THE MARRIAGE PROTECTION PROGRAM
Page 22
The last shards of doubt disappeared, and she allowed herself to relax against him. "I've missed you so this past week. I wanted you so badly, and you seemed to be pushing me away."
"I was trying to give you time to make your decision. I didn't want to touch you, because I didn't want to influence your decision. And it was too hard not to touch you, so I stayed away." He smiled then, one of his rare smiles that made her quiver inside. "Rafael and I got this greenhouse built in record time."
"You didn't need to build a greenhouse for me." She touched his face. "All you needed to do was ask me to stay."
"I didn't want you to feel trapped. I didn't want you to stay out of obligation, or because of Rafael. I wanted you to stay for me."
"It's always been you, Ben. Couldn't you see that?"
"I was afraid to believe it. And after Turnbull was caught, I thought you'd want to go back to your old life."
"Why would you think that?"
"I overheard you on the phone when you called your sister. Your real name is Mary Frances, but you'd never told me that."
She remembered the phone call, and guilt slivered through her. "I never told you because I didn't think it mattered. My name is Janie now. Mary Frances is gone. I'm Janie Jackson, and will be until the day I die." She touched his face again. "Is that why you didn't say anything?"
He nodded. "I saw how much you would be giving up to stay here in Cameron. Your family, your profession, your life and your friends in Chicago. I didn't have the right to ask you to stay."
"I'm not giving up anything," she said fiercely. "Everything I want is right here in Cameron, Utah. Don't you understand, Ben? Nothing is more important than how I feel about you. You are my family, and Rafael and any other children we might have. This is my home."
Ben shook his head, wonder in his eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" he whispered. "What miracle brought you into my life?"
She wrapped her arms around him. "I never would have believed that something so wonderful could come out of such pain and ugliness. If it hadn't been for Turnbull, I never would have come to Cameron. I never would have met you."
Ben gave her another slow, tender smile. "I think I already knew, deep down, that I was crazy about you when I asked you to marry me. I knew there would be nothing convenient about marrying you, but I couldn't even imagine being married to anyone else."
"That's why I resisted so much. I knew my feelings for you would get in the way. I knew how hard it would be to keep my distance if we were actually married."
"Tell me again," he said. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing it."
"I love you. Ben." She pressed a kiss against his mouth.
"And I love you. I intend to tell you that, every day of our lives." He deepened the kiss until everything faded away. Only Ben existed, and nothing mattered but him.
"Can we go home? I'm getting hungry," Rafael's voice jerked her out of the trance.
Ben pressed another kiss on her mouth, then took her hand. "Sounds good to me, buddy. Let's all go home."
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