Reunited with the Billionaire
Page 23
“No chance for an Olympic medal. It’s all right. I understand what that meant to you.” He held her shoulders, stepped back just far enough so he could see her face. “I always wanted you to win, honey, but maybe…maybe I was a little jealous, worried that once you had that medal, you’d want to leave Cooper’s Corner and the life we’d planned.”
Wendy shook her head. “You didn’t let me finish,” she said. “I thought, okay, I won’t be able to ski. But I’m alive…and then they said I’d never walk again. I couldn’t believe it. Me, never walk again? `But you’re alive,’ my mother kept telling me, and I tried and tried to think that was enough—” Her voice broke. “And then, the next day, they told me the rest, that I’d been pregnant and I’d lost the baby. That was when I knew how meaningless everything else was, that all that had ever mattered was you.” She began to weep. “Oh God, Seth! I wanted to die.”
Seth held her closer. He remembered his flight to Norway, the suffocating fear that he’d have lost Wendy by the time he reached Oslo.
“Don’t,” he said. “Sweetheart, don’t.”
“Everyone said it was a miracle that I’d lived, but when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was a woman who’d lost everything.” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “You. Our baby. And me, the me that I knew. And of all those things, the only one I could recover was the last. I could get me back.” She gave a sad laugh. “So I made up my mind that I’d walk again, but once I could, I still woke up each morning feeling as empty as the day before.”
“Wendy, please. You don’t have to explain.”
“I have to, Seth. I should have done it long ago.”
He sighed, then stroked her hair as he brought her head to his chest again.
“One day,” she said, her voice low, “I looked in that mirror and thought maybe the real me never existed anywhere but on a ski slope. Maybe that was all that I’d ever been, not a woman, not a girl who loved you, but a skier. Maybe if I could ski again, race again, I’d have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. And then, just as if fate had touched me, I stumbled across an article about Dr. Pommier.”
Seth cupped Wendy’s face. “I love you,” he said clearly. “And I’m with you, all the way. You want this surgery? I’ll be there for you.” His voice softened. “I’ll be there, no matter how it works out.” He smiled into her eyes. “Just say you still love me.”
“You’re my heart, Seth. My soul. I’ll always love you.”
“Wendy. Will you marry me?”
She laughed, even though tears sparkled like diamonds on her lashes. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They kissed and held each other while time slipped by. Then, hand in hand, they walked back to where they’d parked.
“I want to tell your folks,” Seth said.
Wendy nodded. “Yes.”
“But we should stop at Twin Oaks first.” He lifted her gloved hand to his lips and smiled. It was a stiff smile, because he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t afraid of what could happen to this woman he loved with all his heart when Pommier operated on her, but it was her life and her choice to make. “The doc’s probably still trying to figure out what happened.”
“Well, we’ll just have to tell him.” Wendy put her hands on Seth’s chest. “I’ve decided against the surgery.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to do that for my sake. Whatever you have to do—”
“Exactly.” She smiled. “And I don’t have to race to be happy. All I need is you and the life we’ll make together.”
“The children we’ll have,” Seth said, smiling back.
“The stories I’ll tell them.” She laughed. “Heck, the stories I’ll write.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “You really think I can do that?”
“I know you can.”
Wendy grabbed Seth’s collar and dragged his mouth down to hers. “Then there’s only one thing left to ask you.”
“Ask me anything. You want the moon? The stars?” He grinned. “A house on the top of Sawtooth Mountain? You can have ‘em all.”
“I have the moon and the stars.” She kissed him. “And, thanks to a very fine carpenter, I have that house on Sawtooth Mountain, too. I need only one more thing from you, Seth Castleman.” Her lips curved against his. “Will you take me skiing tomorrow?”
Seth tried to answer but he couldn’t. There was a lump in his throat. Instead, he gathered Wendy close and kissed her.
The sky had cleared and the moon and stars shone down brightly on the town by the time they reached Twin Oaks. Arms around each other, they went into the B and B. A fire blazed cheerfully in the massive fireplace. Rod Pommier was sitting in front of the hearth. When he saw Seth and Wendy, he rose to his feet.
“Doctor,” Wendy said, “I’m sorry I ran off.”
“No need to apologize, Miss Monroe.”
“Please, call me Wendy.” She took a deep breath. “I want to thank you for your time, Doctor.”
“Rod.”
“Rod. Thank you—but I’ve decided not to have that operation.”
The doctor looked from Wendy’s smiling face to Seth’s. “Why do I get the feeling congratulations are in order?”
Seth’s smile became a grin. “Must be those Aunt Agatha genes kicking in.”
Wendy furrowed her brow. “Who’s Aunt Agatha?”
Both men laughed. “A mutual friend we’ll have to be sure to invite to the wedding,” Seth said, and hugged her close.
“Who’s a mutual friend?” Clint asked as he joined the group.
“You are.” Seth held out his hand. “If it weren’t for you and the twin terrors, Wendy and I might not be announcing our engagement.”
A slow grin spread across Clint’s face. “Hey. That’s great.” He shook Seth’s hand, kissed Wendy’s cheek. “That’s terrific, you guys. Congratulations.” He looked up, spotted Maureen coming into the gathering room from the door that led to the back of the house. “Sis? Want to hear some good news?”
