by Janet Dailey
"Sure?" His gray eyes, warm and vibrantly alive, caressed her face. "Did you think I intended to make another cheap proposition? I admit it was cheap, darling. But that morning I came to your room I knew I had to have you. What I didn't realize was how completely I wanted you…forever. That was something I learned in the last six months—painfully, I might add. Besides, I have to marry you to exorcise your ghost from this house. You don't know what it's like to have you haunting my bedroom every night."
"I think I might have an idea," she murmured, snuggling deeper in his arms, unbelievably content. "I can hardly wait to tell Kerry that we're getting married."
"I never expected to beat Todd to the altar," Riordan chuckled.
Her eyes had been half-closed, savoring the dreamlike sensation of being in his arms and loved by him. Her lashes sprang open suddenly, tension darkening the blue shade of her eyes.
"Riordan, what about college?" she breathed uncertainly. "I only have a half a year to go to get my diploma."
He stiffened for an instant, then untangled her from his arms and rolled to his feet, walking to the fireplace. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, ruffling the jet black hair curling near his collar.
"You don't want me to go back, do you?" she said, sitting up and gazing at his broad shoulders sadly.
"No, I don't want you to go back!" Riordan snapped savagely. "I've just found you. How could I possibly want to let you go!"
Jill swallowed tightly. She knew the torment he was going through. A knife was twisting in her own heart. She could guess how much deeper the pain went for him.
"It's all right." She lowered her head, her tawny gold hair swinging forward to hide a selfish disappointment. "I'll quit. I don't mind, really."
"Like hell you will!" He pivoted sharply toward her. "You'll finish college. I'm not going to let you quit."
"You don't know what you're saying." Her head jerked up to stare unbelievingly into his unrelenting gaze.
"It's only for a few months. I'll…I'll move into town."
"You'd hate it." Jill shook her head.
"I could stand it." He walked back to the sofa, his hands digging into her shoulders as he pulled her to her feet. "But I couldn't stand being without you, not for a day."
"Nor I you." She cupped his face in her hands. "But I won't let you leave this ranch. I love you too much to ask that of you, Riordan." She breathed in sharply, a compromise suddenly offering itself. "I know what I'll do. I'll transfer my credits to the university in Dillon and drive back and forth every day from the ranch."
His mouth tightened grimly. "And drive me insane with worry about you out alone on the roads!"
Jill slipped her arm around his neck, lifting her face invitingly towards his. "But I'll be home every night, darling."
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