by Linda Turner
God, he loved Tony. Just watching the two of them together, she could feel the love between them from across the room. How, she wondered, had she ever thought she could split them up? Quentin loved her, but not the way he loved his father. They were like two peas in a pod—they had the same walk, the same mannerisms, the same grin. If she insisted on taking Quentin away from Tony, she realized now that her son would never forgive her.
There was a time when she would have shrugged that off and convinced herself that he was a child—he would adjust. But she’d almost lost him today, and everything had changed. She wanted him to be happy. Nothing else mattered.
“Hey, guys,” she said huskily, stepping farther into the waiting room. “You don’t know how glad I am to see both of you. How’s Lily?”
“The doctor’s cutting the bullet out of her shoulder, Mom,” Quentin said, jumping up to hug her as Tony rose to his feet. “Dad says she’s going to be okay, though.”
Stepping over to Tony, she hugged him, then had to laugh when she saw the surprise in his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t lost my mind. I’m just so glad you’re both safe and Lily is, too. She and Quentin were lucky to have each other today.”
“So were we,” he said roughly. “We could have lost him, Janice. If you’d seen how close—”
She stopped him with a touch of her hand. “Don’t.” Tears welling in her eyes, she forced a smile. “Let’s don’t go there. He’s safe and happy, and we have to make sure he stays that way.” Hesitating, she added, “I’m not going to move to Florida, Tony.”
“What?”
“I realized today how much I love my son…and how much he loves you,” she said simply. “The two of you need to be together, and that can’t happen if I’m living a thousand miles away. Some things are more important than a job. So I’m staying.”
Whatever Tony had been expecting, it wasn’t that. Stunned, he blinked. “Are you serious? You’re really going to stay in D.C.?”
“He’ll be happier with you close by,” she said huskily. And after a moment she added, “perhaps even living in the same home.”
His eyes shining with happiness, Quentin could hardly stand still. “For real, Mom? You mean, living with Dad?”
“Yes, honey. I mean living with Dad,” she said with a smile. “If that’s what you really want.”
“Oh, it is!” Suddenly realizing that he might be hurting her feelings, he added, “It isn’t that I don’t love you, Mom.”
“I know,” she said with a chuckle. “You love both of us. You’ll just be happier with your dad. I don’t have a problem with that.” She ruffled his hair affectionately. “Besides, it’s not like I won’t ever see you.”
Elated, Quentin let out a shriek and threw himself into Tony’s arms. Laughing, Tony hugged him close and didn’t care that there were tears in his eyes when they met Janice’s. “Thank you. You know I never wanted to fight with you.”
“All I could think about was how much I wanted him with me. This really opened my eyes. It really isn’t all about me, is it?”
Tony grinned. “Nope.”
Cocking her head, she narrowed her eyes at him and couldn’t quite suppress the smile that tugged at her lips. “You don’t have to be so quick to agree, you know.” Sobering, she said, “I thought I’d take Quentin home with me for tonight. You have enough on your plate worrying about Lily. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
He hadn’t expected such consideration from her. “I appreciate this, Janice. Thank you.”
“I hope she’s okay,” she said sincerely. “Call me when she’s out of surgery. We’d both like to know that she made it through the operation without any problems.”
With a kiss and a hug, Quentin and Janice were gone, leaving Tony alone in the waiting room, watching the clock. An hour passed, then another. By the time the surgeon came out to say that Lily was in recovery and doing well, it was going on eleven, and all Tony wanted to do was tell her how much he loved her. But she was still groggy when she was finally wheeled into her own room, and with a groan, Tony was forced to accept the fact that the timing wasn’t right. Sinking into the chair by her bedside, he stayed there all night.
Lily came awake slowly and couldn’t understand why her shoulder was throbbing as if she’d been burned with a hot poker. She frowned and reached for her shoulder, only to have her fingers encounter a thick bandage. Surprised, her eyes flew open, and only then did she realize she was in the hospital.
She glanced around, confused, trying to remember what had happened, then her eyes landed on Tony, who was asleep in the chair next to her bed. Only then did her memory come flooding back. “Oh, God!”
