It was signed with X’s and O’s and a big Jacey.
“A thank you for her dress,” she murmured, replacing it in the envelope and tucking it into her purse.
“That was nice of you. She really likes it. Hasn’t worn it yet, though.”
“She says she will when she can walk again.”
“Or when we go someplace where she’d need a dress. We haven’t done all that much while she’s been hampered by the cast.”
His phone rang and he glanced at who was calling, then with a quick, “Excuse me,” he answered. “Hi, Jacey, what’s up?”
Savannah watched his expression change as his daughter spoke to him. She could tell he was getting angry again, or at least extremely frustrated.
“Tell your mother—never mind, I’ll call her myself. Don’t worry about it. She and I will discuss the situation.”
He hung up and glared at Savannah for a moment, not seeing her. Margo made him so angry he wanted to throw something.
“That was good,” she said.
“What?”
“That you are not putting Jacey in the middle of you and Margo. At first I thought you were going to give her a message to relay.”
“That would be too easy. I need to get it through her head that Jacey is old enough to decide and she’s decided to live with me.”
He looked over the river, still seething with Margo’s attempted manipulation of their daughter.
“May I make a suggestion?” Savannah said hesitantly.
He wondered what she had to offer in this mess. For a second he hoped she’d offer to watch Jacey until she was better—or for the entire summer.
“If a manager hasn’t been hired yet, put her in charge of that little boutique sports store you’re putting in the resort in California.”
“Have you lost your mind?” he asked. “Why in the world would I have anything more to do with Margo than I need to? I certainly—” He stopped talking and looked at her. She looked as pretty as he remembered. She’d been the smartest, quickest student in the class he’d taught. But how could she think he’d want to work with Margo?
“You’re an astute businessman—listen for a minute. You said she’s good at selling, or could be. That new shop will be in a high-end resort with tons of luxury items and amenities. Rich people come to stay. She might meet her rich husband there. The pay will probably be excellent. You could arrange for her to live at the resort. And she’d be three thousand miles away from your daughter when you and Jacey need time to get your own family traditions and routines started.”
For a moment all he could do was rail against the idea of doing anything to help the woman who had caused such havoc in his life. But slowly his temper cooled and he began to see the merit in what Savannah suggested. He’d have to play around with the idea for a little while, assess the pros and cons, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He could have Margo train in the San Francisco office. She’d love that city. Then she could settle in at the resort before the cold weather hit, so she’d see it in the best season.
“She couldn’t report directly to me,” he murmured.
Savannah smiled slowly. He caught his breath, wanting to reach across the table and kiss her.
“Something to think about,” she said.
“It has some merit,” he said cautiously.
“I think Jacey will be fine with the idea, knowing her mother’s being taken care of. Some of her hesitation in moving in with you was concern for her mother. She’s seen the resort, seen San Francisco, so she can picture where her mother’s living. Jacey would love visiting her at the resort maybe for the full summer next year.”
“Giving me the summer free,” he said pensively.
“Did you want that?”
“Maybe, in the future,” he said. He looked at her plate. She was finished. He was finished. Summoning the waiter for the bill, he paid then looked at Savannah. “Want to walk along the water for a while?”
“Sure. I have no plans until tonight.”
“What’s tonight?” he asked as they rose and wound their way through the other tables. Every one was occupied now.
“I’m meeting a friend for dinner,” she said.
Declan felt the words like a blow. He didn’t want her seeing anyone else. They’d spent almost three weeks together and she had not mentioned a special man in her life. Yet he’d done nothing to make sure that never happened. Had he left it too late?
He turned toward the right and they walked along the wide asphalt pathway.
“Now or never,” he murmured, glancing around. Except for the couple on the rollerblades moving away from them, they were alone on the path.
“Now or never for what?” she asked.
He turned, picking up her hand in his. Hands linked, he looked at her.
Took a breath.
“Savannah Williams, will you marry me?”
She stared at him dumbfounded.
“The thought of you going out with someone else is driving me nuts. I was going to wait for the perfect setting. See you a few more times. Take you for dinner, dancing. Have you see I’m not the man I was seven years ago? I want you to trust me. I want you to want me as much as I want you. I let you down, I know I did, and you suffered the most for my stupid decision seven years ago. I thought I was doing the right thing. It turned out to be a disaster. For all of us, but most of all for you.”
She nodded slowly. He couldn’t read her expression.
“Say something.”
“I’m thinking,” she replied.
Declan frowned. “About?”
“There’s so much to consider. Jacey, Margo. I want—well I wanted this seven years ago. Instead you walked away without a backward look. You’ll never know how much that hurt.”
The pain in her eyes told him. “It wasn’t without a backward look, or regrets. I hardly had the marriage vows out of my mouth before I knew it was a mistake. I tried—I really tried, for both Jacey’s sake and yours.”
“Mine?” Savannah said in surprise.
“I knew I had hurt you badly. It couldn’t have been in vain. I had to make a go of the marriage or I would have to face the fact I threw away the best thing I’d ever had for nothing. And that was too hard to accept.”
“We’re not the same people,” she said slowly, her eyes seeking his, searching for…what?
“No. I hope I’m a better man. You are still the bright young woman who gave me such joy. If you can find it in you to forgive me, I will spend the rest of my life making up for that hurt.”
“What if you change your mind again?” she asked tentatively.
He felt her words like a slap. Yet how could he blame her?
