An hour later, Elise tossed the last of her stuff in her car.
She went back in to get Wigs, knowing she would find him on the catio. As she went down the stairs, she could hear the driving beat of rock music coming from the workout room.
He isn’t even going to come out and say goodbye. Traitorous tears tightened her throat again.
With a low hiss of fury, she gulped them back. She hoped he dropped a dumbbell on his foot, the big lunk.
Wigs sat on his catio, nose to the wire fence, watching several small brown birds, which flew off when she opened the French doors.
“Come on, sweetheart. Time to go.”
Wigs remained at the fence, staring off toward the slowly darkening sky.
So she went over there, scooped him up and pressed her face to the warm ruff at his neck. “We are out of here. Now.”
He purred for her. She found the low sound somewhat comforting as she carried him back through the house and out the door, pausing only to leave her house key and garage-door remote on the counter in the utility room.
* * *
The back stairway to her apartment still smelled of donuts. With Wigs in her arms, she paused on the first step.
And remembered...
Their first time. He’d set her on the kitchen counter and taken away all of her clothes. She’d been shy about the weight she’d put on from eating too many donuts.
And he’d said, “Thank God for donuts.”
She’d wrinkled her nose at him, hadn’t she? And asked, “What does that even mean?”
“It means the donuts look good on you and you should keep eating them,” had been the reply.
Well, maybe she would just do that. Buy a whole box of donuts and eat every last one.
She wanted to kill him.
She wanted to get superdrunk, eat a dozen donuts and start auto-dialing his number.
Drunk dialing on donuts. Did it get any worse?
Forget the donuts for now. She went on up the stairs, sticking her key in the lock, pushing open the door.
Somehow, tonight, the place looked smaller and sadder than ever.
Just keep moving. Do what you have to do. You can have your crying jag later.
She brought everything in and set up Wigs with his box and his bowls, his activity center and his best buddy, the cleaning robot. As soon as she had the bowls filled with food and water, she called Nell.
Her sister had barely said “Hello?” before Elise felt the tears rising again.
“Nellie?” It was all she had to say.
“My God. What’s happened?”
“Jed and I...”
“What? Tell me.”
She gulped the tears back again. “It’s over. That’s all. It’s over with Jed.”
Nellie let out a string of very bad words. “I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I’m coming over.”
That sounded perfect to Elise. “Good. I’m going downstairs and getting donuts. And I think I have a bottle of tequila around here somewhere...”
Nell arrived fifteen minutes later. She brought Jody. And within the hour, all their other sisters—by blood, of the heart and through marriage—came, too. Clara came, and cousin Rory. And Carter’s bride Paige. And Chloe, Quinn’s wife. Even Addie, a week from her due date, drove in from the ranch where she lived with James. Addie’s grandfather’s girlfriend, Lola Dorset, came with her. Everybody brought something to contribute to what Elise proudly called her pity party.
They crowded around the dinky kitchen table, eating donuts and Cheetos, trail mix and Oreos, drinking coffee, tea, juice and soft drinks because Elise never did find the tequila and her sisters had enough sense not to bring liquor when a broken heart was involved.
Elise told them how much she loved Jed. She had no shame. Why should she? Jed had been a complete ass, but that didn’t mean she’d stopped loving him. She told her sisters how she’d fallen and fallen and kept on falling until she was all the way in love with him. She also told them that he’d offered her a fortune and her name on his books if only she would stay on as his assistant. “And when I said no, we had a big fight. I said some really tough things to him. And then he told me to go.”
Nell threatened to kill him in a gruesome, bloody and painful way—after first removing his testicles. She almost looked like she meant it. And that had everyone laughing. They showered Elise in hugs and support, passed her another chocolate-covered old-fashioned and poured her a fresh cup of coffee.
It didn’t heal her sad and torn-up heart, but it definitely helped.
And then Tracy called.
Her lifelong best friend said, “I had this feeling. I was going to text and check on you—but then, I don’t know. I just had to call. Is everything all right?”
