She was so transfixed that she didn’t immediately notice that he’d spotted her.
“Hi,” she said lamely.
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, then he pulled the mask hanging around his neck up over his head and put it on the debris-covered counter. “Hi, yourself.”
Penelope took a tentative step forward, looking around her as she did so. Everywhere but into his watchful, wary eyes.
“I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk and…well, before I knew it I was here.” She cleared her throat. The kitchen was large and could easily accommodate both an island with stools and at least a six-chair table. “I’d heard you bought this place.”
“Yes, word tends to get around fast here, doesn’t it?”
She smiled. “I think everyone knew before the ink was even dry on the deed.”
He nodded.
Penelope searched for the words she had planned to say once their paths finally crossed again…but now that she was here, she couldn’t seem to summon a single one.
“Excuse me for a minute?” he said.
She blinked. “Sure.”
She told herself she should leave. It wasn’t a good idea to be alone with Palmer at any time, much less in the middle of the night. But she couldn’t seem to transmit the idea to her feet.
So instead, she stood completely still, watching as he brushed dust from his T-shirt and went out into the hall and up the stairs. Moments later, she heard the squeak of an old faucet turn on.
Penelope considered the drywall he was repairing and then stepped farther into the room, staring down the hall to the airy foyer. It was a big, beautiful old place, with original woodwork and molding. It was the type of place that she once imagined they’d share together.
She jumped when he came back down the stairs.
Then she realized he’d taken a shower. Had he been gone that long? He must have, because his hair was damp and he wore a fresh pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt.
And he now looked as awkward as she felt.
Which couldn’t be possible. Could it?
“I…” he began.
Penelope quickly held up her hand. “Wait. There are a few things I want to say first…”
It occurred to her that she’d nervously interrupted him and she rushed to apologize.
“I’m sorry. Go ahead. Say what you were going to say.”
His gaze was steady on hers, his eyes unreadable. “That’s okay. The floor is yours.”
She looked down at that same floor and ordered her throat to loosen up. “I…I…”
She silently berated herself, trying to ignore the thick beating of her heart.
“I don’t know. I guess I never expected you to come back to Earnest. And when you did, everything just happened so fast. There wasn’t time for me to think. I had a hard time reconciling the past with the present…”
She cleared her throat.
“I never meant to hurt you, Palmer. It’s important that you know that.”
He appeared surprised. She cringed. This wasn’t going at all the way she’d hoped.
She rushed on…and with every second that passed wished she had stayed a little farther back in those shadows.
She finally ran out of words and stood awkwardly, unable to meet his gaze for fear of what she might find there.
“Are you really apologizing to me?” he asked.
Her brows drew together.
“Because if you are, it’s not accepted.”
The emotion crowding her chest surged up into her throat. “I…understand…”
She began to turn to go. But his dropping to one knee in front of her stopped her cold.
“At least, not unless you also accept my apology.”
She stood transfixed. “Palmer, I…”
“No, Penelope. You’ve had your say. Please allow me mine.” He looked down and then back up. “This is not exactly the way I envisioned it, but I’m not going to let this opportunity pass like I’ve let so many others.” He searched her eyes. “I should have done this fifteen years ago…”
It couldn’t possibly be. None of it made sense to her. Her brain had stopped working about five minutes ago.
“I love you, Penelope. Always have. Always will. Nothing will ever change that.” His expression darkened. “I can’t begin to imagine what you went through so long ago. Or understand. All I can do is say I’m sorry you had to go through it alone…”
A stunned amazement suffused Penelope from her head to the tips of her toes.
“Marry me. Marry me now. Today. Tomorrow. Marry me.”
She felt suddenly dizzy.
“Penelope?”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes. Say yes so we can continue a journey that should never have been sidetracked. Say yes so we can find our son and work on having others…or daughters, or both. Say yes so I can spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you…starting now.”
“I never doubted your love,” she whispered.
He got to his feet. “I know. And that makes you all the more special.”
He crowded her to his chest, holding her tight.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He kissed her hair then murmured into her ear, “Say yes, Penelope.”
“Yes.” She said the word so softly she nearly didn’t hear it herself. “Yes,” she repeated, more loudly. “Yes!”
She put her hands on either side of his head and kissed him with unabashed love. Over and over and over again, drawing from a well of emotion so deep it would never run dry. Not in this life, or the next, or the one after that.
He swept her off her feet. Penelope gasped, holding tight as he turned toward the hall.
“Let me show you the rest of the house. I think you’ll find the master bedroom of particular interest, wife-to-be, since it’s the room we’re going to be spending a great deal of time in…”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7458-1
PRIVATE AFFAIRS
Copyright © 2010 by Lori Karayianni & Tony Karayianni
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