Annie didn’t answer, didn’t even look up from the road. What are your plans? she wanted to ask. When do you have to return to work? But she didn’t. She couldn’t get the words out.
“I have a great idea,” Pete was saying. “We can go out to Colorado first, then head down to Mexico—”
“We?” She couldn’t hide her surprise.
Pete smiled at her. “Yeah. We. You. Me. You know. We could make it our honeymoon.”
Annie pulled sharply off to the right, into a department store parking lot. She stopped the car, then turned to look at him. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
There was a spark of uncertainty in his eyes. “I thought I already did,” he said slowly. “In the ambulance. On the way to the hospital?”
“You remember that?” Annie said in disbelief. “Pete, you were delirious.”
“Well, yeah.” He grinned. “Because you said yes….” His eyes were intense and his smile disappeared as he watched her. “Will you marry me, Annie?”
She moistened her lips. “I’m not sure I want to be married to someone who works for the CIA,” she said softly. “I’m not sure I could handle it….”
The silence in the car stretched on.
Who was she fooling? Annie thought. It wouldn’t be easy; she’d spend all her time worrying that he would be hurt, shot, killed even. She’d hate the long hours, the weeks away. But she loved him, and she was willing to take whatever he was willing to give.
“Yes,” she said, at the exact same moment he turned to her and said, “I’ll retire.”
They stared at each other for a long time, then Pete said again, “I will retire.”
“You don’t have to,” Annie said quietly. “I’ll marry you anyway.”
“But I want to,” he said, taking her hand in his and kissing the tips of her fingers. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just never had a good enough reason to retire before this.”
“But what will you do?” Annie said. “You’re awfully young to retire.”
Pete smiled. “I’ve been thinking about a career change,” he said. “I heard there’s this really terrific position open—someone’s looking for a research assistant. I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of experience in a lab, but I’m really good at camping and digging in the dirt, or whatever it is you archaeologists do.”
Laughing, Annie kissed him. And kissed him, and kissed him.
When they drew apart, her hands were shaking. “Well,” she said. “I’m glad that’s settled.”
But Pete touched her chin, tugging her face toward him. “Wait,” he said. His eyes were serious. “I need to ask you…” He looked down for a moment as if gathering his courage. “I know you love me.” His eyes met hers. “But have you forgiven me?”
“Forgiven? Yes,” she said. “Forgotten? Never. I’m not going to make that mistake twice.”
His eyebrow moved slightly in the tiniest of frowns. He didn’t understand….
“I’m never going to forget that you love me,” she said, and put the car into gear. “Let’s go home.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5107-0
HERO UNDER COVER
Copyright © 1994 by Suzanne Brockmann
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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