Surrender to Love

by Adrianne Byrd

  His magnetism was just that strong.

  “Maybe the only thing I can tell you right now is that I’m willing to just take everything one day at a time.”

  Carson’s smile warmed. “Actually, that is the best thing you can tell me.”

  His lips descended and stopped within inches of hers.

  She gazed longingly into his intense eyes, convinced that he could read the desire in hers.

  “I’ve dreamed of this moment since the night I met you,” he whispered.

  His confession was true for her as well, but she held back from saying as much.

  Finally their lips touched in a light, feathery kiss.

  A tickle of desire fluttered somewhere around her heart and deepened her longing. She’d never known a man’s lips to be so soft or their taste to be so intoxicating. She’d lost whatever resolve she had in reserve and gave in to him.

  Carson withdrew from their kiss and studied her in the dim candlelight. She wanted him to get his fill of her, more so than she’d ever admit.

  “I’d better take those,” she heard him say before he removed the bundle of daisies from her hands.

  She pulled her heavy-lidded eyes open and flushed with embarrassment. She had completely forgotten that she still carried them.

  “I’ll go lay them in the kitchen,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Julia could only nod and watch him fade from view. Once he’d gone, she allowed herself to exhale and try to get a grip on her fledgling emotions. As she did so, she cast another futile glance at the prepared table and for the first time saw it for what it really was—a seduction.

  How could she have missed it? Did she truly think that she was just arranging a simple dinner? She remembered how she had fussed over the slightest detail and how madly she had wanted to impress him, and still her true intentions had escaped her.

  Now that she knew the truth, she was both horrified and eager to finish what she started. What was wrong with wanting Carson? Men didn’t get better than him, and he’d made it clear with words and actions that he wanted her as well.

  So what if she’d kept her past from him? What purpose would it serve to tell him? There wasn’t anything he could do that could help her. No one could.

  But try as she might, she couldn’t stifle her inner voice that wanted to confide in him. It was the same part of her that wanted to remain in Moreland, and the part that had fallen in love with Carson.

  Carson laid the bundle of daisies down, then braced his large frame against the countertop. He continued to be amazed at how much power Julia wielded over him. It didn’t make sense, he knew.

  No, that wasn’t true, his heart corrected him. His soul knew her. It seemed as if it had always known her—had been waiting for her.

  He shook his head at the wild notion. He needed to stop being so dramatic. She was the first woman he’d been interested in since Karen’s death. Did it mean that she was the woman? There was only one way to find out.

  He nodded, satisfied with his conclusion, and attempted once again to pull himself together. But as he prepared himself to go back into the dining room, he realized that he was still nervous—but about what?

  Then the truth slowly dawned on him. He was nervous about what tonight would lead to—about what would come with the morning sun.

  For years he’d been convinced that love wouldn’t strike twice, and this was the first time that theory was being put to the test. He closed his eyes and tried to envision Karen, but couldn’t.

  “Are you all right in there?” Julia called out to him.

  Carson jerked his head in the direction of her voice. “Yes, yes. I’m fine.” He took another deep breath, knowing he couldn’t continue to hide any longer.

  He forced one foot in front of the other and returned to the dining room.

  Julia’s stunning beauty greeted him. “I was beginning to think you’d escaped through the kitchen window.” She laughed.

  He playfully slapped his hand against his forehead. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Does the thought of my cooking scare you that much?”

  Carson went to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “On the contrary. I’m anxious to taste some of your culinary skills.”

  Julia instantly held up her hands. “Let me warn you. I’m nowhere near the stratosphere of your mom or sister. But I can tell you that you’ll be able to get through the night without a trip to the emergency room.”

  “I guess a man can’t ask for much more than that, now, can he?”

  Julia laughed and removed the silver covers from over their serving trays.

  Carson inhaled the food’s mouthwatering aromas. His expression took on a dreamy quality. “We’re off to a good start,” he announced.

  “I sure hope you like meat loaf.”

  He laughed. “It sure looks great,” Carson praised her. “First I think we need a little bubbly to get the meal going.” He retrieved the bottle of champagne. “I hope it’s chilled enough. I slammed it in the freezer the moment I got your invitation on the answering machine.” He popped the cork and a thin mist swirled from the top.

  He studied her awhile before filling her glass, then asked the question that was prominent in his mind. “Are you as nervous as I am?”

  Her gaze flew to his and he watched the tension drain from her face. “More than you’ll ever know.” She accepted her glass.

  “What makes you so nervous?” he ventured to ask, hoping to focus on anything but his own awkwardness.

  Her gaze lowered slightly. “I think it’s the not knowing of it all.”

  He lifted his brows, intrigued. “What do you mean?”

  Julia bit her bottom lip as she thought for a moment. “It’s the not knowing whether I’m going to make a fool of myself. The not knowing whether this will turn out to be another mistake in a long line of mistakes.”

  She laughed subtly, as if she’d made a joke, but Carson read the truth written on her unguarded expression. “Did your husband hurt you?”

  She bit her lower lip, mentally weighing how to best answer the question. “My ex-husbands have taught me lessons I don’t care to repeat.”