That brought a fresh flood of tears. Her sisters offered more hugs and tissues. She told Tracy everything, that she was in love with a wonderful man who really had no idea how wonderful he was. “Oh, and I’m in partnership with Jody!” she added. She and Jody high-fived across the table and she quickly told Tracy about the upcoming reopening of Bravo Catering.
Tracy congratulated her on her new business venture. “And about this thing with Jed. You’re being noble and sweet and not saying it. But I know you need me. I’m coming home, at least for a few days. We can stay up all night and tell each other everything.”
But Elise wouldn’t have it. “No way. You have a degree to earn. I miss you and I always will, but I’ve got backup.” She smiled through her tears at her sisters close around her. “I’ll see you when you come home for Thanksgiving. We’ll talk all night then.”
Reluctantly, Tracy agreed.
Two days later, Elise got her final check from Jed. It was more than she expected—the entire amount she would have made had she stayed until the end of October.
A terse note came with it. Don’t argue about the amount. You deserve every penny. She started to call him, but stopped in mid-dial.
He had taught her so much in their time together, not the least of which was her own worth. Yes, she’d said hard things to him. But they had been true things, spoken with love. And he’d sent her away for it.
A big check and a grumpy two-sentence note was hardly “I love you, Elise. Please forgive me.”
So she didn’t call. She cashed that check and moved on.
The next day Addie had her baby, a little boy they named Brandon after the baby’s natural father, who had died far too young. Elise went to the hospital to meet the newest member of the family. She held the tiny boy in her arms and thought of Jed, wished he’d been there, sent a silent prayer to heaven that he was all right.
At least she had plenty to do. She kept busy working long hours with Jody at their expanded location, planning their social media campaign, ordering the equipment for her kitchen, getting it in and installed, hiring her sister-in-law Chloe to design the front area, to create a cozy little bakery, both beautiful and homey. There would be adorable crystal chandeliers, warm pink walls and cute iron tables with comfy padded chairs. And lots and lots of greenery, courtesy of Bloom.
She found that she was happy, mostly, her life back on track after a long string of setbacks. But her heart did ache. Nights were the toughest. Just her and Wigs alone in the darkness of her tiny apartment. She cuddled him close and longed for Jed, though she felt she couldn’t reach out to him, that it wasn’t for her to make that move.
She tried her best not to worry about him, all alone with no one to talk to.
* * *
Jed was not doing well.
At first, he pushed thoughts of Elise from his mind by burying himself in rewrites, working twenty-hour days, barely pausing to eat, let alone sleep. Ten nonstop days and nights after she left him, he sent McCannon’s Fall off to Carl in New York.
Without the book to fill his mind, things got bad fast.
His bed was too big without her to hold on to. His fancy house was empty, the damn catio deserted. Sometimes, he thought he heard Wigs meowing. He would wander from room to room, knowing he would find nothing, driven to look for the fur ball, anyway.
After a week of that idiocy, he decided he needed to keep active. He worked out until every muscle jumped and quivered with exhaustion. He threw a lot of knives. He visited the shooting range.
On a Thursday, during the first snowstorm of the season, he took his Range Rover halfway up the mountain, where he and his father used to live.
Temperatures that day stayed well below freezing.
As if he cared how cold it was. He had good gear, rated for arctic conditions. When even the Range Rover could go no farther, he set the brake and got out into the driving snow. He found the trail he knew so well and climbed steadily upward, oblivious to the cold and the limited visibility.
The cabin was still there, locked up good and tight. The shed where his dad had stored their library of books hadn’t fared as well. A tree limb had fallen on it, gone right through the roof. Jed felt some satisfaction that at least he’d emptied it out years ago and donated the books to the Justice Creek Library.
He stood on the rough steps that led up to the door and stared at the spot where he’d found Calvin Walsh’s lifeless body all those years ago. That was a dark day, the day his father died, the day he saw for the first time that he was completely alone in the world.
