"I think it is." Mona took the keys out of his hand. "Now, I'm going to see if I can find something interesting in that little boutique across the street." Humming, she sashayed toward the car.

"I was a fool to ever treat that woman wrong," he said, waving to her as she backed the Lexus out of the s.p.a.ce and headed out of the parking lot.

"Yes, you were."

He sighed deeply, then started finishing off Mona's banana split. "We used to go to this place called Zack's and eat a banana split at the end of every one of our dates, back when we were teens," he said.

"I know. She told me, every time she ordered one when I was little."

"I'm guessing that's probably the reason she ordered one today, to remind me," he said, smiling.

"I'd guess you're right," she said, still feeling a bit odd at having this conversation, but knowing it was necessary. "Daddy-" She halted when he held up a hand.

"Wait. Let me talk first, if you don't mind. I have something to say to you, and I don't want to wait any longer." He pushed the ice cream away and looked directly at Marissa, his dark eyes sincere and solemn. "I know I hurt your mother, and I've done my best to convince her that I am sorry, and that I'll never do it again. I love her, truly I do, and I was incredibly stupid to ever let her get away. But it wasn't just your mother that I hurt back then, and I don't think I really saw that until recently, with your new business venture and all. That cheater site, and all of those pages where you talk about how it feels to be done wrong. I mean, I know that you were talking about those guys, but there was more to it than that, maybe even more than you realized. You were also talking to me, about me, and publicly reprimanding me for what I did. I left you and your mother at the very beginning of your teen years, when you needed me so much, and I can't ever get that time back. I'll never forgive myself for that, for hurting her, and for hurting you. But I've proven to her that I'm the man she fell in love with, and can be the kind of husband she always wanted, the kind she deserved. People can change, Rissi, and I have. I swear it. I know it'll take time for you to believe me, but I want to take that time, the same way I've taken that time with your mother, and I want to eventually believe that you trust me again, that you trust me not to hurt her ever again, and that you trust me not to hurt you."

He cleared his throat. "Rissi, honey, I know this will be hard for you to believe, after everything I've put your mother-and you-through, but I have have changed. Back then, with you and your mother, I had everything a man could want, a beautiful wife who loved me more than any woman should, and a daughter who would make any father proud. Yet, for reasons I still can't understand, I messed around with other women, and I hurt the two people who cared the most." changed. Back then, with you and your mother, I had everything a man could want, a beautiful wife who loved me more than any woman should, and a daughter who would make any father proud. Yet, for reasons I still can't understand, I messed around with other women, and I hurt the two people who cared the most."

"But you didn't care about us back then," Marissa said. "Not the way you should have, or you wouldn't have cheated on Mom."

His chin trembled, mouth dipped at the corners, and he slowly shook his head. "No, I didn't, and I'll spend the rest of my life regretting that, honey, and trying to make things right. Your mother deserves that, and so do you."

"But what's different this time?" she asked. "You said the same thing before, when you came to Florida for my graduation and then got back with Mama then. But you did it again, found someone else, and hurt her." She paused, then whispered, "You hurt both of us."

A heavy tear trickled down his cheek, and he rubbed his palm down his face to wipe it away. "I'm so sorry for that, Rissi. I hate that I hurt you, both of you. I never want to hurt either of you that way again, and that's why I waited so long before contacting Mona." He shrugged. "I never told you before, because I didn't think you would want to know, but none of the other relationships ever made it beyond a few months. The last one only lasted a few weeks before I realized that I'd messed up-again-and ended it. I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with Anita, because I still loved Mona."

"But you cheated on her."

"I know, which is why I didn't try to get back with her then. I kept hurting her, and I wasn't going to let myself hurt her again. So I didn't call her, didn't try to see her, or to do anything that would give me the opportunity to hurt her again. But Rissi-this is important-I didn't see anyone else either during that time. I'd decided if I couldn't have Mona, and trust myself to treat her right, then I didn't want anyone."

"For how long?" Marissa asked. "How long did you go without seeing anyone?"