  “Husbands?”

  At his astonished expression, she laughed. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for love.”

  He regarded her with growing interest. “There are worse vices.”

  “I think that’s debatable,” she countered. “If a person has a drinking problem, there’s Alcoholics Anonymous. Chain smokers have their pick of nicotine patches and gum. Hopeless romantics, on the other hand, all too often only have the comfort of a nice fluffy pillow to dry their tears.”

  Carson leaned back in his chair while a low rumble of laughter filled his chest. “An interesting analogy.”

  “Just the voice of experience.”

  “Well.” He brightened. “At least I can stop feeling guilty for pining after a married woman.”

  She relaxed again and laughed.

  He sliced a piece of the meat loaf and sank his teeth into it. “Mmm,” he moaned with his eyes drifting closed as he continued to chew.

  Julia’s heart took flight at his obvious pleasure, but a person would’ve thought it was the last morsel on his plate, the way he carried on so dramatically.

  “You lied,” he said, finally opening his eyes.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You are as good a cook as my mother and sister.”

  Her face twisted into a frown. “Yeah, right. But thanks for attempting to lie with a straight face.”

  He took another bite and went through the same dramatics. “I’m telling you, this is wonderful. Don’t be so quick to sell yourself short.”

  “The fact that you like it is enough for me.”

  “Then know that I love it.”

  During the rest of dinner, Julia weaved and bobbed through questions about herself and, at times, noticed his frustration over the matter.

  “How about your child
hood? Were you a happy kid?”

  “Not really. Up until I was eleven years old, I was pretty much in and out of foster care.”

  He frowned. “Did you ever know your parents?”

  She shook her head, while her smile fluttered weakly. “No.”

  A long thread of silence stretched between them, and Julia felt that she needed to fill it.

  “It wasn’t so bad. I don’t have one of those horror stories about bad foster parents or anything. When I turned eleven I was adopted by the best people in the world. They loved me as though I were their flesh and blood. I only regret they’d passed before Robin was born.”

  Carson covered her hand with his, still seeming not to know what to say.

  “Please don’t feel sorry for me. There’s no need.”

  “Feel sorry for you?” He looked incredulously at her. “I’ve finally found the source of your strength, the reason you’re reluctant to accept help from anyone. And perhaps the real reason you’re what you called a ‘sucker for love.’”

  “I thought about that,” she admitted honestly. “Despite putting myself through college and medical school, I can’t deny that I still have this desire to truly be a part of a real family. But look at me. I’m a thirty-four-year old, twice-divorced single mother.”

  Carson shrugged. “Maybe you should concentrate on what you do have. You have a smart and loving daughter. You’re a doctor, of what I still don’t know. And you’re about to become a permanent resident of the best town in Georgia.”

  She laughed.

  “I don’t know about you,” he said, lifting his champagne glass, “but those sound like reasons to celebrate.”

  Julia lifted her glass as well. “You know, I think you’re right.”

  There was a flash of light that filled the room, then seconds later a clash of thunder.

  “Sounds like we’re in for a storm tonight. Sort of like the one we had on the first night we met. Kind of romantic, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t remember anything being remotely romantic about the night we met.”

  “Speak for yourself. Even soaking wet you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. That night it was as if you’d stepped out of a dream.” He clinked her glass with his. “I’m willing to go as far as to suggest that our meeting was predestined.”

  “I thought you said you were nervous.”

  “That was over an hour ago. I’m well past that now. I’m a man on a mission.”

  “Oh, really? And what mission is that?”

  “To make you fall in love with me. What else?”

  Chapter 24

  Sheri sat through yet another interrogation by the FBI. Why had anyone bothered taking notes when they continued to ask the same questions?

  To her own chagrin, the tight-lipped agents made sure they didn’t so much as hint as to why they were interested in Dr. Julia Kelley. She knew only what she’d heard on the news.

  With the absence of information, Sheri couldn’t stop her imagination from running wild as to what Dr. Kelley had done.

  Just when she thought her long evening at the Bureau had finally ended, another agent entered the room.

  “Good evening, Miss Higginbotham. I’m Assistant Agent in Charge Paul Regis. I want to thank you for being so patient with us. Is there anything I can get you—coffee, tea, or some water?”

  Sheri sighed wearily and shook her head. “Can you tell me how much longer this is going to take?” she chanced asking, since the last agent had pretended that she hadn’t heard the question.

  She could tell by the subtle lines etched along his pale face that his exhaustion exceeded her own.

  “I can’t promise you anything. But I’m sure that it won’t be too much longer now.”

  She nodded, knowing she had no choice but to be satisfied with that for an answer.

  “Now,” he said, clapping his hands together and taking the chair in front of her, “in your earlier statements you said that you believe that Dr. Kelley is in Moreland under her own volition. May I ask whether, in your opinion, her behavior suggests that she’s running scared? Has she hinted that her life may be in danger in any way?”

  This was a new question, and a rather interesting one, Sheri thought. “Is she in danger?” she asked.