It had been snowing that day, too. Tears freezing on his cold cheeks, he’d stared at the big man unmoving on the ground and wondered what he was going to do with himself now. He’d known peace and safety, companionship and mutual understanding with his father. It had always been the two of them, Calvin and Jedidiah, father and son, preparing for the end times, alone against the world.
How would he survive in the big, wide, corrupt, noisy world? He’d had no idea. But he had known that he wasn’t staying on that mountain all alone. The end times hadn’t come and he needed to learn how to live.
And he’d done that, hadn’t he? He’d succeeded beyond his wildest imaginings. He was the Jed Walsh, a household name. He wrote the books people wanted to read and he made the big bucks.
But standing there on the steps of the one-room house where his father had raised him, staring at the empty, snowy ground where Calvin Walsh had fallen, he knew he’d gone nowhere.
He was as alone as he’d ever been—no. More so, now that he loved Elise. Now that he knew what it was to look in a woman’s eyes and see everything, a full life, that strange thing called happiness, a future filled with laughter and tears, disagreements and compromises, with everything that made it all worthwhile.
The wind sang through the tall trees and the snow kept on falling, covering the rocky ground in pure, cold white. Jed turned and started back down the mountain.
That night and the next and the one after that, he woke in the darkest hours before dawn, disoriented. For a moment or two, he would wonder what was missing. And then he remembered: the woman he loved curled up in his arms. And that damn cat purring from the foot of the bed...
It took those three nights after he went up the mountain for him to finally accept what he needed to do. And it wasn’t to find another assistant. He was finished with that. In his life as a writer, he’d found two women capable of putting up with him while he worked. Two women who understood him and took care of him and didn’t take any of his crap. One had been like the mother he’d lost too soon.
The other was Elise.
After Elise, no one would stack up. There was no point in torturing even one more hapless keyboarder.
He needed another way. And what else was there for him to do but get going on that? He went into his office and sat down at his desk.
And after three more weeks of working like a madman, he was finally ready to go after what mattered most.
* * *
Jed knew where to find her. A few bills and circulars originally addressed to her apartment had shown up in his mailbox after she left and before she’d had them rerouted again. He’d sent that mail on to her—but not before making a note of where she lived.
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, he got in the Range Rover and headed for Creekside Drive. He parked in the lot in back of her building and entered through the rear door. The smell of donuts hit him, along with a memory so perfect and sweet: Elise on the kitchen counter, shy, breathless and wonderfully soft. He’d never forget that night—or those little pink panties he’d torn off to get to her...
Longing almost doubled him over. He looked up the narrow stairs and didn’t know if he could do it.
What if she couldn’t forgive him? What if she’d simply moved on?
Didn’t matter. He had no choice here. He couldn’t go on without at least giving it a shot.
He gripped the banister and started climbing.
Hers was the first door on the right. He knocked.
Nothing. So he knocked again. Still no answer. He peered through the peephole, saw nothing and pictured her on the other side, refusing to answer, peering right back at him.
He tried the doorknob. Locked. He should call.
But he was afraid to call. What if she hung up on him? Surely she’d take pity on him and hear him out if he could only reach her face-to-face.
He went back down the stairs and out the door. Once in the car, he made himself call her.
The call went straight to voice mail. The answering message wasn’t even her voice. “You have reached Elise Bravo and Bravo Catering. Please leave a message.”
“Elise. I need to talk to you. Please call me back.” He disconnected before he realized he hadn’t left his name.
It had been almost two months since he’d sent her away.
Could she have forgotten what his voice sounded like in that time? Would she even know it was him?
She would, he realized, because she had his number programmed into her phone.
Didn’t she?
He wasn’t 100 percent sure...
God. He was pitiful. A hopeless case.
He started up the car and headed home—and somehow ended up on Central Street. And there it was, Bravo Catering, right next door to Bloom. He parked and went in. There were glass cases filled with wonderful-smelling muffins and cupcakes, greenery everywhere and old-timey crystal chandeliers overhead. Half the tables were occupied with smiling, muffin-eating customers. It was charming and well done.
“What can I get you today?” asked the pretty girl behind the counter.
“I want to speak with Elise.”