Tony jerked up before he was even fully awake. “What? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Quentin? Is he okay? He was able to get away, wasn’t he? If something happened to him…”
“He’s fine, honey,” he said gruffly, rising to his feet to move closer to her bedside and take her hand. “He’s with Janice. Thanks to you, he doesn’t have a scratch on him.”
“I was so afraid,” she choked out, blinking back tears. “I knew that son of a bitch was going to kills us, and I didn’t know if Quentin understood what I needed him to do. But he was wonderful. The second I handed him the phone, he immediately started asking questions and dropping clues so you’d know where to find us.”
“You were pretty damn wonderful yourself,” he said huskily, leaning down to kiss her. “I saw how you diverted attention from Quentin so he could get away. thought I’d lost you, sweetheart. When I saw you fall, all I could think was that I loved you and I never got a chance to tell you.”
Stunned, she looked up at him with tears once again misting her eyes. “Oh, Tony, are you sure?”
Laughing, he kissed her again, this time with all the love in his heart. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he rasped, grinning crookedly. “You’ve been tying me in knots from the moment I met you. Didn’t you know?”
“I was too busy fighting my own feelings,” she admitted huskily. “After the way my father and Neil reacted to my photography, I didn’t think I’d ever find a man who would understand how much it meant to me. I can’t give it up, Tony.”
“Of course you can’t,” he replied. “You’re too damn good at it. I would never ask that of you. And if your father had it to do over again, I don’t think he would, either. I called him.”
“What? When?”
“When you were in surgery,” he admitted. “I know it wasn’t my place, but he’s your father, honey, and he needed to know what happened to you. What if you’d died on the operating table? Think how he would have felt.”
“What did he say?”
“He wanted me to tell you that we spoke and that he hoped you were feeling better. He’d like to come and see you.”
Whatever Lily had expected, it wasn’t that. Tears clogged her throat and flooded her eyes. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional,” she said thickly, wiping at the tears that streamed down her cheeks. “Maybe it’s the anesthetic.”
“Maybe it’s you,” he said with a smile as he brushed the hair back from her face. “You love your father. Why shouldn’t you cry? He practically disowned you. You had a right to be hurt.”
“He’s just so stubborn,” she replied. “But I’m glad you called him.” Pulling him down to her with her free hand, she kissed him sweetly. “Thank you,” she murmured. “Did I mention that I love you?”
Nose to nose, his green eyes twinkled into hers. “As a matter of fact, you did. Now that we have that established, there’s one more thing we need to discuss. How do you feel about living with a couple of bachelors?”
Whatever she’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. Confused, she cocked an eyebrow at him. “Do you have a split personality I’m not aware of?”
Chuckling, he said, “As a matter of fact, I do…sort of. His name’s Quentin.”
“I’d love to live with both of you,” she said honestly, “but the custody fight
—”
“Is settled,” he cut in with a grin. “Janice has changed her mind about moving to Florida. Almost losing him was a real wake-up call for her. She realized how much she loved him and how she wanted him to be happy. She’s agreed to let him come live with me.”
“Oh, Tony, that’s wonderful! You must be thri
“Only one thing will make me happier,” he admitted. “How do you feel about being a stepmother?”
Lily didn’t pretend to misunderstand what he was asking. Her heart in her eyes, she lifted her chin slightly, bringing her mouth into whisper-soft contact with his. “Is that a proposal?”
Leaning a heartbeat closer, his lips brushed hers, setting her body humming. “Would your answer be yes if it was?”
Seduced, more in love than she’d ever been in her life, she didn’t even hesitate. “Oh, yes!”
He grinned…and still didn’t kiss her the way she longed to be kissed. “Did I tell you that’s one of the things I love about you? You know what you want.”
“Yes, I do,” she purred, smiling. “And I want you.”
“I’m yours,” he growled, and gave her the kiss they were both longing for. And without saying another word, they both knew it was for always.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7767-4
DEADLY EXPOSURE
Copyright © 2004 by Linda Turner
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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*The Wild West
†The Lone Star Social Club
**Those Marrying McBrides!
††Turning Points
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
