by Lori Foster
“Yes?” His voice was tender yet rough.
“Are you saying this because you love me,” she asked carefully, “or are you just a sore loser?”
His eyes widened in shock, just before a chuckle emerged, growing into the rich laughter that she loved so much. “Okay, I deserved that one. But let me explain.” He pulled back enough to look into her eyes, his gray gaze level and sincere. “I didn’t know that this was what being in love was. I always thought that love was this big production, with all the drama and screaming, and everything that went with it. But then I figured out that I was just scared. Scared of screwing up and losing the most important woman in my life. So what did I do? I went ahead and did just what I was most scared of.”
“You know, this is why women think men are idiots,” she teased.
“What? Am I wearing a sign?” He laughed softly, nuzzling her neck, then turned serious. “Even when I thought I was in love, I never shared myself with those women the way I did with you. Nobody knows me like you do.” He stroked her cheek, his smile like the sun. “And nobody matches me as perfectly as you do. I love you, and I’m in love with you. Say you’ll marry me, Charlotte.”
“I told Jack I was too in love with you to marry anybody else. There wouldn’t be anybody else I’d marry,” she said vehemently. She leaned forward and shared a passionate kiss with him, relishing the feeling of his arms tight around her, as if he’d never let go again.
“Um, excuse me?”
Gabe and Charlotte turned and looked over at the lunch tables. Women all over the café were misty-eyed, and several were sighing deeply. Bella looked as if she were in shock. Dana, on the other hand, simply looked flabbergasted.
“Would somebody like to explain what’s going on here?” she asked.
Charlotte looked up at Gabe and smiled. “We decided to make another bet. And this time, we’ll both win.”
HARLEQUIN DUETS
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8742-0
SAY YES
Copyright © 2000 by Lori Foster
THE CINDERELLA SOLUTION
Copyright © 2000 by Cathy Yardley
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