THE FALL

by Marie Force

  He folded her into his arms. "I decided to forgive myself somewhere between unsuccessfully chasing your cab down West 52nd Street and Greenwich, Connecticut, where I think the same state trooper stopped me for speeding. Again."

  She laughed and cried at the same time.

  "I want my wife back."

  "Ted," she sighed, closing her eyes against the tears that spilled down her cheeks. "I want the magic back. Without the magic, we were just two people living together."

  "I know, baby." He kissed her softly at first and then with more passion as her arms tightened around him. "It's important to me that you know…"

  With her hand on his face, she asked, "What?"

  He took a moment to get a handle on his emotions. "Even if I'd known I was in for a spectacular fall from grace the night I met you, I wouldn't have changed a thing. You were always worth it, Caroline. Every bit of it. All the craziness led us right here."

  "It also led Smitty to Marjorie," she reminded him.

  He rested his hand on her belly. "And it brought us this little person."

  "Edward Theodore Duffy, the fourth."

  "A boy?" he asked, wide eyed.

  She nodded.

  "No way." He shook his head. "No way am I giving my son a Roman numeral."

  "But I promised Mitzi."

  He groaned. "What's with you and my mother anyway?"

  "We've…" She scratched her chin as she pretended to search for the right word. "Bonded in your absence."

  "Oh God. Has she got him registered for Harvard Medical School yet?"

  Caroline cracked up. "The application is in the mail."

  "So would she have anything to do with how you ended up with brochures from the hospital all over your desk?"

  "Maybe," she said with a coy smile.

  "They'll miss you when you move to New Hampshire."

  "Am I moving to New Hampshire?"

  "Well, you'll probably want to come straight back here when you see the house I bought up there. Calling it a fixer-upper would be charitable."

  "Will you be there?"

  He smiled. "Yeah."

  She shrugged. "Then Edward the fourth and I will adapt."

  "I read your book," he confessed.

  "Did you?"

  "It's unbelievable, Caroline." He kissed her. "Truly. I couldn't put it down. I'm so proud of you."

  "You're the first one to read it."

  His eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"

  She nodded. "Cameron and I talked about it, and we decided we wanted you to be first."

  "I've had just about enough of him."

  "I'm thinking about a sequel," she teased.

  He groaned with dismay as he lifted her into his arms and took the stairs two at a time on his way to their bedroom. "No sequels. We need to write a whole new story. You were right about one thing, though."

  "What's that?"

  He lay down with her on the bed and was overwhelmed with wonder when he ran his hand over the small but unmistakable bump in her once-flat belly. "It's one hell of a romance."

  "Yes," she said with a contented sigh. "Yes, it is."

  "I want some number nine." He kissed his way from her lips to her neck. "I've had two long, lonely months to discover that nine's my favorite number."

  She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Before you get any nine, I need you to promise me we're going to get to ten."

  "I promise you, Caroline." He slid his lips over hers. "I promise that you, me, and Fourth will live happily ever after."

  "You are not going to call him that!"

  He chuckled against her lips.

  "Ted?"

  "What, honey?"

  "The magic's back."

  About the Author

  Marie Force is the award-winning author of FATAL AFFAIR (June 2010) and FATAL JUSTICE (Jan. 2011), Books 1 and 2 in her new Fatal Series from Harlequin's Carina Press. Book 3, FATAL CONSEQUENCES, is coming in 2011. "This novel is "The O.C." does D.C., and you just can't get enough." (Romantic Times, 4.5 stars for FATAL AFFAIR). In its July 2010 issue, Romantic Times named Marie a "Future Star of Romantic Suspense."

  Marie is also the author of three contemporary romances: Everyone Loves a Hero (Feb. 2011), Line of Scrimmage (Sept. 2008) and Love at First Flight (July 2009). Of Line of Scrimmage, Booklist said, "With its humor and endearing characters, Force's charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans." Wild on Books said, "Love at First Flight by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!" She is the author of TRUE NORTH and THE FALL, available through Amazon.com and Smashwords.

  Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to RWA. She is a member of RWA's New England, Beau Monde, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest Chapters.

  While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of Emily, 15, Jake, 12, and a feisty dog named Brandy.

  Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909, and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.