From the Publisher
FOUR LITTLE WORDS... Fifty-something and fabulous, author Toni Shaw has it all:two grown daughters on their own, a hot new novel in stores, and a gorgeous man in her bed. It's been three years since the father of her children swept back into her life, and things between Toni and Charles Waters are better than ever---until he pops an utterly unexpected question: Will you marry me?
CAN CHANGE HER LIFE FOREVER... Charles let Toni get away once before in his life, and he intends never to make that mistake again. The trouble is convincing Toni to trust him again. But when she suddenly announces she's taking an extended trip to Africa-alone-there's only one thing Charles can do: let her go and hope she'll find her way back to where she's meant to be...at his side, forever.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"Well, if it isn't my old friend, Spencer Taylor," a masculine voice said. Toni drew her eyes away from Spencer's and peered up into the face of Charles Edward Waters. Her gaze narrowed. Apparently he hadn't gotten the message she had sent him with the emerald necklace he had messengered to her that afternoon. When she returned the necklace a few minutes later, she had written, The answer is still no. I will not go out with you. Give it up, Chuck. She had thought her play on words, up Chuck for upchuck, was pretty amusing. His being there proved he hadn't agreed.
Not knowing the dynamics of the relationship between Chuck and Toni, Spencer saw only Charles Edward Waters, a patron of the arts--a man who had, in fact, sponsored a concert in Boston that had helped propel him to the level of success he was presently enjoying. He owed Charles a debt of gratitude. He rose and offered Chuck his hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Charles." Toni didn't know what to do. Should she pretend she had never met Chuck before? She had not seen fit to drag her past with Chuck into her relationship with Spencer. There had been no press conferences after Chuck came back into their lives. So no one except the family knew that Chuck was the father of her daughters. Toni liked it that way. The fewer people who knew, the better. Chuck wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but out of respect for her, he had agreed to keep the news within the family unit.
"Let me introduce you to my lady," Spencer said proudly, gesturing to Toni. Toni smiled at Chuck and surprised herself by saying, "We've met." A nonplussed expression fleetingly ran across Spencer's features, but soon he was his amicable self again. "I didn't know," he said. Then, gentleman that he was, he offered Chuck a seat. "Please join us, Charles. I'd like to hear where you and Toni met." "I'd be delighted," Chuck returned, his light brown eyes raking over Toni's face, causing her to blush against her will. Chuck sat on Toni's right. Spencer was on her left, leaving her in the uncomfortable position of being in the middle of two men whom she had had as lovers. The waiter who was servicing them that night appeared and asked if he could bring Chuck anything. Chuck ordered a coffee and settled down to tell Spencer where he and Toni had met. "We were college sweethearts," he informed Spencer, sitting up straigher on his chair and defiantly looking Toni in the eyes as if to say, Deny it! She calmly turned her head to smile at Spencer. "It was short-lived." "But memorable," Chuck countered. Toni leaned toward Spencer. "I was young and foolish." "You were young, but you've never been foolish, Toni," Chuck said. His smile had never left his face, though it was calculating. Toni wondered just how far he was prepared to go in order to make his point. The waiter arrived with the coffee she and Spencer had ordered before Chuck had horned in, and Chuck's as well. They remained silent until the waiter departed. "Well," Spencer said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice, but failing. "It must be pleasant seeing each other after all these years." "Oh, it is indeed," Chuck said. It was the tone of his voice, soft and filled with longing, that made her turn. His eyes pierced her soul with their intensity, and she couldn't look away. "I was wondering, Toni, how are your daughters, Georgette and Briane? Did their father ever come forward to claim them, or did he remain an abject coward?"
He wasn't telling Spencer anything he didn't already know. Toni had explained to Spencer about the circumstances surrounding the births of her daughters. But with his bold words, Chuck was putting her on notice. He was finished beating around the bush and was declaring all-out war. No. He would not embarrass her in front of her erstwhile paramour, because that was how he thought of Spencer--as a former lover of Toni's, not as anyone to think of as the competition for her affections. She felt the confidence coming off him like waves of emotion that night. That was how he seduced her, with his intentions.