He gave her a soft smile. "Nine years, from the day we divorced until the day I called her and begged her for another chance to treat her right, which was two years ago."

"But you were already seeing Anita when you and Mom divorced."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Like I said, the thing with Anita only lasted a few weeks, and was over before the divorce was even final. I knew I'd messed up, and I did still love Mona."

Marissa frowned. "Then why didn't you try to stay with her?"

"Because I was afraid," he said, his voice barely a whisper now, and completely losing its typical confident air. "I was afraid I'd hurt Mona and you, again, and I couldn't let that happen. I'd put you through too much already."

"Then why did did you finally call her again, two years ago?" Marissa asked, needing to see the full picture and needing to know whether her father had really changed. you finally call her again, two years ago?" Marissa asked, needing to see the full picture and needing to know whether her father had really changed.

He smiled. "I guess the best way to explain it is to tell you that I flat-out didn't want to live the rest of my life without your mother being a part of it. I was miserable without her, Rissi, and miserable that I'd let her get away. So I called her and told her that no matter what it took, I was going to prove to her that I'd changed, that I understood how lucky I was to have had her in my life before, and that if she'd just give me another chance, I'd be the loving faithful faithful husband she deserved." He laughed. "Do you know what she said to that?" husband she deserved." He laughed. "Do you know what she said to that?"

"No, what?"

"She said for me to prove it," he said, then laughed again. "And I've been doing my d.a.m.nedest to show her that I have changed-and that I deserve her-for two years. And finally she said she'd marry me again." He shrugged. "I wanted you to be there, honey, but once she said yes, I didn't want to wait." He sighed. "I love her, Rissi, and I won't hurt her again."

Marissa's chest clenched tight. He'd said it all, everything she kept tethered for twenty years, and evidently, he'd worked for two years to prove himself worthy of her mother's love. "I want to believe you," she whispered.

"And I want you to," he said, "but I'm not fool enough to think that it won't take time. I'm just asking for you to give me a chance, and to support your mother's decision to take me back, if you can. She doesn't want to do anything that would make you unhappy, and she was so concerned that she'd upset you last night, with her telephone call, that she woke me up at three this morning so we could get to you before your show."

Marissa grinned. "When she gets something on her mind, she can't exactly concentrate on anything else."

"I'm lucky that I'm still on her mind."

"Yeah, you are," she agreed, then licked her quickly melting cone.

He also turned his attention back to his ice cream, and, having said all that needed to be said, the two of them sat in companionable silence until Mona returned in the SUV. She pulled into a nearby parking s.p.a.ce and held up the "okay" sign, then gave them her questioning wince, as if asking, "You two all right?"

They both nodded and smiled.

"I do love you, honey," he said, patting the top of her hand. Then he gathered their trash and tossed it into a can on their way to the car.

"I know. I love you, too," she said softly, walking beside him.

"And that young man that I met this morning. Trent. What about him?" Daniel asked.

"I believe I blew it, don't you think? Turning my back on him on television and radio probably isn't the best way to start a relationship," she said, as they neared the SUV.

"The way I see it," her father said, climbing into the backseat so Mona could drive and Marissa could ride shotgun, "anything worth having is worth working for, even groveling for, if the occasion calls for it. Isn't that right, dear?"

"It didn't kill you," Mona said with a laugh.

"You know, you're right," Marissa said, pulling her phone out of her purse and dialing Candi's cellular. "And it won't kill me."

"Marissa? I'm so glad you called! Where are you? Are you okay?" Candi answered, obviously taking advantage of her caller ID.

"I'm with my folks, and they're taking me home. Listen, I don't have a lot of time. Can you tell me where Trent lives? I mean, can you find out from Keith and let me know, by the time I get home?"

"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea. He was really p.i.s.sed, or maybe hurt is a better word. Keith brought him over here a little while ago, but he wasn't exactly in a talkative mood. In fact, he looked like he was ready to hit something."

"Keith brought him where?" Marissa asked. "Where are you?"

