She took a deep breath, hoping he still cared enough to listen. “Jake, I have something I have to tell you.”
Jake stiffened, wondering if he really wanted to hear what she was going to say. Then he reminded himself that he’d been determined to settle things between them tonight, no matter which way it went.
“Go ahead,” he said as he draped his arm across her thighs, thinking of keeping her in his lap for as long as possible.
“I wasn’t honest with you last night.”
He drew his brows together into a frown. “About what?”
“About the way I reacted when you told me about your meeting today. I told you I didn’t really expect you to be here, and that wasn’t true. It wasn’t true at all.”
“Then why did you say it?”
Stalling, Cori toyed with the top button of his shirt. “Because I was devastated that you were going to miss my opening, and all I could think about was that it wasn’t supposed to matter so much to me. I wasn’t supposed to need you here. But it did matter. I did need you. And I was so afraid of that need.”
Jake hugged her close, rubbing her back, wishing there were a way for him to erase all her fears.
“After my father died,” she continued, “I watched my mother try to get by on her own. But she’d always had a man to depend on, and she’d never learned how to take care of herself. We barely managed to have food on the table and a roof over our heads. Finally, she gave up trying to provide for us. She married a man she met in the checkout line at the supermarket, just because he had a steady job and was willing to take care of us. She didn’t love him, he wasn’t even very nice to her, or to me, and eventually he left us. She married another man a few months later.”
Cori closed her eyes briefly before continuing. “My mother married husband number six about a year ago. That’s her pattern. When one man leaves, she goes out and finds another, because she doesn’t know how to get along without a man.”
“And you weren’t going to let that happen to you,” Jake said, finally understanding the reason she’d never wanted to need anyone, why she was so afraid of commitment.
Cori shook her head. “I’ve been so afraid of being abandoned that I never let myself become dependent on a man. Until I met you.”
“A take-charge kind of guy who’s always stepping on your toes. How come you put up with me all this time?”
“Because you’re a good man, Jake, and you aren’t like all those men my mother married.” She freed the button she’d been playing with from its hole, then reached for the next one. “And because I love you.”
Jake grinned. She loved him, and hearing her say it made all the difference in the world. He felt relaxed for the first time since he’d walked in the door.
“And I have something else to confess.”
“What’s that?” he said, not really worried about whatever it was she was about to tell him now. They loved each other, and no matter what happened, they’d work things through together. He was more concerned with the fact that she’d gotten the drop on him—she’d managed to unbutton his shirt without him even noticing. Not one to be left behind, he started on the top button of her sweater-dress. It was soft and had far too many tiny pearl buttons, all the way down the front. He wondered if his fingers would manage to get them all undone before his patience ran out.
“All this time we’ve been together,” she said, “I’ve been afraid to let myself really love you because I was afraid that someday you’d leave me.”
His fingers froze on the fourth button from the top. “Cori—”
“I don’t think I could live without you.”
“You won’t ever have to.” To emphasize his words, he placed his hands on her shoulders and held on tight. “This is me, Jake Tanner. Mr. You-Can-Count-on-Me-Anytime. Don’t you know that yet?”
Cori smiled. “I know,” she said. “But the truth is, I’m still a little afraid of what would happen if I ever lost you. But I’m willing to risk it. Because I love you, and I want to be with you—for as long as possible.”
For as long as possible? Jake stood up, taking her with him, and set her on her feet. “Cori, does that mean you might want to get married someday?”
Smiling, Cori nodded, then drew his shirt down over his shoulders and tossed it on the floor. “Someday,” she said, reaching for his belt. “Soon.”
“How soon?” he asked, finding it hard to concentrate on all those damn buttons when she was slowly unzipping his pants.
“Real soon.” A minute later he was stark naked. And he’d barely started on her clothes. “You’re falling behind, Tanner.”
Jake bent down and grabbed hold of the hem of her sweater-dress, drew it up over her head, then flung it behind him. It landed in a fluffy blue pile on the floor in front of the self-help books. A second later it was joined by her underthings, and she was naked too.
He drew her into his arms and kissed her. It was a long, slow kiss, full of promise. When he finally lifted his lips from hers, he said, “I love you, and I promise I’ll never leave you. You have to believe me.”
“I do.”
Jake smiled. “And you really want to get married?”
Cori reached up and cupped his face in her hands. Two weeks ago the thought of marriage would have scared her silly. Today it seemed only natural to want to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. “Yes,” she said, “I really do.”
He put both hands on her bottom and pulled her closer. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Taking her hand, he knelt on the rug, drawing her down with him. He stretched out beside her, propping his head up on one hand. He cupped one breast in his hand, then slowly lowered his mouth to tease the nipple. “I think we should celebrate your grand opening,” he said before giving the other breast the same delicious attention. “And our very recent engagement.”
She locked her hands behind his neck and pulled his mouth closer to hers. “I think we already are.”
To Mom, who said she always knew I could do it, and to Dad, who nudged me until I did
And to Larro, my very own take-charge kind of guy
The Editor’s Corner
Welcome to Loveswept!
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and so do our Loveswept romances, enticing stories ready to seduce you all month long. Take a look at this list!
Just One Night finishes up Lauren Layne’s Sex, Love & Stiletto series featuring Sam Compton, the hero we’ve all been waiting for. New York’s hottest “sexpert,” Riley McKenna, has been living a lie, and it’s up to one man to keep her honest … all night long. Dream It introduces a new hot series by Jennifer Chance with the tale of a smoldering rocker and the fangirl who catches his eye. And Third Degree, Julie Cross’s new Flirt release, is one you don’t want to miss in the new adult coming-of-age scene. Marshall Collins gives Izzy Jenkins all the normalcy she’s looking for while Izzy teaches Marshall a thing or two of her own.
Classic Loveswept romances are back, too, and this month Sandra Chastain’s Adam’s Outlaw and The Runaway Bride top the list, followed by Fran Baker’s San Antonio Rose. And don’t miss Linda Cajio’s delightful Night Music, coming on the heels of Karen Leabo’s suspenseful and spirited Witchy Woman. Deborah Harmse’s charming and warmly passionate romance, A Man to Believe in, will touch your heart, and New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen’s rerelease of Satin Ice continues with the Delaney family saga.
Last but not least, always a favorite of ours, New York Times bestselling author Connie Brockway sweeps us back to Victorian England with her enchanting stories Bridal Favors and Bridal Season.
Let Loveswept warm you on those cold winter nights.
~Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
Love stories you’ll never forget
by authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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A Man to Believe In Page 14
