“There’s so much I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.”
He’d pulled her a foot closer, but it was his words as much as his proximity that caused her heart to hitch. Eve didn’t get a chance to consider why that was, though. He was edging her closer still.
“You said you knew I couldn’t feel about you the way you feel about me,” he reminded her. “How do you feel about me, Eve?”
He posed the question simply, but she sensed a faint uneasiness in him, a guarded anxiety that wasn’t like him at all. Far more familiar with the feeling than he seemed to be, she ducked her head, intent on the tear at the knee of his jeans.
She’d no sooner noticed the raw scrape and dirt beneath that tear when he nudged her chin back up.
“How do you feel about me?” he repeated, quietly insistent.
“The same way I always have.”
“Try again.”
“Rio…”
“Eve…” he mimicked. “Come on. You made the statement.”
She took a deep breath, blew it out, then felt the subtle warmth of his hand skimming up her arm. This man had given her her daughter. Once she’d allowed him to be, he’d been there for her whenever she needed him. Especially at the most crucial time of all. He had saved their lives. “I love you.”
“Then you’re wrong again,” he informed her, drawing her between his legs. “Because I love you, too. I was just too unfamiliar with the feeling the first time to know what it was.”
The admission was spoken simply, his eyes moving over her as he cupped the side of her face in his hand. The way he touched her made her feel as fragile as glass, as precious as gold. “You’d once asked me if I’d found what I was looking for,” he said, brushing his thumb along her jaw. “And I told you that I had no idea what it was I wanted to find. Except I had found it. Six years ago.”
A muscle in his jaw jerked, the fatigue etched in his face seeming more pronounced. “You were the only person who didn’t demand that I conform to their idea of what I should be. You accepted me just as I was. But I lost you,” he said, his hand slipping to curve around the back of her neck. “Then I found you again, and you gave me the child I’d never thought I’d have.”
He paused, searching for the words he needed as he studied her face. “I’ve done a lot of thinking in the past hours,” he finally said. “It made me realize what was really important to me, and that I don’t ever want to lose you again. We’re better now, Eve. And we need to do it right this time. We need to be a family.”
For a moment, Eve couldn’t speak. She couldn’t seem to do anything but stare into his eyes while her own filled with tears. She didn’t want to cry. Not now. But the sting behind her eyelids refused to go away.
“Hey,” he whispered, catching a tear with his thumb.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Slipping his arm around her, he pulled her to his chest. As many times as he’d seen her pushed to near breaking, he’d never actually seen her cry. That this should do it made him feel like a louse. “My timing is rotten. The last thing you need right now is to deal with getting married.”
“You’re proposing?”
“I was getting to it. But we can talk about it later.”
She shook her head, pulling back to frame his face with her hands. The tears were still there, brightening her eyes, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was him. “There’s nothing to talk about. Can we have the ceremony on the reservation?”
His entire body seemed to go still. “I take it that’s a yes.”
She didn’t actually answer him. She merely gave him a nod that had him sucking in a low breath before his hand slipped over the back of her head.
“I hope you’re into feathers,” he murmured, his breath warming her lips moments before his mouth claimed hers.
There was as much promise as passion in his kiss, as much hope as desire. Eve kissed him back just as fiercely. She loved this man. She always had. And, by some miracle, she had been given back the dreams she’d been too young to handle the first time. Yet as she felt her body relax against his when he carried his kiss to her temple and he pressed her head to his shoulder, she had to admit it was more than having his love that mattered to her. She had his trust.
From the other side of the curtain came the drone of voices and the squeak of a gurney wheel as it rolled past their cubicle. The happiness filling her heart dimmed as reality hit.
Lifting her head, she searched the strong lines of Rio’s face. “You’re giving up the story, aren’t you.”
The worry was back in her delicate features, stealing the light from her eyes. Seeing that concern, hating what had put it there, Rio brushed her hair back from her drawn and pale face.
From the moment he had realized what had happened to Eve and Molly, there had been no question in his mind about what he’d do. He’d give up his own life before he’d jeopardize the lives of the two people he loved most. As long as there was a breath in his body, he’d do whatever he had to do to keep them safe.
Drawing her back to him, he brushed his lips over her forehead. “Yes, I’m giving it up,” he whispered, then drew her closer again and kissed her with all the newly discovered love in his heart.
The truth about Olivia Stuart’s murder would have to be discovered by someone else. He had far too much to lose.
About the Author
Christine Flynn is a regular voice in Harlequin Special Edition and has written nearly forty books for the line.
ISBN-13: 9781460343142
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Christine Flynn for her contribution to the 36 Hours series.
Father and Child Reunion
Copyright © 1997 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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