It still wasn’t that difficult to slip the Secret Service.
Grace knew she only had moments until they located her. The new special agents appointed to her were especially vigilant these days. She eased out a side door, escaping the din of the party and finding her way outside. Her coat was still inside and she shivered in her gown. She fell in love with the strapless blue satin the moment she saw it, but it wasn’t equipped for outdoors or the winter. The two combined were a straight ticket to hypothermia. Another reason why she wouldn’t be outside long.
She clattered up to the railing in her three-inch heels, wrapped her fingers around the cold steel and stared up at the darkest, clearest night she had ever seen. The stars were infinite. She exhaled, glad for the fresh air and silence even with the cold biting into her. Her eyes teared and she blinked, hoping she didn’t ruin her mascara. Her hand shot out, dashing at her eyes.
She’d seen her comet, but it didn’t matter nearly as much as she had hoped it would. She could only think that Reid should have been with her to see it, too.
“Did you see your comet?”
She spun around with a gasp at the deep voice. Her chest constricted as Reid stepped into the glow of the perimeter light. He looked amazing in dark jeans, the hint of a gray thermal shirt peeping out of his dark pea coat. His hair was a little longer. The winter wind whipped the dark blond strands.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s your engagement party. Didn’t get an invitation.” He shrugged as he advanced on her, walking slowly. “Figure it must have gotten lost in the mail.”
A short, hard laugh escaped her before she could catch herself. “Don’t,” she whispered, pressing her fingers over her mouth.
“What?”
“Make me laugh.”
“Why not?” He continued coming, stalking toward her with easy strides, his eyes fastened hotly on her face.
Her voice came out strangled. “Because when I look at you I only want to cry.”
He stopped in front of her. “Yeah? Well, when I look at you I only want to do this.”
His mouth crashed over hers and it was everything she remembered and more. His lips were hungry and brutal. His hands dove into her hair, messing the elegant updo. Pins scattered and she felt the heavy mass tumble down her back.
She broke away with a gasp, her heart pounding with a mixture of lust and panic. “Reid, stop! You have to go.” She pushed at his chest and then reached for her hair. How would she explain her appearance?
“I’m not leaving without you.”
She stilled, her eyes fixing on him. “What?”
“I was wrong to stay away.” He motioned to the building. “You don’t want to marry that guy.”
“I have to,” she whispered.
His eyes sparked. “What happened to the girl tired of doing what others wanted? The girl who was going to live for herself?”
She shook her head. “I promised my father.”
“You promised yourself.” He closed the space between them and seized her face. “You love me. I know you do. And I love you.” He kissed her again, and she let herself drown in sensations again before breaking away.
“I can’t!”
He stared at her a long moment before lowering his hands from her face. He shook his head, his eyes so sad and dejected it tore at her heart. “Then you’re not the girl I fell in love with. I don’t know who you are.”
He started to back away, and every step felt like another shovel of dirt falling on her grave.
She shook her head and looked up helplessly to the sky. “I promised my father I would do what he wanted if he pardoned you.” The moment the words were out, her gaze shot back to him again.
Reid froze, his face going pale. “What?”
“I told him I would marry Charles.”
“For me? For my freedom?”
She nodded.
“Fuck that.” In two strides he gripped her arms again. “I promised him if he pardoned me I would leave you alone.”
“What? He went to see you?”
“Yes. Right before I was released.” He shook his head. “I don’t care what he does. I’m not staying away from you.”
She nodded, tears blurring her vision. “Yeah. Fuck that.”
He laughed, and before she knew what he intended, he tossed her over his shoulder.
She beat on his back. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t expect you to get very far through the grass in those shoes.”
She bit back a giggle and hit him in the shoulder. “You know kidnapping is a federal offense.”
“I’ve beat it before,” he replied, walking down the uneven slope of ground. “How does Vegas sound?”
“What?”
“We can drive through the night. Be married by the morning. It might be harder for the president to go through the effort of revoking my parole if I’m his son-in-law.”
She went utterly still. Her silence must have worried him. He stopped and lowered her to her feet.
She shivered and he uttered a quick curse. Shrugging out of his coat, he slipped it around her shoulders. Beneath that endless blanket of stars, he took her hand and held it between them, looking almost nervous. “I know I don’t deserve you—”
“You deserve everything,” she quickly rebutted.
Still holding her hand, he dropped to his knees on the cold earth. “Grace Reeves, will you marry me?”
She exhaled and looked up, gazing at the lights of a million stars. Looking down again, she saw the same brightness in his eyes, in him, in the love reflected on his face. “I will.” Leaning down, she pressed her mouth to his. “Now we better hurry before the Secret Service figures out I’m gone again.”
“On it.” Rising, Reid swept her up and carried her down the slope.
She leaned toward him to press tiny kisses to his throat. “Maybe we should head to a hotel before we start for Vegas?”
He turned his head and caught her mouth in a short, hard kiss. “Tempting, but not happening. The next time I have you in a bed, you’re going to be my wife. And when the goons in the suits catch up to us, I’ll be able to wave a marriage certificate at them.” He nuzzled the side of her face with his mouth. “Because I’m not letting you ever go again.”
Grace smiled. “I’m okay with that.” More than okay. It sounded like a perfect kind of forever—one she had never thought possible. Never had the courage to seize for herself. Until him. Until he showed her courage. Until he showed her love.
Now it was real. And it belonged to them.