“I’m sorry, you missed her. She’s got a wedding today.” A wedding? So soon? Didn’t women take months and months to plan those? The girl behind the counter smoothed her pink apron. “Just let me take your name and number and—”
“No. It’s okay. I’ll...get in touch with her later.” He turned and started for the door—but then, at the last minute, he pivoted and went under the wide interior arch to Bloom.
Jody turned from watering a fern as he approached. She didn’t look especially happy to see him. “Jed Walsh.” She marched over and plunked the watering can down on the register counter. “We all thought you died. You’re lucky Nellie has restrained herself or you’d be missing a few vital body parts.”
Okay, he was a douche. It wasn’t news. “You can’t possibly despise me as much as I do myself.”
“Oh, but I can try. What is the matter with you?”
“A lot. Jody, I really need to see her.”
Jody’s mouth was a thin slash of complete refusal. “She’s working.”
“The girl in the bakery said she had a wedding...”
“Call her. Leave a message.”
“I did. I forgot to leave my name. I... Come on, Jody. I know I don’t deserve another chance with her, but give me a break here.”
Jody stared at her watering can for an endless count of five, then turned on Jed again. “You want another chance?”
He held out both arms wide. “You are looking at a desperate man. Come on. Where is she?”
“Can’t you just wait until—”
“I’ve waited too long already. Think about it. You’ll know it’s true. This shop—yours and hers.” He gestured at the greenery around them, the bakery through the archway, all of it. Everything. “It’s great. Well done. I get it. I know it’s what she wants and I want her to have that. Whatever she wants. I know I ruined everything. Just give me a chance to make it right.”
Jody eyed him sideways. “She took this wedding at the last minute. An old friend of ours got engaged at Halloween and wanted to have the big wedding and do it right away. Leesie’s worked her butt off. If you mess it all up by making a scene...”
“No scenes. I swear to you. Just tell me where to find her.”
* * *
The friend’s wedding was in a farmhouse several miles out of town. Jed parked with the wedding guests, in an open field not far from the house. The snow from three weeks before had long since melted. It was a sunny day, mild for November. He walked up the wide driveway to the front door, where a white-haired lady greeted him, pinned a rosebud to the lapel of his jacket and kissed him on the cheek.
“You’ve just made it in time.” She put a finger to her wrinkled lips. “Shh, now. They’re all in the living room.” She ushered him inside.
He went through a roomy foyer with a wide, flower-bedecked staircase leading up and on into the living room, where flowers were everywhere and the bride and the groom stood facing a guy in a clerical collar in front of a big brick fireplace.
The white chairs arranged in rows with an aisle down the middle were all occupied. Jed hung back near the arch to the foyer and watched two people he’d never seen before exchange their vows. They did look happy, he thought. And deeply in love.
He remained, staying out of the way as much as possible, through all of it—the picture-taking and the quick, expert switch from row seating for the ceremony to a buffet line and tables for the reception. A four-piece band set up in a corner and began playing dance music.
And Elise?
She was everywhere. She wore a pink cashmere sweater and one of those pencil skirts that clung to every lush, delicious curve. He wanted to duck into a closet and wait for her to walk by—just pop out, snatch her hand, haul her in there and start making up for all the time they’d lost.
But he didn’t. He behaved himself. On the drive out here, he’d come up with a plan—not a very good one, true. But the best he could do given that he wasn’t going home until he’d had a chance to talk with her. He would stay out of her way until the reception was over. He reasoned that as long as she didn’t know he was here, he wouldn’t be disrupting the party.
So he kept his eye out, ducking quickly out of sight whenever she got too close or looked as though she might glance his way. It wasn’t easy, keeping her from spotting him. She was constantly on the move. She kept track of everything and yet at the same time, she didn’t seem to be rushing or under any pressure. She was serene. Unruffled. Even bobbing and weaving to keep her from spotting him, he could see that this was her element.
And that had him worried all over again that he didn’t have a chance with her now. Why would she ever come back to a man who’d tried to bully her into giving up the work she loved?
