by Rebecca York
“I…didn’t know.”
“You know I went to pieces after Carol and Lisa died. You know I was only half alive.”
“And your brother rescued you. Then I helped kill him.”
“You took a perfectly logical course of action to save Kevin’s life. And you took a terrible chance with your own life.”
“Still…”
Before she could protest further, he continued quickly. “John rescued me for his own reasons. Not because he cared about me. He knew I’d be grateful, and he knew he could use that. He had me doing a lot of dirty jobs for him. How do you think I felt when I realized I was the one who’d found Kevin for him?”
She winced. “You didn’t know.”
“But as soon as I found out, I got on the right side of the issue. The ethical side.”
When she nodded, he kept his gaze steady on her. “The question is, how do you feel about me?”
Without hesitation she answered, “I love you.”
“Thank God.”
“But—”
He stopped her protest by lowering his mouth to hers for a long, passionate kiss. When he finally raised his head, they were swaying in each other’s arms. Still, he saw the look of doubt in her eyes.
“What are you thinking about now?”
“My parents. They believe I’m dead. I want to get back in contact with them, but I don’t want to give them a heart attack. And…and I don’t know how much to say. Do I tell them I’m a clone? Do I tell them I was involved in a very nasty scheme?”
“It will help pave the way for your reunion if a private detective visits them first and explains that he’s located you.”
“You mean you?”
“Yes.”
She nodded eagerly. “That would be a good way to break it to them gently that I had to disappear for a while.”
“To protect them because you were on a dangerous assignment for the government.”
“That last part’s a lie. This wasn’t a government operation.”
“No, but it would give you a plausible reason not to answer a lot of questions. Think about it. At the very least, it would ease their minds.”
“I don’t know if I can tell that kind of fib.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“You let yourself get entangled in a web of lies. You made up a fake persona.”
When she nodded tightly, he went on. “We don’t have to work out every detail today. Right now I want to know one thing. Will you marry me?” He held his breath, waiting. He wanted to force the right answer out of her by kissing her senseless, but he didn’t allow himself to do that. It had to be her decision.
When she answered, “yes,” he let out the breath he’d been holding, then folded her close again.
“I want to make you happy,” he murmured. “Give you the wonderful life you deserve.”
“I have you. That’s all I need.” Her eyes were shining with happiness as she looked up at him. “We’re two people who know what it’s like to reach rock bottom.”
“And come back,” he added, daring to unleash his own happiness. “Let’s go find the bedroom, because I want to start celebrating the first day of the rest of our lives.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6049-2
GUARDING GRACE
Copyright © 2010 by Ruth Glick
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