“I won’t. I didn’t even years ago—I just pushed you away to do my duty. I found it wasn’t enough. I didn’t seek you out when the divorce was final. I didn’t try to regain our trust or love then. But I thought about you every day. Much as I hated the way Jacey was behaving, I saw it as a way to have you back in my life. To see how you were, if there was anything there for you and me.”
“It was a ploy?” she asked.
“No. A gift. I looked at it as a miracle
—your taking the assignment. The more I was around you the more my love strengthened. I’ve loved you for eight years. With you or without you, I’ll always love you, Savannah. I just hope it’ll be with you.”
“Why? Why are you asking me and why now?”
“Why? Because we’re meant to be together. I knew that seven years ago. I hurt you. I’m so sorry. I didn’t feel good myself or about myself when I left the café that night. But I was focused on the daughter I’d never known I had.”
Savannah watched his eyes carefully
“I honestly thought I was doing the best thing for her. It wasn’t until a few days later I realized how much doing that would end up costing me. Margo is nothing like you. I loved you. I should have married you on the spot and dealt with Jacey in another fashion.”
Savannah tilted her head slightly. “As in?”
“Gotten custody, introduced her to you. She was adorable at seven. You two would have hit it off.”
“Yet when Margo was hurt you rushed to her side,” Savannah said slowly. Her heart beat so fast she could hardly think.
“I rushed her daughter to her side—there’s a difference. I don’t blame you for not trusting me. I don’t know how to build trust back except to ask you to give me a chance. I swear you’ll never regret it.”
Savannah pulled her hand from his and turned slightly. “I have to think about this,” she said.
“Look at the weeks we spent together. Everything meshed. You enjoyed the hiking as I did. Never complained. At the resort you introduced Jacey to all those amenities as if you were born to them. You talk as well with businessmen as their wives. You don’t mind getting dirty. And you clean up really good.” He wasn’t going to talk about their kisses, the touches that drove him crazy, the yearning and desire and everything else that he felt around her.
She shook her head. “Those are not reasons to get married.”
Declan felt a wave of panic. He’d asked her and she was going to say no. He’d apologized for his thoughtless rejection years ago. He’d promised to do better. He thought they’d rediscovered each other in California. He would have asked her the day she came for the interview when he realized his feelings were as strong as ever. But he needed some hint from her that she returned his feelings. Only Margo’s accident and Savannah’s next assignment had delayed the proposal.
Now he couldn’t imagine going through the years ahead alone. Savannah had shown him what a real family could be like. And he wanted it—with her.
He floundered around for something else to offer. “Jacey would love to have you for a stepmother.”
“I wouldn’t be marrying Jacey,” she said.
“You’re not making this easy,” he said with a frown.
She looked back at him, her expression impossible to read.
“I love you, Savannah. I have for years. Even when I was exchanging vows with Margo, determined to make that second marriage work for Jacey’s sake, I almost stopped, knowing it wasn’t her I loved but you. I can’t imagine my life without you. It would be dead and empty. It’s already been dead and empty for seven years. Please, join your life with mine and let me cherish and love you the rest of our lives.”
She laughed and flung herself against him, hugging him tightly. “You love me? You’ve always loved me?” she asked, then kissed him as if there was no tomorrow.
He didn’t question her reaction, just kissed her with all the years of pent-up love. If they lived to be a hundred, it would never be enough time to make up to her for the lost years.
People walked by, he didn’t care. He’d kiss her until dark if she’d let him.
She pushed back a fraction and opened her blue eyes, gazing up into his. “My answer is yes, in case you were still wondering.”
“I had hoped that with the kiss. But for a few moments, I wasn’t sure.” His heart raced with her response. “How soon before we can get married?”
“Months yet. I have assignments to fulfill. My sister to marry off. And a future to plan. Plus you’ll need that time to cement the bond with Jacey so she doesn’t feel threatened when we get married.”
“I love you. I don’t know if I can wait months. We have lost time to make up.”
“Yes, you can wait. Did I mention I love you, too? Declan, I have since before you left me that night in that café. I’ve never been back. I tried so hard to get over you. And I even convinced myself I had when you interviewed me. But that was so bogus. I first fell in love with you at your class, and I never did get over it.”
He hugged her tightly. “I am so sorry we wasted the years.”
“You did what you thought best. Even though I hated it, I understood it. I’m sorry for your sake it didn’t work.”
“I never loved Margo, not then, certainly not now. Everything I did was for Jacey. And rushing to the hospital was the right thing to do for my daughter.”
“It felt like the past all over again. Margo before me.”
“I’d figured that out by the time we left the hospital,” he said, brushing his lips against hers again. “I should have gone after you right then. But Jacey needed me. The thing is, Savannah, she might need me a lot in the next few years.”
“I’ve never resented Jacey. It was only Margo.”
“You never had competition there.”
“It didn’t seem like it when you married her!” she said.
He grimaced. “I will never marry again unless it’s you and only you. I plan for it to be forever. My dad and mom were happy up to the day she died. That’s what I want for us. And for Jacey when she gets married. Let’s show her how a great marriage works.”
“I’d love to be part of that project,” Savannah said, reaching up to kiss him again. “I love you, Declan. I always have, and I believe I always will.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said, kissing her again. The future was theirs. He didn’t know why he got her forgiveness, only that Savannah was the most loving person he knew. And she loved him. Together they’d forge a loving and happy partnership that would last a lifetime.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459226111
Copyright © 2012 by Barbara McMahon
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Who Kissed Her Boss
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