soda bread recipe (which is supereasy—even I, officially the “Worst Cook in the World,” can make it), here it is:

  4 cups flour

  1½ tsp. salt

  1 tsp. soda

  2 cups buttermilk

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  Grease a round pan. Mix the ingredients thoroughly before kneading into a ball.

  Cut a cross in the top, and bake for 50–60 minutes.

  Serve with fresh butter and a Guinness!

  And for some background on the history and characters of COUNTESS OF SCANDAL and the Daughters of Erin series, be sure to visit my Web site at http://laurelmckee.net.

  Enjoy!

  From the desk of Lilli Feisty

  Dear Reader,

  For those of you who have read my previous book, Bound to Please, you may have noticed I have a bit of a thing for music and musicians. My latest novel, DARE TO SURRENDER, is not about a musician, but it’s still related to music. It’s about a woman whose emotional release is to dance. She won’t dance in public; she’s much too shy for that. But she dances by herself. A lot.

  And it’s not just any sort of dancing; she prefers to belly dance. She’s quite good at it, better than she thinks. In fact, Joy is better at a lot of things than she gives herself credit for, and it was great fun helping her realize that. Because don’t we all have our hang-ups? And working our way through them can be quite an exhilarating release.

  If you read DARE TO SURRENDER, I’ll tell you right now that there are a lot of similarities between the heroine, Joy Montgomery, and myself. She’s a redhead. She’s not necessarily comfortable with her curvy figure. She’s totally disorganized. Her handbag is the size of a small suitcase.

  There’s more. She works in an art gallery—I owned one. She’s very spontaneous, to the point of getting herself in crazy binds because of it. I do that. A lot. She drives an old Mercedes. So do I.

  So you can see we have a lot it common. Except the dancing in public thing. To put it simply, I love to dance. Am I any good at it? Probably not. But I simply can’t help myself. If I’m out, and I hear a good beat, I’m lured to the dance floor. In fact, I tend to dance at any opportunity, however inappropriate. It was quite pathetic, but just the other day, I was reprimanded at the grocery store for doing the Wang Chung in the frozen food aisle.

  However, let me tell you, belly dancing is not as easy as it looks. To be good, you have to be able to move separate parts of your body at varying speeds and rhythms. For some people (me), it’s not easy. But that’s irrelevant—it’s fun, and once you let yourself go, it really doesn’t matter how good you are. You feel the music take over your body and you want to shimmy. To undulate. To dance! I think belly dance is one of the sexiest, most feminine, mesmerizing forms of dance there is.

  Some people assume belly dance was created for the sole purpose of entertaining men. In fact, this is not true. It was invented by women, for women. I think that’s why it’s such a sexy form of dance. When you belly dance, you’re celebrating being a female. You use your hips, your arms, your waist. And, of course, your belly. And you don’t need to worry if your belly is a bit round because it’s about having fun and using your body to express yourself. And let’s not forget the costumes. Belly dancing costumes are pretty darn gorgeous.

  So this is Joy’s hobby. And it’s mine too. The only difference is that Joy is too shy to do so in public so she only practices in her own bedroom. (Also Joy is way better at it.) Of course, when she meets Ash Hunter, he slowly begins to chip away at Joy’s inhibitions. But does he get her to dance in public?

  Well, I won’t give away the ending. But I will say, by the end of their story, Joy is ready to take the dare to surrender everything, even if it means embracing every facet of her femininity.

  I hope you enjoy their story.

  XXOO,