“Do you realize we’ve come full circle?” she asked quietly.
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“Your integrity caused you to walk away from me a year ago and has kept you from choosing to move in now. Unfortunately, by using the question as a test of your willingness to go the distance, I expected you to sacrifice the very thing you were trying to prove and protect.” She shook her head. “We were setting ourselves up to be at odds with each other, and we simply didn’t know it.
“That’s what we’re really arguing about,” she added. “Maybe I did keep a secret from you, but I was trying to save you some grief. In the end I only made it worse and I’m sorry, but I had pure motives and you can’t fault me for that.”
He let out a deep sigh and his shoulders slumped. “I suppose not.”
“Furthermore,” she added quietly, “I never needed you to measure up to my brothers. My love gives you an extra advantage and tips the scales in your favor.”
A smile slowly stretched across Galen’s face. “It does?”
Nikki stepped closer. “Yes, it does. And since you seem to be dragging your feet about asking me an important question, I’ll ask you. Will you marry me and my five nosy brothers?”
He opened his arms and enfolded her in a big hug. “Yeah. I love you, Nik. For ever and ever.”
She smiled and waited for his kiss. She’d never heard finer words or received a better promise.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5788-0
THE BABY RESCUE
First North American Publication 2004
Copyright © 2004 by Jessica Matthews.
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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