  “Miss Higginbotham, if you could just answer the questions, this interview would go a lost faster.”

  She smiled with disdain. “Like I told Special Agent Iaanelli, Julia and her daughter pretty much keep to themselves. She doesn’t answer too many questions about where she’s from or even what her last name is. She’s told me that she was separated from her husband, and that is all I know about the woman.” Other than the fact that she stole my man.

  The agent held her gaze during an uncomfortable silence. Then, abruptly, he stood from his chair. “Thank you for your time, Miss Higginbotham.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “Well, since she’s not in any imminent danger, I guess our case is pretty much closed.”

  Sheri stood while her hopes plunged to the center of her stomach. “You mean you’re not going to come and arrest her?”

  He chuckled under his breath. “What for? She’s done nothing wrong. Her husband was the public offender, not her. We’re only looking for her because we wanted to protect her from whatever danger caused her husband to meet his untimely death.”

  Sheri sank back into her chair. Why had she even bothered to come here then?

  “Miss Higginbotham?”

  She heard the concern in his voice and chose to ignore it. She needed to think. She needed to figure out a way to get Julia out of Moreland. “What if she is in danger?” she asked, finally looking back up at him.

  “Then it’s my job to protect her.”

  “Like take her into protective custody?” An idea slowly formed in her head.

  “If it comes to that.” His eyes narrowed. “Is there something you’re not telling us, Miss Higginbotham?” He returned to his seat.

  She should feel ashamed of what she was about to do, but something in her grabbed with both hands at the opportunity to get rid of the competition for Carson’s heart.

  “Yes,” she said with an uplifted chin.

  “Yes, what?”

  “Yes, I believe that Julia and her daughter’s lives are in danger.”

  Frankie clutched the phone against her ear. With the news he’d just received, his luck had just improved. “Are you sure she’s in Moreland?”

  “Affirmative. We have a woman in the office right now who’s given a positive ID on Dr. Kelley. How soon can you get down there?”

  “We’re leaving now.” He snapped his fingers at Nicholas and signaled for him to bring him over the map that was located near the desk. “What else do you have for me?”

  “Only that she’s staying in a place called the Georgia Inn.”

  “Talk about having the goods being served on a silver platter.”

  “Yeah, well, you just make sure you get down there before the Bureau does. They don’t believe for a minute that Dr. Kelley killed her husband. Using Rachel was a complete waste of time. They suspect the Montellos one hundred percent, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that if Vinny hasn’t gotten what he was looking for then the doctor will be his next target.”

  Frankie said nothing to this, but his mind was quickly churning. When he’d seen David sprawled across the bathroom floor, he’d thought the doctor was responsible for the job. If what his contact told him was correct, then who’d made the hit?

  His gaze quickly shot to Nicholas. Had Vinny sent him to take over his assignment? But why?

  “We’ll get right on it,” Frankie said, then hung up the phone.

  Nicholas’s easy smile unnerved Frankie.

  “So do we have a make on the girl or what?” Nicolas asked.

  Frankie nodded and unfolded the map. “Looks that way.” Now that the illusion of being in charge had been stripped from him,
Frankie needed to be on guard. For the life of him, he didn’t understand the game Vinny was playing. If the Montellos no longer trusted him, then why bother bringing him back into the organization?

  “How far?” Nicholas asked, already tossing his belongings into a duffel bag.

  “Believe it or not, she’s no more than a two-hour drive from here.”

  “The news just keeps getting better, eh?”

  Frankie folded his map. “Appears that way,” he replied dryly.

  There was an ominous glimmer in Nicholas’s eyes, and Frankie’s uneasiness increased tenfold. Something was definitely about to go down in Moreland, and it was more than just searching for Julia Kelley.

  Tony waited behind the two-way mirror for Regis to come out. During his partner’s interview, Tony had watched every nuance of Miss Higginbotham’s face. When he’d interviewed her she came across as earnest and forthright; now she appeared to have a hidden agenda.

  Paul exited the room and joined Tony behind the glass. “Well, what do you think?”

  “I think I trust her about as far as I can throw her,” Tony answered honestly.

  “We’re in agreement on that much.” He turned and looked back at the woman, who still sat straight as an arrow in the interrogation room. “I just can’t figure out what her angle would be.”

  “However, I do believe her statement about Dr. Kelley being in Moreland.”

  “Me, too. I also suspect that the lady wants the doctor out of Moreland—for whatever reason.”

  “Do we have enough to convince the agent in charge to send us down there?”

  “I don’t know. As far as he’s concerned, Dr. Kelley is nothing more than a missing person with a low level of foul play.”

  “She may be a witness to her husband’s murder. We also have on tape that Miss Higginbotham, here, suspects that the doctor’s life is in danger.”

  “I’m almost willing to bet that she made that part up.”

  “That or she just doesn’t know how close to the truth she really is.”

  Carson was right about his prediction of a storm. Actually it resembled more of a monsoon, but neither he nor Julia was too concerned about it. They used the time to get to know more about each other. They had, however, moved away from the table and over to the living room, where they had a wonderful view of the light show going on outside.