by Linda Turner
Hurt still squeezing her heart, Rebecca sternly ordered herself not to cry. If a friend needed his help, he had to leave, of course. And it wasn’t as if there was any kind of commitment between them. They’d made love, but there’d been no mention of the future. Just because he’d changed her life and she’d fallen head over heels in love with him didn’t mean he felt the same way about her.
“I appreciate that,” she said huskily. “When do you think you’ll be back? You are coming back, aren’t you?” she asked with a frown as it suddenly hit her that the reason he might have wanted to talk to her was to tell her goodbye. “Joe—”
“I’m not abandoning him,” he said. “But this has turned out to be a lot more complicated than anyone anticipated. It’s not going to be solved anytime soon. So, yes, I’ll be back, but not just for the case.”
Her eyes searching his, she wanted to believe that he meant he was coming back for her, but she was afraid to hope, afraid to have that hope shot down. After all these years, she’d finally found a man she could trust enough to love. If he didn’t love her the same way she loved him, she didn’t think she could stand to know. Not yet. Not without falling apart in front of him, and that was something she was determined not to do.
“I see,” she said quietly, but didn’t see anything at all. Still, she couldn’t take a chance and ask him what he meant. Instead, she twined her hands together and forced a smile. “I’m sure Joe was happy to hear you’ll be back. He has a lot of faith in you. So does the rest of the family. Knowing there’s someone in the family working on the case, helps.”
“And what about you?” he asked, studying her with shrewd eyes. “Are you happy I’m coming back?”
Sure he must have guessed how she felt about him, she cursed the hot color that spilled into her cheeks. “Of course,” she said with a shrug. “Joe needs you.”
“And what about you?” he asked again.
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. He wasn’t really asking if she needed him, but rather, if she loved him. And if she’d been smart, she would have turned the question around on him and insisted that he tell her how he felt about her before she said a word. But suddenly the words she thought she couldn’t say were right there on her tongue, and it didn’t matter that she was the one who said them first. What mattered was that she loved him, and it was time he knew that.
Her heart in her eyes, she smiled tremulously and took the biggest chance of her life. “I need you, too,” she said softly. “More than you can possibly know. I love you.”
With nothing more than those three little words, she brought Austin to his knees. Her love wrapped around his heart like sunshine on a rainy day, and he wondered how he’d ever thought just knowing that she loved him would be enough for him. “I love you, too,” he said huskily, reaching for her. “So much it scares me. I don’t want to lose you.”
He didn’t have to tell her he was thinking of Jenny and the baby. He could see the understanding in her eyes as she lifted her hand to his mouth and gently shushed him. “That’s not going to happen again. Fate couldn’t be so cruel.”
Just to make sure, he wasn’t taking any chances. “I want to marry you. You know that, don’t you? I can’t leave you without knowing that you’ll be waiting for me when I come back. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Just that simply, with no questions asked, she laid all his fears to rest. He only had to look into her eyes to know that nothing was ever going to take her away from him. She would be there when he got back from Portland. And years from now, when they were both old and gray and surrounded by their children and grandchildren, she would still be looking at him with that same love in her eyes. A man couldn’t ask for more than that.
Groaning, he pulled her close against his heart and kissed her, telling her all over again how much he loved her, how much he would always love her—and he never said a word.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Linda Turner for her contribution to THE COLTONS series.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8409-2
THE VIRGIN MISTRESS
Copyright © 2001 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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