As the guests started filling plates at the buffet, the sweet older lady who’d greeted him at the door took his arm. “I’ve been trying to place you. Now, let me guess. You’re Jerry’s cousin Silas, aren’t you?”
He made a vaguely agreeable sound that could have meant anything.
“I knew it.” The old lady chuckled. “I’m Marlena. So lovely to finally meet you, Silas.”
“Marlena, the pleasure is all mine.”
She squeezed his arm. “A big man like you? You must be starving.”
“Now that you mention it, that prime rib looks amazing.” There was a guy in a chef’s hat carving a giant, juicy-looking roast halfway down the buffet line.
Marlena let go of his arm and patted his back. “Well, get after it, Silas. And don’t be a stranger, you hear me now? I know you and Jerry have had your disagreements, but family is family. Jerry speaks of you often. He misses you terribly.”
By then, Jed was starting to feel a little guilty for letting the sweet old lady think he was someone he wasn’t. He gave her another grunt of agreement and hit the buffet.
Once he had a plate piled high with prime rib and several mouthwatering sides, he chose a table in the corner, kind of out of the way, with a pillar to duck behind whenever Elise came too close. A couple of guys who were probably at least Marlena’s age joined him. The food was delicious—no surprise there, given Elise’s talents in the kitchen. And the company was great, too. The old guys, Mervin and Bob, were brothers, WWII vets who’d both been at the Battle of the Bulge. The three of them were talking brilliant military maneuvers through history when Jed smelled clean sheets and knew he was busted.
She was standing right behind him. Dear God, just the smell of her...
Longing coursed through him. She bent close and a loose curl of her hair brushed his cheek. He had to order his grasping hands not to reach back and grab her. “Outside,” she whispered. “Now.”
When he dared to turn his head, she was already headed for the door. He made his excuses to Bob and Mervin and hustled out after her.
She led him halfway to the field where the cars were parked. Then finally, she stopped and braced her hands on those fine, full hips. “I’ve seen the guest list. You’re not on it.”
He kept his arms at his sides, though every muscle yearned to reach for her. “I needed to talk to you. I was going to wait until the party was over, I swear to you I was.”
Those coffee-brown eyes got softer—or was that just wishful thinking on his part? “It’s not the time, Jed. I’m working.”
“I know, but—”
“Look. If you’ll call me tomorrow, we can meet, okay? We can talk.”
Hope. He felt it now. A feather lightness in his chest, a burning in his brain. He only needed to grab her and kiss her, shove her in the Range Rover and drive away fast. Somehow, he kept himself from doing that. “Tomorrow? I’ll call, you’ll answer. You mean that?”
Her eyes were softer still. “I do.”
His control broke. “Elise.” He reached for her.
But she jumped back. “Not here. I mean it. Tomorrow. Please.”
It took all the will he had, but he put a lid on it. “Tomorrow. Okay.” And he made himself turn and head for his car.
He went back to his house.
But he couldn’t stay there. He stopped the car in the garage—and then shifted into Reverse and backed it right out.
Where the hell to now?
He knew where: her place.
* * *
The back door onto the parking lot was locked when he got there. But he went around front, bought a glazed donut and ate it as he wandered down the hallway past the restrooms. The door at the end was unlocked.
Did he feel like a stalker?
Maybe a little.
Too bad. She’d said she would take his call tomorrow. He was only moving the time frame up a little. Nothing wrong with that. He polished off the donut and ducked into the men’s room to rinse the sugar off his hands.
When he went back to the hallway, it remained deserted. He went on through the door at the end. Five steps more and he reached the stairs leading up to her apartment.
He went up and sat on the top step to wait.
An hour went by. And another. She still wasn’t back.
Well, fine. He would wait all night if he had to.
Eventually, he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He must have dropped off because he woke up to the sound of a motorboat speeding toward him.
“Wigs. What the hell?” Wigs didn’t answer, but the purring got louder. He pulled the cat onto his lap. “She’s not going to like finding you out here with me.”
