Page 79 of Sweet Surrender
Luckily for him, Fox had followed them up to the hotel room, and asNash had sprinted from the room, naked and in sheer panic, Fox was there to witness the commotion.
Apparently, there was photographic evidence of the horrified lookNash was wearing as he bolted from the room. Fox promised to show it to me, which was quickly followed by Nash threatening him with a pain worse than death if Fox dared show it to anyone.
“Thanks for that, fuckface,” Nash grumbled. “Guess I’ll have to tell herabout the time you farted in that girl’s face while you were doing a 69.”
Fox’s face fell as I burst into a new round of laughter.
“Come on, that’s enough,” Nash said, turning into his authoritativeself. He took my hand, and as Brian opened our door, Nash stepped out and helped me to my feet.
As Nash shut the door behind me, I found myself glancing up at thehuge building in front of us. Bright white lights lit up the name of the casino, The Grand Palace, and underneath was another sign.
Carson-Fox Resorts.
The memory of Nash’s story about their fathers circled in my mind,and looking up at their names, pride washed through me. They’d worked so hard to achieve their dreams in the face of adversities.
Nash led me up three steps and into the casino. It was a good job hehad hold of me because I was lost in the stunning decor surrounding us.
As two enormous glass doors gracefully slid open, I looked down tofind the Carson-Fox Resorts logo engraved into the black and gold marble floor. Thousands of gold lights twinkled from the ceiling, and four huge gold pillars were in each corner. In the middle of the foyer, was a waterfall, lit up with gold lights.
Around us, the hustle and bustle of people checking into their rooms,laughter at the bar, and the chimes of slot machines sounded. Nashtugged gently, leading me to one side of the foyer where a set of gold doors stood open, and two smartly dressed staff members waited with trays of champagne.
It was as we got closer that I noticed a sign announcing the eventtaking place in the room Nash was leading us to.
Carson-Fox Resorts is proud to present,
The Silent Auction.
All donations will be made in support of the Dementia Society of America.
My feet faltered as I stared at the sign. Nash noticed I’d slowed, andhe turned, pulling us to a stop. Fox stopped too, but at Nash’s nod, he disappeared into the room behind us.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Nash said, cupping my cheek with one hand.
“This is the charity I bought most of the furniture from,” I said, tearswelling in my eyes.
Not only had I spent a fortune buying furniture from them, but I’d alsomade a huge donation to the charity, knowing thousands of people were in the position I’d been in, looking after a loved one with dementia, and it was charities like this who helped support them.
Nash gave me a warm smile. “I know. And I know how important thischarity is to you. That’s why I arranged the auction.”
A solid lump lodged in my throat, and it took a few seconds for me toswallow it down before I could speak. “How…how do you know what it means to me?” I said, doing my best to hold back the emotion that was desperate to be released.
I’d only told him a little bit about my mom when we had dinner on theboat, but that had been about my childhood. I’d told him she’d passedaway, but I’d never told him what she died from, or that for years, I was her carer while she battled with dementia.
Nash cupped my other cheek and brought his face closer to mine,giving me a delicate kiss on the lips. “Sweetheart, when will you learn that I know everything there is to know about you.”
I gaped at him as a tear slid down my cheek which Nashbrushed away with his thumb. My heart began pounding in my chest, and as I stared into Nash’s silvery-gray eyes, a warmth filled me.
A warmth I’d never felt before, not even with Liam.
“Thank you,” I whispered, placing my hand on Nash’s solid chest.“This is…it’s incredible.”
Nash rested his hand over mine, and for a minute we stood staring ateach other, the world around us forgotten, and that was the moment I accepted my fate.
I was surrendering.
It didn’t matter what had happened to lead us to this moment, all of itpaled into insignificance because the man standing in front of me, I wanted him. I wanted him, not just for the life he could give me, but because of who he was.
Yeah, he was controlling, but he was also kind, caring, and generous,and when he said he would never betray my trust, I believed him.