Maureen hesitated. She had some news herself, but she wasn’t sure it was good. She’d gone out to the woodshed a few minutes ago. Clint had asked her not to do that anymore, but a guest wanted firewood in a hurry and Maureen couldn’t see hunting up her brother for something so simple.
Except it had turned out not to be simple at all.
She’d loaded a canvas carrier with some logs and started back to the house. Then, for no reason, she’d stopped. This was her first time in the shed since the accident. She wanted to take a better look.
Slowly, she’d retraced her footsteps and poked at the fallen roof. A couple of logs shifted and tumbled into the snow, exposing one of the braces that had snapped when the roof came down.
Maureen had bent down and peered at the brace. What were those marks on the end of it? Gnaw marks? Could be, if someone had left the door open. There were lots of porcupines in the woods and they loved to chew.
That explanation was logical…unless, like Maureen, you were a former New York City police detective who’d put a man named Carl Nevil in jail. Carl’s brother, Owen, had vowed revenge.
Had a man, not a porcupine, made those marks? Had Owen Nevil found her? Had he, or someone sent by him, deliberately weakened the woodshed so it would collapse and kill her?
Maureen had half run back to the house, her heart pounding, but she’d stopped before she entered the gathering room. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm the guests at Twin Oaks.
And now Dr. Pommier, her brother, Seth Castleman and Wendy Monroe were waving at her and grinning. Good news didn’t deserve to be answered by bad news, Maureen thought, and she managed a cheerful smile as she headed for the little group. What she’d discovered could wait until later.
“Hi,” she said. “What’s up?”
Seth’s smile, and Wendy’s answering one, were enough to light the room.
“We’re getting married,” Seth said, and even Maureen forgot her worries as she watched him take Wendy in his arms and kiss her.
* * * * *
Welcome to Twin Oaks—
the new B and B in Cooper’s Corner.
Some come for pleasure, others for passion—
And one to set things straight….
COOPER’S CORNER
a new Harlequin continuity series
continues in January 2003 with
ACCIDENTAL FAMILY
By Kristin Gabriel
Ex-TV soap star Rowena Dahl wanted to be a mom, but her biological clock was ticking too fast to wait for some slowpoke Mr. Right. So she opted for the fertility clinic—and was thrilled to be pregnant. There was only one problem. She got the wrong sperm!
Here’s a preview!
CHAPTER ONE
A SURGE OF JOY shot through her and her eyes blurred with tears. “I can’t believe it. This is so…” But she couldn’t put her feelings into words. After so many years of living on her own, she was finally going to have a family again.
“Here,” Dr. Milburn said, reaching over to hand her a tissue.
“I’ve never been happier,” she said at last, wiping her wet cheeks with the tissue. “Thank you.”
He sighed. “I hope you’ll still feel that way when you hear what I have to tell you.”
Apprehension fluttered through her. “What?”
“I was hoping we wouldn’t need to have this discussion,” he began, then took off his bifocals and folded them in his hand. “But I’m afraid it’s unavoidable now.”
Her fingers gripped the armrests as she prepared herself for another roller-coaster ride. “Please just tell me, Dr. Milburn. Is something wrong?”
“There was a problem with the insemination procedure. A mistake, actually.”
“A mistake?” she echoed.
“Nothing to be too alarmed about,” he assured her. “My office discovered it when the clinic sent a copy of your records here.”
“I still don’t understand.”
He hesitated for a long moment. “It turns out that you were not inseminated with the donor sperm you selected, Rowena.”
She stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. “How can that be possible?”
“I wish I knew.” He closed her file. “In my experience with the Orr Fertility Clinic, they have stringent verification procedures. That’s one of the reasons I recommended them to you. Unfortunately, a fluke occurred in your case, due either to human error or some kind of computer malfunction. I’ve contacted the clinic and they’re naturally very concerned and trying to discover the source of the mix-up.”
She didn’t care about the Orr Clinic. She cared about her baby. “So who is the donor?”
He lifted his narrow shoulders. “That’s something that may remain a mystery. Apparently, there is no profile available on the man. At least, not one that has been discovered yet.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “You don’t know anything about him?”
“I’m afraid not.”
If you loved this Sandra Marton title, you will love the newest 8 book series from Harlequin Presents®…
The Billionaire’s Legacy
A search for truth and the promise of passion!
For nearly sixty years, Italian billionaire, Giovanni Di Sione has a kept a shocking secret. Now, nearing the end of his days, he wants his grandchildren to know their true heritage.
He sends them each on a journey to find his“Lost Mistresses”, a collection of love tokens–the only remaining evidence of his lost identity, his lost history…his lost love.
With each item collected the Di Sione siblings take one step closer to the truth…and embark on a passionate journey that none could have expected!
Find out what happens in
The Billionaire’s Legacy
Di Sione’s Innocent Conquest by Carol Marinelli
The Di Sione Secret Baby by Maya Blake
To Blackmail a Di Sione by Rachel Thomas
The Return of the Di Sione Wife by Caitlin Crews
Di Sione’s Virgin Mistress by Sharon Kendrick
A Di Sione for the Greek’s Pleasure by Kate Hewitt
A Deal for the Di Sione Ring by Jennifer Hayward
The Last Di Sione Claims His Prize by Maisey Yates
Collect all 8 volumes!
ISBN: 9781460398562
Reunited with the Billionaire,
originally published as DANCING IN THE DARK
Copyright © 2002 by Sandra Marton
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