Wigs reached up a hairy paw and gently patted his cheek. Jed stroked the thick orange fur. Eventually he leaned his head against the wall and went back to sleep.
The next time he woke, Elise was standing over him. The view was spectacular. But he tried his best to look regretful. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay away—and I have no idea how this damn cat got out. I was sitting here minding my own business and suddenly he was in my lap.”
She shook her head—at him. And at the cat in his lap, too. And then she said something wonderful. “Come on inside.”
So he rose and carried Wigs into the one-room apartment. It wasn’t fancy and it was much too small. Still, she’d made it cozy, with bright pictures on the walls and comfortable furniture attractively arranged.
“Homey,” he said, and it was, because she was there.
She took the cat from him. He waited while she opened a can and filled one of the cat bowls. Wigs dug in. She washed her hands and dried them, took the pins from her hair and shook it out on her shoulders, at which point he realized he would pay half his next advance to be allowed to sift his fingers through the coffee-colored strands.
But first things first. He held up a memory stick.
When she eyed it with wariness, he quickly explained, “This is the first three chapters of my next book. I wrote it using voice recognition software—which I have to admit, has come a long way since the last time I tried it.” Did she look doubtful? He couldn’t really blame her. “I get that the last thing you want or need right now is an update on Jack McCannon. But still, I’m asking you to bring this up on your laptop. I need you to see that I really did it—I wrote sixty-three pages without terrorizing a single innocent assistant.”
By then, those eyes had gone soft again and her beautiful mouth trembled. “I would love an update on Jack McCannon.” She whipped the stick from his hand and opened the laptop that waited on the counter. “There’s a beer in the fridge. Take another nap. Whatever. I’m going to need at least an hour. Maybe more...”
He did grab himself a beer. But sleeping? No freaking way. He sat on the sofa with Wigs draped along the back of it while she read the material through.
When she turned on her stool to meet his eyes at last, hers were suspiciously misty. “It’s good. It’s really good. I do have a few suggestions...”
He stood. “And I can’t wait to hear them.”
“But not right now.” She sounded slightly breathless. Breathless was excellent.
“No. Not right now.” He closed the short distance from the sofa to the counter. Gently, he guided a curl of hair behind her ear—and she let him. She even leaned a little into his hand. “I went to Bravo Catering today. It’s beautiful, what you’ve done with the bakery. And the wedding? I wasn’t even invited and I had a great time. The food was so good. And I watched you.”
Did she seem disapproving? A little. He couldn’t say he blamed her. She asked, “How long were you there?”
“I lurked for hours, ducking out of sight whenever you got near and I shamelessly pretended to be some guy named Silas.”
She laughed. “What in the...? Silas?”
“Long story. Doesn’t matter. What I mean is, you were doing what you love to do and you’re really good at it and it shows.” He caught her hand then, brought it to his lips and kissed it. “Elise, I was so wrong. I can’t even count the ways.”
Her eyes got misty. “Oh, yes you were. And I was so afraid, Jed. That you would never come for me.” A tear escaped then. It left a shining trail as it slid down the velvety curve of her cheek.
He wiped it up with a finger and put it to his tongue—salty. And very sweet. “I couldn’t come for you. Not until I knew what to do, how to move forward. And it’s been bad, Elise. Now I’ve been with you, none of it makes much sense if you’re not there.”
“Oh, I know the feeling.”
“I couldn’t stand for you to see me like that, desperate and scared. Trapped in a bad place, afraid I would never find my way out.”
“But Jed, you saw me like that the first morning I made you breakfast.”
He ran the backs of his fingers down the side of her throat. Her skin was cool velvet. “I remember that day. You made me French toast. Best I ever tasted.”
“And then I burst into tears and ran to my room and you followed me and listened to me pour out my sad tale of woe. You held me and comforted me and...well, you made it all better. I want to be the one who makes all better for you.”
He caught her face between his hands, bent down and pressed a kiss against those lips he would never get enough of tasting. “You do make it all better for me.”
“But you sent me away.”
“I told you. I didn’t want—”
“—me to see you like that. I heard you.”
