Parking her car, she didn’t notice how off kilter her parking job was. She just shut off the engine and raced into the JJH Technologies building, panting by the time she reached the security desk.
Breathlessly, she pushed her hair out of her eyes as she beamed at the guards on duty. “Do you know if Jake is here?” she asked, wanting to speak with him but not wanting to take the time to go down to his office in the computer lab if he was at home or in a meeting.
The man behind the guard desk looked at her as if she were a criminal. “May I have your name, ma’am?”
Megan chuckled, then realized she could just go look for Jake herself and started digging through her purse for the security badge she should have been wearing. “Sorry about that. Um…my name is Megan Carmichael,” she told the man. He lifted the phone and started dialing, murmured a few words and then hung up. He didn’t look happy. “Mr. Hughes will be down in a moment. If you’d like to have a seat?”
Megan’s smile widened. “I just needed to know if he was here,” she pushed her hand through yet another one of the pockets in her purse and…there! Her fingers found the plastic badge. Lifting it up triumphantly, she grinned at the guard. “I have a security badge,” she told him, sliding it across the granite countertop so he could validate her identity and security clearance. The man looked at the badge, then up at Megan, obviously confused. Yes, Megan was completely aware of how strange she was acting. But she didn’t care!
Running now, she hurried over to the elevator and touched her badge against the security panel, then called the elevator, pacing impatiently back and forth in front of the doors.
When they opened, she was just about to rush inside when she stopped, spotting the tall, amazingly handsome man leaning against the back of the elevator. “Jake!” she gasped.
Jake looked at her for a stunned moment, his eyes moving up and down over her figure. “What the hell is going on? Where did you go yesterday?” he demanded.
She opened her mouth to explain, but he stopped her. “Not here!” and he took her elbow, pulling her into the elevator and stabbing the button for the executive floor.
Megan was practically bursting with her news, wanting to tell him. She barely waited for the elevator doors to close before she turned to look up into his wonderful grey eyes. “But Jake, I…”
He spun around, glaring down at her with fury in those eyes. “I said, not here!” and he turned back to face the doors, watching the lights indicate the upper level floors.
Megan was so taken aback by his sharp command that she obeyed, snapping her mouth closed and shrinking away. Thankfully, her news was just too wonderful and his bad mood couldn’t dampen her joy.
When the elevators pinged open he grabbed her arm, almost dragging her down the hallway. He pulled her into his office and slammed the door before turning to face her.
“Okay, what the hell is going on and why the hell haven’t you returned my calls? Where did you go? Damn it Megan, if you are sick again, you’re damn well going to tell me about it! I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you disappear on me again! If you’re sick, you’re going tell me and we’re going to get through it together! You love me! I love you! We support each other! That’s what married people do!”
Megan watched, stunned by his words and warmed by his concern. And the pacing! Back and forth, he paced along the width of his huge office, running his hands through his hair furiously. Goodness, he was so angry! And rightly so. She’d left with a cryptic message, then hadn’t called him back last night. In hindsight, Megan knew that she should have gone straight out to a drugstore and gotten a charging cable last night. But after a celebratory dinner, during which, she’d wanted desperately to call Jake, but also knew that she needed to be there for her mother as well, they’d checked into the hotel and, before she could do anything else, they’d fallen asleep.
At his first question, she’d started to become angry. But by the end of that tirade, she was…floored!
He paced again, running a hand through his hair. He was saying something else, but she couldn’t focus on his words. She was too overwhelmed by his declaration of love.
“Well?” he roared furiously, spinning around to glare down at her.
She smiled gently, standing in the middle of his office and…her heart melted for him. “You love me?” she whispered hopefully.
Jake sighed, running a hand over his face. “Seriously? Megan, after everything I just said, that’s all you got out of it?”
Her smile widened as an intense wave of happiness blanketed her. Megan was momentarily preoccupied, thinking he was the most handsome, amazing, wonderful man she’d ever met in her life.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
He stopped, looking down at her and…frozen, he watched her, his eyes moving over her features. “I know that,” he replied gruffly.
She stepped closer, but not touching him yet. “Tell me you love me again,” she pleaded, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Damn it, Megan, you have to know how I feel for you! I love you but…if you’re going to keep running off like you did yesterday, I’m not…I can’t…!” he stopped, shaking his head.
She stepped closer still, so that barely an inch of space was between their bodies. Staring up at him, she smiled. “I’ve been so tired lately.”
His eyes softened. “I know that, honey. I’ve been worried about you too.”
She smiled, but shook her head. “The last time I felt this way, when I was in college, that was one of my first symptoms of the cancer. I was tired, fighting to stay awake during classes. And then I felt achy everywhere.”
He slid his hands into his pockets. “Do you feel that way now?”
She shook her head, unaware of the light glowing in her eyes. The light confused Jake and he wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m tired, but no, not achy.”
“So…?” he prompted, needing to hear, to understand what was going on with her. He’d been prepared to stop seeing her, but as soon as he’d seen her, all of his resolutions flew out the window. This was Megan and he hadn’t been able to stop loving her all these years, and he wasn’t able to stop now. Never!
