He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “We don’t have to live together. We can go as slow as you want. I’ll only be four or five hours away. I can drive here to spend time with you. Whatever you decide is fine with me.”
She stared up at him with teary eyes. “This is too good to be true. I can’t believe it.”
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“Adam and Kari are getting married at the end of the month. I’m the best man. I thought you could come with me to San Diego and be my date.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “I’d love to be there.”
“I don’t have to start at the embassy for three more weeks, so we can go on a vacation. Anywhere you like.”
“Really?”
“Sure. We can stay here in Mexico and go to Acapulco. Soak up the sun. Or we can go somewhere exotic, like Brazil.” He wagged his brows. “They have nude beaches there. Don’t tell your mother.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.”
She touched her lips to his, making a little squeal of excitement. “Yes.”
He pushed her back against the tree and kissed her again. “When can we leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What about tonight?”
“You can stay with us.”
“In your room?”
“Of course not,” she said, rolling her eyes. “My mother won’t like us living together in Mexico City, but I can tell her we’re engaged. If everything goes well, and you still want to get married at the end of your assignment…”
“I will,” he assured her.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“So you’ll be my fiancée for two years?”
“Yes.”
“Where will we get married?”
“Here, at the chapel in Mezcala.”
“And after that, you’ll come with me to the U.S., or wherever my next assignment is?”
“Yes,” she said, decisive.
“I can handle that.”
“What about your boss? Will he disapprove?”
“I don’t think he’d care if I married you this week, let alone two years from now. I already signed an employment contract.”
She twined her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
He wanted to do this right, so he got down on one knee and removed the box from his pocket. The ring inside wasn’t anything fancy. It was made in the 1920s, with an unusual setting of silver petals around a modest diamond. There was a leaf symbol engraved in a simple platinum band. He liked the earth-angel vibe of the piece.
Maria took the ring out of the box. “It’s beautiful,” she said in a hushed voice.
“It’s vintage.”
“What does that mean?”
“Used.”
She wiggled her fingers to make the diamond sparkle in the sun. “I love it.”
He stood, drawing her into his arms again. “I love you, mariposa.”
“I love you too.”
“Say it in Spanish.”
“Yo también te amo. Para siempre.”
“Para siempre,” he repeated, covering her mouth with his. Sealing it with a kiss. Promising to love her, always and forever.
Acknowledgments
There are many people I’d like to thank for their meaningful contributions to Off the Rails and Against the Wall. First I want to thank my readers for continuing to ask about Eric and Meghan, and Ian and Maria. Your questions and comments encouraged me to give these characters the happy endings they deserved. Thank you so much for your interest and support.
Thanks to Junessa Viloria, my editor, and the entire team at Loveswept, for taking another chance on me. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to write these books. It was great to work with all of you.
Thanks to my agent, Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, for always being there for me.
Both sequels feature Spanish-speaking characters from Latino communities. My goal was to write sensitive cultural portrayals with as much authenticity as possible, and I needed a lot of help! Thanks to copy editor Cecilia Molinari for your corrections and input. Thanks to my husband, Chris, for being my best brainstorming partner and dedicated Spanish language consultant. Special thanks to Ana Coqui, my beta reader for Against the Wall. You were all integral to the process, and the books are better because of you.
I’d also like to mention my three main inspirations for these stories. I highly recommend each one.
1. Sin Nombre, a film written and directed by Cary Fukunaga
2. Enrique’s Journey, a nonfiction book by Sonia Nazario
3. Triple Crossing, a suspense novel by Sebastian Rotella
Thanks again to all of the above.
BY JILL SORENSON
Crash Into Me
Set the Dark on Fire
The Edge of Night
Caught in the Act
Against the Wall
Off the Rails
JILL SORENSON is a RITA-nominated author of more than a dozen romantic suspense novels. She has a degree in Literature and Writing from California State University. Her books have been selected as Red-Hot Reads by Cosmopolitan magazine, and have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Jill currently lives in the San Diego area with her family. She’s a soccer mom who loves nature, coffee, reading, Twitter, and reality TV.
jillsorenson.wordpress.com
Facebook.com/jillsorensonbooks
@JillSorenson
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