CHAPTER TEN

DANI SURFACED TO find herself lying on something soft. Somewhere close, people spoke in hushed tones. She strained her ears but couldn’t make out anything other than suppressed fury and concern.

For a couple of beats she wondered why there were people in her bedroom and tried to turn over, to block out the noise but a soft hand held her still as a cold cloth was pressed against her forehead.

Brow wrinkling in confusion, she reached up to swipe at the annoyance but warm fingers trapped hers.

“It’s all right, Dani,” a gentle, feminine voice soothed. “Take it easy. I can call you Dani, can’t I?” The low voice quivered with amusement. “Anyone who can turn my son into an avenging pugilist one minute and a panicked wreck the next is someone I’d very much like to meet.”

Something brushed her cheek.

“Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes before he calls an ambulance.”

Memory returned with the speed of a freight train and she lurched upward, her eyes flying open to see—Oh God—Dylan’s mother, her green eyes filled with maternal concern and curiosity. A few feet away Dylan paced, his body vibrating with fury as Maddie spoke in urgent undertones.

Panic rose up to blot out everything, because she knew—just knew—what Maddie was telling Dylan. All the sordid details of her marriage.

Her stomach roiled in greasy protest. “Nooo!” she moaned, trying to scramble off the sofa, as though she could physically stop the words from emerging.

Seeing the direction of her panicked gaze, Dylan’s mother caught her, calling out, “Children!” in a firm voice that children everywhere recognized and instantly obeyed. “You’re upsetting Dani.”

As one, they spun around. Within two strides Dylan was at her side, one large hand engulfing hers as he dropped down beside her. Intense green eyes swept over her, cataloging her condition.

“You’re looking a little better,” he rasped, his fingers lacing convulsively through hers. His dark gaze caught and held hers as though he could see through to her soul. “How do you feel?”

“F-fine,” she stammered, trying to disengage her hand from his and put a little distance between them. She needed to leave before she made a bigger spectacle of herself than she already had. And in front of his mother!

His fingers tightened. “You’re lying.”

She froze and blinked her surprise, her gaze flying to his mother, who was watching them with wide, curious eyes and a strange little smile on her face.

“What a terrible thing to say,” she accused in a low voice, pulling unsuccessfully at her hand. “And let go—you’re embarrassing me.”

“And you’re making me look bad in front of my mother and Maddie.” He lifted his free hand to cup her chin but Dani grabbed it, wincing at the sight of his bruised, swollen knuckles.

“Why haven’t you iced this?”

“I had other things on my mind,” he growled. “Like you fainting in the women’s restroom.”

He shoved impatient fingers through his hair. Dani was shocked at the pallor beneath his skin and the perceptible tremor in his fingers.

“You have no idea how I felt when I saw you passed out on the floor.”

She rolled her eyes and distracted herself by taking his hand and gently probing his injury. An injury sustained on her behalf.

“It’s probably just a little virus, that’s all,” she assured him, looking up to see Maddie and Dylan’s mother watching them with wide, fascinated eyes. Because she was angry with Maddie, for spilling her secrets, she said coolly, “Dylan needs an ice pack.”

Maddie’s gaze narrowed at the silent rebuke but didn’t look too disturbed when she gave a nod and left the room.

“Don’t blame Maddie. She was just trying to help—” Dylan began.

He was cut off when Dani hissed, “Help? How can airing my disaster of a marriage be helping?”

Clearly taken aback by her vehemence, Dylan hardened his jaw. “You should have told me yourself.”

“Why? Because we slept together?” She abruptly cut off the rest of her words because they still had an audience. Oh God—his mother was listening with rapt attention to their exchange.

Face flaming, Dani rose unsteadily to her feet but when she took a step away from him Dylan grabbed her hand and yanked her back to the sofa.

“Dylan!”

“Sit,” he ordered, pressing his fingers to her pulse. “I’m worried about you. When last did you eat?”

Her tongue snaked out to dampen her dry lips and instantly the older woman was there, offering a glass of water. “I’m fine,” she repeated, taking the glass. “But thank you,” she said quietly. “For your concern.”

“Yes, Mom, thanks—but you really should get back to the ball. Aren’t you in charge of proceedings?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, darling,” the older woman said, brushing aside his concern. “Janice Hetherington will take over.”

“No, please,” Dani said, her fingers tightening around the glass. “Mrs. St. James, I insist. I’m just sorry you had to witness—” She licked her lips nervously and slid her gaze sideways to include the man at her side. “Well...that. I’m sorry I ruined your function.”

“Call me Vivian, dear. And you haven’t ruined anything. Besides, you have nothing to apologize for,” Dylan’s mother declared firmly. “It was all Richard.” Her eyes went to her son. “And maybe Dylan too. But,” she added, when Dani opened her mouth to leap to his defense, “if he hadn’t punched him, I would have.”

To say Dani was shocked by the swift rejoinder was an understatement but the glint in the older woman’s eye told her she would have done it if her son hadn’t beat her to it.

Vivian St. James’ eyes bounced between Dylan and Dani for a couple of beats before she sighed. “Fine, I know when to make a graceful exit. But,” she said, pointing a slender finger at Dylan, “I expect you to bring Dani to meet your father.”