“At lunch yesterday, I told my mother how tired I was,” she explained. Stepping back, she moved over to his desk. “I’ll admit that we both panicked. We immediately called my oncologist. She said to get to her office as soon as we could. My mother and I didn’t even eat lunch. We left the restaurant and got on a plane.” She lifted her eyes to him. “I’m sorry. I should have called you and explained more, but I was just…so scared. Utterly terrified.” She swallowed. “You can’t imagine what it was like the last time, Jake. The pain from the chemo treatments…it was unbearable. I wanted…” she closed her eyes, shaking her head. “I wanted to die. I begged my mother to let me die.” She opened her eyes and tears slid down her cheeks. “So yesterday, when we both…thought the worst, we just…we left, needing to speak with my doctor.”
“Megan!” he groaned, stepping closer. But she lifted her hand, stopping him. “I could have gone to a doctor here, but mine knew my history, knew what to look for. She knew me. I’d gone through so much with that team and they knew what a recurrence of the cancer might mean. They stayed late last night, waiting for us. Almost the entire staff was there, the nurses and staff members, even the receptionist. They were all so worried.” She laughed, wiping the tears. “When one of their patients survives, they celebrate. The whole time I was sick, me and the nurses and doctors…we were all so close, and at the possibility that my cancer had come back…” she couldn’t even finish the words. “I’m sorry, Jake. I was so scared and I needed to know for sure. I should have stayed. I should have told you what was going on. But I was terrified and not thinking clearly.”
He didn’t hesitate this time. He pulled her into his arms, holding her gently. “Megan!” He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her against his chest. “Don’t push me away, honey. I can help you. And there’s no way I’m going
to let you die! I need you, Megan! I need your smiles and your brilliance!” He buried his face in her hair. “I’m going to be with you every step of the way. Every treatment, we’ll be together. Do you understand?”
She laughed and cried, just as she had last night. “Yes. You’re definitely going to be with me for this.” She pulled back. “I don’t have cancer. It isn’t back, but…” she looked up into his eyes, trying to convey the truth of her life, of her health. “It might! I’m in remission now, but I will have to go back for checkups occasionally. It’s a possibility that the cancer could come back.”
He sighed, his arms tightening around her. “I understand. But…” he stopped and pulled back slightly. “The cancer hasn’t come back?” he asked, only now grasping what she’d told him.
“No. I’m still in remission,” she assured him, beaming. She still pulled back, staring up at him. “I love you so much, Jake.” She took a long, shuddering breath. “The first time I got the news about the cancer, I wanted to save you from having to go through it. My doctor warned me that it was going to be a rough battle. I had a rare, aggressive type of cancer and…well, it was going to be bad, she warned from the outset.” She looked down slightly. “We were both so young and I was so terrified. The cancer was difficult to treat. But…’
“Megan! Damn it, you should have told me! I should have been there with you!” he growled, pulling her in for another hug, but then he released her and stepped back, rubbing his neck and shaking his head. “I’ve only been half alive since you left me last time!”
She smiled, taking his hands. “Well, I don’t have cancer. It hasn’t come back.”
He closed his eyes and she felt his body shudder. “Oh Megan!” he groaned, pulling her into his arms again. He buried his face in her hair and she felt his arms tighten around her. For a long moment, he just held her and she let the tears roll down her cheeks. Finally, he took a deep breath and pulled back, his hands resting tightly on her hips. “You need to eat more, you’re too thin. You need to build up your strength. If the cancer comes back, I’m not going to lose you, damn it!”
She laughed, laying her head against his chest. “You’re right. I need to eat more.” She bit her lip, and peered up at him through her lashes, shy all of a sudden. “I’m eating for two now.”
She waited, still in his arms. She felt another shudder and he pulled back, bending low so that he could see her eyes. “Wait, you’re…?”
She nodded. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, suddenly nervous. “I love you, Jake, but if you’re not ready for a baby then…”
Megan didn’t have a chance to finish that statement because his mouth covered hers, kissing her roughly. When he lifted his mouth to look at her again, she almost laughed at the stunned look in his wonderful grey eyes.
“A baby?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Remember that night when you forgot to use protection initially?”
He chuckled. “I remember your fingers doing some very interesting things and…” he paused, thinking back. “Okay, yeah, I remember the lack of a condom initially. But I fixed that as soon as I realized what I was doing.”
She giggled, sliding her hands up his chest. “Well, I don’t think we were fast enough.”
“Damn! I thought you were dying last night and…you discovered that you were pregnant?”
“Yeah,” she laughed again. “You should have seen the look on my oncologist’s face! She was shocked and thrilled. I think she really enjoyed giving someone good news for a change.”
He lifted her up into his arms, hugging her and spinning her around.
That’s how Jackson found them when he walked into the room.
“Obviously, I’m missing something,” he drawled, slamming the door closed angrily.
Jake turned to look at his twin brother. “Megan is back,” he said.
“I noticed,” Jackson commented drily. “I guess my next question is why she felt that she had to put you through another round of hell by leaving yesterday so abruptly.”
Jake put his arm around Megan. “She thought that her cancer had come back.”