“And there’s more,” he admitted. “It gets worse. After you, there was no way I was having another person in my office sitting in your chair, typing my words for me. No one could compare, that’s a simple fact. And then there was what you told me the day I asked you to leave, that I needed to get out of my own way, not be so hung up on my precious process. You were so right. Until I did change it up, until I proved to myself that I could make it happen on my own, there always would have been the danger that I would start in on you again, that I would try to manipulate you into typing my words for me, into saving my ass.”
She laid her cool, soft hand against his cheek. “I have more faith in you than that.”
“How can you? I did try to manipulate you. You told me repeatedly that you were done when the book was done and I refused to believe you.” He shook his head and grumbled, “And I can’t believe I’m confessing all this. I should keep my mouth shut. Quit while I’m ahead.”
“Uh-uh. You should be honest with me. And you are.” Her smile bloomed wide. “And I’m so glad. But I do need you to promise me that in the future, if things get bad for you, turning your back on what we have together won’t be an option. In the bad times, you have to let me be there for you, no matter how tough it gets for you. That’s part of what we are, part of you and me together.”
He couldn’t make that promise fast enough. “We have a deal. From now on, no matter how bad it gets, we’re both staying. Nobody gets away. There’s no escape. You’re stuck with me.”
“Good.” She said it so easily, with no hesitation.
He stroked a hand down her hair. “How’d I get so lucky to have a chance with you?”
“Well, you did agree to pay me four thousand a week—and then there was that jetted tub.” She was grinning.
And he couldn’t let another minute go by without saying it. “I love you, Elise.”
Color flooded her wonderful face. “And I love you, Jed.”
Words rose in his throat and he let them spill out. “I want to marry you. I want a life with you...” What was he saying? He was babbling like an idiot. He should shut up. But the words just kept coming. “It’s too early, right, to be asking you that? And there should be a ring. I know that. A ring with a diamond so big, you can’t possibly say no. I’ve botched it. I can see that. I’m doing this all wrong and I—”
“Jed.” She gazed up at him, surprisingly dewy-eyed after all his stupid blathering. “Yes.”
The world spun to a stop. “I don’t... I can’t... Did you just say yes?”
She laughed then, full out and glorious. “Yes, Jed. Yes, yes, yes!”
That did it. He kissed her—a proper kiss. Slow and wet and deep. And then he scooped her up, carried her over to the bed in the corner and got to work undressing her. Once all her beautiful curves were bare for him, he got rid of his own clothes, as well.
They stood together, naked by the side of her bed. “Come home with me tonight, you and the fur ball.”
“Yes, we’ll come home with you.”
“But first...” Taking her shoulders, he guided her down to sit on the edge of the bed. Then he kneeled at her feet. Looking up into her misty eyes, he saw the truth so very clearly. From the day his father died, nothing in the world had really made sense to him. There had been no one who claimed him, no one who felt like his own—not until now. “You’re everything to me, Elise. I can’t believe I’ve found you at last, can’t believe that you’re here, that you said yes, that you’re taking me back.”
“I love you, Jed.” She bent over him, close and then closer. He smelled her fresh scent, felt her breath in his hair, her soft fingers caressing his neck. She urged him up onto the bed with her and held him to her heart. He lost himself in the welcoming heat of her body.
Afterward, she fell asleep in his arms. He didn’t want to wake her, so they ended up staying the night in her little apartment.
In the morning, she made him French toast for breakfast. Then she packed up her suitcases and gathered all the cat stuff together. He helped her carry everything down to the cars. She followed him home.
When they got there, before she even brought Wigs in, he took her hand and led her out the open garage door, around to the winding front walk and up the wide porch steps.
“Wait right here.” He unlocked the door, stepped in just long enough to turn off the alarm and then stepped back out. She laughed as he swung her high in his arms and carried her over the threshold.
And then she kissed him. “I love you,” she said, her dark eyes shining. “I’m so glad you came to get me, Jed. I’m so glad you’ve finally brought me home.”
* * * * *