Chapter 35
For the next five minutes there wasn’t a sound in the room except for the soft thud of their mutual landings and the gasps of the crowd.
Lexie had never ‘danced’ a Kung Fu match but intuitively this is what she and Jake did. As though they had programmed it, they moved into a synchronous dance that capitalized on their strengths. Lexie flew through the air in double and triple flips and never wondered if Jake would catch her. He always did. They feinted and parried, a virtual pas de deux of Kung Fu postures, with mock takedowns and escapes.
After a stunning series of acrobatic leaps, kicks, and strikes, he whispered, “The finale, darlin’.”
She backed up against the wall and headed toward him, flipping from front to back and to the front again. Jake caught her on the third revolution. He spun in a circle, holding her high in the air staring up at her, then slowly brought her to the floor. They stood for a moment meeting each other’s gaze. Holding hands they turned to the audience and bowed.
The audience roared in approval. Master Wan bowed to them both and didn’t try to hide the tears on his face. He wasn’t the only one crying.
Her students rushed forward, surrounding them both. The little girls looked up adoringly at Jake. Lexie wasn’t surprised to see the women crowding around him as well.
Marybel sauntered up to her, her eyes dancing with mischief. In a pretend whisper, she said loud enough for all close by to hear, “Are you telling me, Girl, that this hunk is the man that has been sending you daily presents that you haven’t opened?” She nudged Lexie aside and sidled up next to Jake.
“Hey, handsome, if this little princess doesn’t come around in the next few minutes, I want you to know that there are plenty of pickings among the rest of us.” She added with a grin, putting her hands on her ample hips in a suggestive gesture. “Now, if you like a little more flesh on her bones, I got just the woman for you!”
“Oh no, you don’t!” Sadie forged forward. “I’se can tell, he likes his wimmen slender. So, Marybel, accept it. This is between Jai Li and me!”
Jake’s infectious laugh filled the room. Not letting go of Lexie’s hand, he grinned at the adoring group.
“You flatter me. But I’m a taken man.” He gazed down at her. Pulling her into a protective hold, he gazed down at her, “It’s as simple as that, isn’t it darlin’?”
Before she could respond, several of the news people shoved through the crowd, microphones in hand.
“Excuse me, Col. Gardner. Aren’t you the man who broke the case in Yuma? You brought down an international illegal drug operation and solved two murders?”
Jake shook his head.
“No, it wasn’t me, it was my team. The strongest, most accomplished group of warriors you’ll ever meet. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be here today, if it wasn’t for one member of the team, Alexis Beloi. You know her as Jai Li, the woman who founded Strong Women Survive.” He pulled her closer to him. When she looked up at him, shocked, he continued, “Lexie is the bravest, most courageous woman I know, and the most accomplished. She took down a mass murderer, broke a multi-national drug ring, avenged her brother’s death, and, not incidentally, saved my life.”
Lexie felt her cheeks heat, stunned that Jake would make such a public statement. But to her horror, he wasn’t through.
Holding up his hand he said, “As much as I would like to answer your questions, I have a more pressing mission. That is to do my best to convince this young woman to marry me.” He looked up and nodded to Nianzu who stood in the doorway. “I understand that our ride is here, so if you will excuse us, we’ll be leaving now.”
At the surprised laughter and cheers from the crowd, that even included some of the press, Jake muscled through the group, his arm around Lexis’s waist, carrying her when she stumbled in surprise.
At the doorway, Lexie saw the Electra Glide parked in the driveway.
Too stunned to protest, she allowed Jake to clamp on her helmet and deposit her on the back of the bike. He mounted the bike, and threw her a wicked grin.
“Are we gonna need the handcuffs, darlin’ or can I depend on you not to jump off?”
Lexie buried her face against his back to hide her tears.
He pulled her hands around him.
“Hold on tight, darlin’! This promises to be a hell of a ride!”
Afterword
Thank you for reading Big Girls Don’t Cry. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much I enjoyed writing it. I love all my characters – their strengths as well as their weaknesses. I worried a lot about Lexie in the beginning. Let’s face it, a lot of abused kids never recover. I was concerned how she would react to a dominant alpha male like Jake who’s used to running his world and everyone in it! Fortunately, Lexie was more than strong enough to take him on and he was smart enough to let her. In the end they came together in a way that strengthened them both and in my view bodes well for their future. Phew!
If you loved their story and the supporting characters, do know that Brady has been “texting” me regularly. He’s confident my readers will love his story which is as complicated as he is. I think he may be right! Keep watching!
P.S If you enjoyed Big Girls Don’t Cry, do me a huge favor. Go back to www.Amazon.com, and please leave an honest review. Authors live and die by their reviews. The few extra seconds it takes really helps us authors out. Thank you!
Other Works by Taylor Lee
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