Jackson’s angry tension eased somewhat, his eyes moving over Megan’s happy expression. “And?” he prompted.
Jake kissed her again. “She’s been tired, but that’s because she’s pregnant!”
Jake waited a fraction of a second. But his twin recovered faster than Jake had. The anger quickly dissipated into a broad, relieved grin. “Well, hell! That’s…!” he walked over and slapped Jake on the shoulder. “That’s great news! I’m thrilled for you!” and he pulled Megan in for a hug. “Welcome to the family, Megan!”
Megan hugged him back, but shook her head. “Well, that hasn’t…”
Jake rolled his eyes, pulling her out of Jackson’s arms and back into his own. “Megan, if you think for even a second that we’re not getting married, then I think I need to take you back to my place and tie you to the bed for a few more weeks until you understand where this relationship is going.”
Megan laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Oh, you’re such a romantic, Jake!”
Jackson laughed as well, and moved in to hug Megan again. “He’s never been good at that sort of thing. But ignore him and…” he turned serious, “never leave him again, okay? He’s such a pain in the ass when you’re not around.”
She smiled up at Jake who only winked back at her, love shining in his eyes. “I think that can be arranged.”
Jake laughed and pulled her back into his arms. “Get out Jackson,” he said, looking at Megan.
Jackson laughed, but he walked out of Jake’s office. “There is so much to this story that I’m missing,” he muttered, closing the door behind him.
When they were alone again, Jake turned to Megan, holding her hands as he looked at her carefully. “I love you, Megan. Will you marry me? Will you be with me for as long as we live?”
She blinked. “Jake, what if…”
“Stop, Megan. If we only have a few years together, I want those years. I’d love another fifty years with you, but I’ll take whatever we get. Day by day.” He kissed her softly. “Now I understand why you savor every moment. The grass. The wine. The way you enjoy music so much more now. It’s because you didn’t have that for a long time, right?”
“Right. And I never know how much longer I will have it.”
“Teach me,” he urged. “Teach me to savor each moment like you do. Teach me to love life. I already love you more than I’d ever thought possible. But I want it all, honey.”
She lifted her face to his, kissing him gently. “Moment by moment. For as long as we have together.”
“Moment by moment,” she whispered back. “I love you, Jake.”
“I love you, Megan.”
Epilogue
Megan sighed as she sipped her sweet wine, pushing her toes into the sand more deeply. Looking out at the setting sun, she wondered if life could be more perfect. Forty years, she thought with a happy sigh. Forty years of love, laughter, fighting, and making up with Jake. Life was pretty darn good!
“You’re thinking,” Jake said, stretching out in the chair next to hers, digging his own toes into the still warm sand.
“I’m marveling,” she smiled at her handsome husband. His dark hair had gone silver, but he was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen. “Are they getting cleaned up for dinner?” she asked softly.
Jake chuckled and nodded as he reached out for her hand, twining his fingers with hers. “Yes. All six of our grandchildren are exhausted after spending all day in the water.”
“They love the ocean,” she agreed, thinking of the body surfing and splashing they had enjoyed all day. “I’m so glad that Clarissa was able to make it this year,” she said, referring to their daughter, their second born, who had pulled herself away from her busy obstetrics practice to spend the week with them this year. Last year, Clarissa had been needed in an emergency surgery. But this year, their older son, Derick,
and Clarissa had extricated themselves from their busy lives to spend a week at the beach with their families.
“Forty years,” Megan sighed. “Can you believe it?”
Jake chuckled. “You’re just as beautiful now as you were the first day I saw you sitting in that coffee shop, Megan,” he told her softly, lifting her hand and placing a kiss on her fingers.
Megan sighed happily. “And you still make my body tingle every time you touch me.”
Clarissa and Laura, Derick’s wife, came down to the beach with a glass of wine, joining them to watch the sun set. “Are you two going to be embarrassing again?” Clarissa groaned.
Megan laughed, but Jake only scooped Megan up and pulled her onto his lap. “Probably.”
Clarissa shook her head. “I hope Mike and I are as in love after forty years as you two are.”
Megan looked at Jake, her arm wrapped around his neck. “I do too,” she said, the love she had for this man shining in her eyes. “I do too!”
Excerpt from “Her Secret, His Heir”
Release Date: January 17, 2020
Click HERE to get “Her Secret, His Heir”!
“I hate this!” Melanie muttered as she wiggled the bottom of her black dress down over her probably-too-round hips.
“Excuse me?”
Melanie jumped, suddenly aware that she wasn’t alone in the elevator, and cringed. Unbeknownst to her in her frantic, nervous state, several additional people had filed into the elevator as well. “Oh!” she gasped, whirling around to stare. There were four men and two women, some dressed casually and some in suits. One of the women eyed Melanie with disdain and disapproval while the guy in the cheap suit and ugly tie next to her, winked at Melanie. Then there was a taller man and…Woah! Big guy in the back, she thought and quickly looked away. Incredibly handsome guy! Facing forward again, she tried to act natural. “Um…Sorry! Talking to myself.” Cold grey eyes! The coldest eyes she’d ever seen!
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