"At Amy's place. We've been working on next week's issue of AtlantaTellAll, since we thought you'd probably be preoccupied this weekend with all the radio and television fallout, which has netted us a ton of new subscribers, by the way. I have to tell you, I'm still shocked at what happened this morning. Amy said the two of you were getting hot and heated when she came over there. What went wrong?"

"Me," Marissa said miserably. "I went wrong. I messed up, and I need to try to fix it. Now tell me why he came to Amy's."

"Trent asked Keith to find out where you live, and Keith had been to Amy's with me a couple of times this week already, when Amy and I were working on the site, so he and Trent came on over. Trent left a package for you, said it was something you left at the apartment and that you'd want it. Amy's got it here at her place."

"Is that all he said?" she asked, as Mona pulled into Marissa's apartment complex.

"That's it."

"Well, I'm nearly home. Meet me at my place with that package."

"And then what?"

"Then, I'm going to grovel."

When all is said and done, never settle for less than the king Hershey bar.

-TRENT J JACKSON AND AND M MARISSA K KINCAID

Chapter 25.

Trent leaned back in his recliner and closed his eyes, exhausted physically from lack of sleep, since he'd spent all of last night waiting to see if Rissi would come to his room, then making love to her after she did, and exhausted emotionally, since she'd drained him completely of all all emotions with her declaration this morning. She wanted the prize. Fine. Let her have it. emotions with her declaration this morning. She wanted the prize. Fine. Let her have it.

He'd spent most of the day postbroadcast with Keith, who, ever the faithful friend, had invited Trent to deliver his little "package" to Amy's apartment complex and then spent the remainder of the afternoon at Trent's townhouse drinking Jack and c.o.ke and listening to Trent vent about the woman who had thoroughly trampled his heart on live television. Amazingly, the venting gave him much more satisfaction than the alcohol. He closed his eyes and decided to give sleep a go. Keith had left only a few moments ago, and while Trent had been glad for the company, he'd also been painfully aware that his body needed to shut down. Completely. As in, turn off the pain of Rissi walking away. And h.e.l.l, he couldn't deny that part of him was really disappointed she hadn't shown up, telling him she'd made a horrid mistake and begging his forgiveness.

He let his neck relax against the back of the chair and tried to steady his breathing. He needed to calm down, relax, and forget her.

Yeah, right.

A knock sounded at the door. Since no one had requested to be buzzed in, he knew who was on the other side. Keith. He'd never made it out of the building. Probably changed his mind about leaving. He was a good friend, but he was going above and beyond the call of duty. Trent climbed out of his chair, walked to the door, and opened it. "I'm okay. You can go on and-" His words stuck in his throat.

"Keith was on his way out and let me in," Rissi said, those big dark eyes studying his face.

He snarled, not about to let her off the hook easily, if she even wanted off the hook. "That was big of him."

She frowned.

Trent frowned, too. "What do you want, Rissi? Or haven't you done enough damage today?"

"I deserve that," she said. "But I would really-well, I'd like to come in."

He stepped back and waved her through, then inhaled her sweet scent as she entered. G.o.d help him, he wanted her, even after this morning. He was a fool, and he needed to get a grip.

She turned, and he saw that she held an item in each hand. In one, her purse, clutched tightly, and in the other, the small box he'd left with Amy, also clutched tightly. She was nervous. Good. Trent closed the door, walked past her en route to his recliner, and sat down.

"Can you explain this?" she asked, moving to sit on the couch, merely a few feet away from Trent, then holding up the box.

"I brought you what you left behind."

"Yeah. I got that. You could have left the batteries in, you know."

He smirked. Removing Pinky's batteries had been his own attempt at a little jab, and he was rather impressed that it had worked.

"I see you smiling," she said. "And for the record, Pinky wasn't what I was asking about. It's the other item in the box."

Trent closed his eyes. He really was tired. Plus, he didn't want to give her the impression he cared . . . too much. "The other item?"

"This," she said, and he wedged one eye open to see her holding the tiny silver-wrapped drop of chocolate.

