Authors: Paula Roe
And slowly, he saw those eyes fill.
“You want everything I thought you’d run a mile from?” she asked, her voice shaky and uncertain.
He took her left hand in his, bare hope shredding his confidence. He’d never been this nervous before, never pinned his hopes on just one little answer.
“I love you,” he said.
Beth choked back a laugh as her eyes spilled over, her hands going to her mouth. Then she curled her arms around his neck and melted against his heat, giving in to the urgent need to touch him, hold him, because maybe this was just a dream and it would all be gone when she woke up. But this was real, as real as Luke’s warm gaze washing over her, and the faint residue of the past deflating like a long-forgotten party balloon.
“Say it again.”
“I love you, Beth.” He pulled back slightly. “Unless it’s Taylor?”
“I haven’t been her in a long time,” she replied firmly. “Taylor Stanton was my past. Beth Jones is my life now.”
His warm breath on her mouth was real. The soft, deep words curling around her heart were real.
And the shot of pure pleasure sending her thoughts haywire was definitely real. She inched her lips up to his but gave a soft murmur when he leaned away from her kiss.
“And?” Luke prompted.
“And what?”
“Say it.”
She felt herself flush. “I was getting to it. I love you, too.”
He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I was wondering when you’d come to your senses.”
“Were you now?”
“That’s a fact. I was waiting in hope.”
“For how long?” Her eyes searched his.
“Tomorrow was your last day—until Ben showed up.” He grinned. “Then I was going to storm into your store and talk you around.”
“Talk, huh.” Beth harrumphed. “More like demand.”
“Woman, I hope you’re not going to nag when we’re living in sin.”
Her protest was laughingly silenced with Luke’s mouth. When he finally drew his lips from hers, Beth knew she had been well and truly kissed.
“I love you, Beth. Even when you’re yelling at me and picking fights, I love you. I want you to say it again.”
After that kiss she was willing to admit to anything. “I love you, too. And I’m sorry—”
“Shh…” He put a fingertip to her lips. “You’ve said it already.”
She drew his hand firmly away. “I was wrong not to trust you. I let my past and the people in it influence my judgment instead of thinking for myself.”
“Ah, Beth. I made mistakes, too.” He still couldn’t get used to saying the words, so he said them again with emphasis, in between kisses. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
She laughed, a wonderful sound that filled every part of him with joy.
“And I’d like to be with you if and when you decide you want to meet your sister. You don’t have to be alone.”
She looked into his eyes, saw the fierce fire behind those dark depths and her breath caught.
“I’m not alone anymore. And I would love to have you with me.”
Luke ran his hand across her cheek, nuzzled her shoulder and began to chuckle softly.
Beth tilted her face to his. “Something funny?”
Luke grinned. “For once, the press got something right.”
“Hmm?” Beth was placing soft kisses on each corner of his mouth.
“Yeah. Today I am lucky.”
She laughed with him. “And,” she added with a devilish light in her eyes, “I’ll make sure I remind you. Every single day.”
Epilogue
W
hat the
small wedding lacked in size, it more than made up for in emotion. The bride
glowed in a simple off-white satin slip, and the groom wore a fine dark gray
wool suit with a snowy cravat and a deep blue silk shirt.
In the backyard of the Corelli
estate, the guests gathered under a canopy designed to keep the airborne
reporters at bay. Private security saw to the horde of uninvited press on
the grounds.
Beth's friends mingled, talked
and drank with the Corellis like any ordinary family gathering in the early
December morning. And when the happy couple spoke their vows, not a dry eye
was present. The celebrant pronounced them man and wife and they kissed long
and hard. Rosa beamed, Connor and the rest of Luke's friends laughed and
cheered. Even Marco couldn't keep the grin off his face.
But the person who was smiling
the most was Luke. The gaming commission had publicly announced its verdict
earlier on in the weekâcleared of all charges. Of course, as Jackson and
Blair's newest vice president, that
may
have held some sway.
He glanced down at Beth, all
aglow and grinning, and his heart caught, all thoughts of work scattering on
the summer breeze. No, that definitely wasn't the best thing. Because today,
he wasn't just getting a wife: in seven months, he'd be a brand-new
father.
And finally, everything was
perfect.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459220669
Copyright © 2012 by Paula Roe
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