"I am fully aware of the wide swath you have cut through life and the eligible bachelors in this and several other towns."
"You kept tabs on me," she said with a little pout of her lower lip, "how sweet."
He could gladly have murdered her with his bare hands. "I told you once that you'd take other lovers. Good of you to prove me right," he said bitterly.
"Duncan," she said, sliding her right arm over his shoulder, "dating a man is not the same thing as having an affair."
"No?" he said coldly, forcing himself not to be petulant and knock her arm away.
"No. I give you my word of honor as a true daughter of Oklahoma that I didn't take one of those men to bed. Not one. I've been as celibate as you've been these last four months and, if you were in your right mind—and I'm kind of surprised at how glad I am that you're not—you'd know that."
"Oh," he said and for a moment couldn't think of anything else to say. "How do you know I've been celibate?"
"I know because you love me and you believe in faithfulness and honor."
"I do?"
"Yep. Besides, Emma told me."
She had startled him into a smile when he was depending on righteous anger to protect him from the gut-wrenching pleasure of seeing her, smelling her, hearing her again. "Why are you here?" he demanded. "And what in hell made you send me this … this monstrosity?"
Harley smiled. "Man, you just will not remove a single brick from that wall of yours, will you? Look, Duncan, don't you get it? I dedicated my last album to you. I wrote and recorded love songs to you. I told you four months ago that I would prove to you that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you and," she said, tapping the scrapbook, "I think I've gone out of my way to make good on that promise. I have given myself plenty of time to get over you," she said, slowly leaning toward him. "I have dated lots of other men, I even kissed some of them. I charted my new career and my new life all on my own," she said, her other arm sliding around his neck, "and now you're going to have to make good on our agreement and believe me when I tell you that I love you." Her lips were a breath from his. "And I do love you, Duncan Lang. Are you going to do anything about it?"
He stared into turquoise blue eyes and felt her love pour into him. He felt it down to his marrow. With a gasp, he knew that Harley Jane Miller loved him, that she was back, that she meant to stay, that he truly could have all of his dream for the taking. All he had to do was say…
"Yes!" as he claimed her lush mouth, his arms crushing her to him as he'd fantasized every night these last horrendous four months. Life poured back into his veins as she arched into him, feverishly returning his kiss, her tongue meeting his in an urgent dance that drove sanity right out of his brain.
He covered her face in kisses, his hands frantically roving over her delectable body to reassure himself that she really was here, in his arms, writhing in his embrace, loving him, dragging his mouth back to hers to sink her tongue deep into him, igniting something primal in his soul.
He tore his mouth from hers and drew in a harsh breath. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do about it," he growled. "I'm going to marry you, tonight, in Paris, whether you like it or not!"
Harley burst out laughing and the sunlight returned to his soul. "Oh, you are going to be such a trial," she said, shaking her head at him. "Loving me, planning my fantasy wedding, kissing me until my bones melt. I don't know how I'll stand it."
Grinning, he pulled her off his desk and onto his lap as he sat back down in his chair. "We've never discussed any of the practical particulars."
"Such as?" she asked nuzzling his ear.
He gasped. "Such as … um … children."
"Yes."
She was sucking at his earlobe. "How many?" he managed.
"Let's start in a couple of years with three and take it from there."
She shifted on his lap to pay similar attention to his other ear. "Okay," he said. "Where … Harley! … Where will we live?"
"Manhattan, of course."
"Y-Y-Your apartment or mine?"
She suddenly straddled him and began pressing kisses to his eyes, his cheeks. "Let's find something that's ours."
"Fine by me," he groaned.
"There is just one thing," she said breathlessly.
He looked into passion-lit blue eyes. "Anything," he assured her.
She grinned at him and his heart just simply imploded with happiness. "You are going to have to meet my mother."
He grinned at her, feeling free and gloriously alive and in love and loving all of it. "Whatever it takes, Princess."
The office door banged open, completely failing to dislodge them.
"Dammit, Duncan, have you no understanding of decorum?"
They turned their heads at the same time to find Colby Lang glowering at them from the doorway.
"Not when your future daughter-in-law is sitting on my lap," Duncan replied.
For the first time in his life, Colby Lang was rendered speechless.
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STOLEN MOMENTS Page 28