"It's a Hershey's kiss," he said, then let his eyelid fall back into place. d.a.m.n, it felt good to close his eyes, and to see her here, in his townhouse, where he wanted her. But he wouldn't let her know that. Not now. The sting from this morning was still a little too raw, and he wanted to hear what she had to say about it. So he'd listen . . . with his eyes closed.

"I know it's a Hershey's kiss," she said. "But Amy said you were bringing me something I left at the apartment, and I didn't leave a Hershey's kiss."

"I was talking about Pinky."

"O-kay," she said, and even though he didn't open his eyes, he could tell she'd moved closer. How close was she? It didn't matter. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of caring enough to look.

"Then why did you give me the kiss?" she asked, and dammit if he didn't feel her breath against his right ear and smell her peach-scented shampoo.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to face her, which put their lips mere centimeters apart. "I gave you the kiss to remind you."

"Remind me of what?" she asked, not backing away from the close proximity, and even moving a fraction closer.

"That a kiss is never enough to satisfy. That a kiss will only make you want more, and you'll never be happy with less than what you want. I gave you that to prove that what you really want is the big king Hershey bar, and you gave that up. You're settling for the kiss." He was suddenly very awake, and very p.i.s.sed. He wanted to make her hurt, the way she had hurt him this morning. And he wanted to kiss her and hold her and love her, the way he had last night. The woman was going to be the death of him.

"That's what I thought you'd say," she whispered, those dark eyes drinking him in as she looked down at the purse still clutched in her hand. She opened it, then slid her hand inside and withdrew . . . a king Hershey bar. "A kiss isn't isn't enough," she said. "And I was a fool to think I could settle for anything less than what I want." enough," she said. "And I was a fool to think I could settle for anything less than what I want."

"What do you want, Rissi?"

"I want you. I wanted you last night. I wanted you this morning. And I want you for the rest of my life. I was scared, I'll admit it, because of what I've seen my father put my mother through. I don't want that for me."

"I'd never do that to you, Rissi. I've wanted to throttle you all day, but I've loved you the entire time. I can't stop loving you. I won't."

Her chin quivered. "You know the guy on the site, the one who said I cried when-"

"I know," he said, interrupting her, because he couldn't bear to think about any other b.a.s.t.a.r.d who might have been lucky enough to sleep with Rissi.

"Well, that time, I cried because I thought thought I was making love for the first time." Her eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "But last night, I cried because I I was making love for the first time." Her eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "But last night, I cried because I knew knew. I love you, Trent, and I've never been in love with anyone else. This is real, and I don't want to live without it, not anymore." She sniffed, then inched so close that her warmth penetrated the tiny distance between them. "Can you forgive me for this morning?"

So much for making her wait. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her onto his lap. "It won't be easy, but if you work at it, really hard, I might be able to find it in my heart to forgive you for humiliating me royally on live TV and radio."

"Ouch," she said. "I really am sorry. What more do you want? Just tell me, and I'll do it." Her throat pulsed, and one tear spilled free.

He brushed the tear away with his hand. "Oh, well, I thought you might want to make it up to me in, let's see, unique and inventive ways." He turned his head toward his dining room, where a big brown box sat in the center of the table.

She blinked, then squinted toward the dining room. "What is that?" she asked, climbing off his lap and moving toward the box. Then she looked inside and laughed. "Wait a minute. You didn't know I was coming over here."

He puffed out his chest. "h.e.l.l, I knew you'd come to your senses eventually."

"You are are c.o.c.ky!" she exclaimed, lifting a bottle of ma.s.sage oil, cotton candy flavored, from the box filled with goodies from Landon's company. "And do you really expect us to go through all of these?" She held up an industrial-sized box of flavored condoms. c.o.c.ky!" she exclaimed, lifting a bottle of ma.s.sage oil, cotton candy flavored, from the box filled with goodies from Landon's company. "And do you really expect us to go through all of these?" She held up an industrial-sized box of flavored condoms.

"Actually, there's a particular one I wanted to try first, whenever you came to your senses," he added, getting out of the chair. He came up behind her in the dining room and wrapped his arms around her, then nudged her bottom with his pelvis.