And with that she dropped a gentle kiss on Dani’s upturned cheek, arched a peremptory brow at her son and left the room in a swish of skirts.

For several moments Dani stared at the closed door, before turning to see Dylan watching her with an odd combination of concern, satisfaction and amusement.

She narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“My mother likes you.”

She puffed out her red cheeks. “I have no idea why—I embarrassed her.”

He chuckled. “No, I did. But since I brought you along she’ll forgive me.” His hand was warm and gentle as he cupped her chin and tilted it up. “You’re still looking a little pale. What’s up, Dani? Talk to me.”

Unable to handle the gentle concern and the look in his eyes, Dani pulled away and rose. She needed to put a little distance between them before she forgot they were only having a wild affair.

She inhaled carefully. “Like I said, it’s probably just a virus or something.” She smoothed unsteady hands down her dress and aimed a shaky smile in his direction. “I like your mother.” She bit her lip and pressed a hand against her stomach. “But maybe it would be better if I left.”

With a muffled curse Dylan surged to his feet and took a step toward her, coming to an abrupt halt when she sucked in a startled breath and stumbled backward into a nearby chair. She threw out a hand to catch herself before she took another tumble and added to the evening’s humiliation.


“Why do you do that?” he demanded. “Why do you pull away just when I think we’re getting somewhere?” He knew he sounded frustrated and bewildered.

She licked her lips nervously and edged toward the door. “Dylan—”

Dylan shoved his hands in his pockets, the abrupt movement filled with frustration. “I’d never lift my hand to a woman, so you can just stop right there. I’m not like your ex.”

Dani’s spine snapped straight. “I didn’t say you were,” she shot back.

Dylan was pleased to see angry color flood her pale cheeks, a sparkle replacing the remoteness in her eyes.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.”

Anger, he decided, was preferable to that wounded wariness that made him want to find her ex and break his nose all over again. And maybe a few other bones as well.

“It’s hard not to when you seldom put any there yourself.”

She sucked in a harsh breath. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He sighed, turning away. It wasn’t her fault that he wanted more than she was prepared to give, and beating at her with his exasperation would only cause her to withdraw even more. “I’m just wondering why you never told me what he did.”

“You expect me to spill my guts just because we s-slept together?”

Annoyed, Dylan shoved a hand through his hair, wincing when his swollen knuckles protested. “No...” He sighed again. “But I might have handled the situation better, handled you better, if I’d known.”

“What makes you think I need you—or anyone—to ‘handle’ me?” she demanded. “I can handle myself, Dylan. I’m an adult. I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me.”

Her unspoken words, I don’t need anyone, hung in the air between them and he wondered if she really believed it. If she did, he’d have a hard time convincing her to trust him.

Frustrated, he flung words over his shoulder. “I couldn’t just stand by and let him slash at you like that, Dani.” He faced her and demanded, “What kind of man would do that?”

Her body slowly lost its rigidity and she had the grace to grimace in apology. “I’m embarrassed,” she muttered, wrapping her arms around her torso as her gaze slid away. “I humiliated myself.” Her chin lifted. “I embarrassed your mother and now you...you—” She pressed her lips together.

“And now I what?”

She spun away, the rigid lines of her body radiating new tension. “Richard isn’t the kind of man who handles humiliation well,” she snapped over her shoulder. “He’ll—”

“I know exactly what kind of man he is,” he interrupted smoothly, annoyed that she would think the lawyer had intimidated him.

“He’ll do what he says,” she added, as though he hadn’t spoken. “He’ll pad the truth and come up with a dozen witnesses to corroborate his lies.”

“I don’t care about him, Dani. I care about you. And I care about what he said that had you fainting in the bathroom, that upset you so much that you’re repairing those walls around you faster than I can tear them down.”

His hands settled on her shoulders. He felt the bones delicate and fragile beneath his hands. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and wished she would lean on him, take what he offered.

“What hold does he have on you?”


Dylan’s hands were warm, firm and gentle as they cupped her shoulders. His touch, the deep tone of his voice, made her eyes sting with longing. It would be so easy to lean on him, to take what he offered.

But she couldn’t. Didn’t dare. Because...because she wanted it too much. And wanting things too much was a sure-fire way to get her heart broken. But he was there, so steady and strong that she couldn’t resist turning into him.

“He doesn’t,” she murmured, sliding her hands up to his shoulders to tunnel unsteady fingers through his hair. “Not anymore.”

With her eyes on his she lifted onto her toes, her body sliding against his as she pressed a soft, tentative kiss to the corner of his mouth. For just an instant he resisted. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to argue but then he gave a low, agonized groan and wrapped his arms around her in one jerky movement. His mouth, hard and seeking, closed over hers in a searing kiss that belied the abrupt strength in his arms, the tension in his body.

This, she thought with a shiver of excitement, was all she could give him.

“Come home with me,” he said, and groaned, his hands urging her closer, as though she was infinitely precious and fragile, smoothing a path up the length of her back, his body vibrating with heat and urgency.

She could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm and wondered if he felt what she did—a sense of rightness that scared her even as it made her yearn for what could never be.

With a rough growl he dragged his lips along the line of her jaw. “No...upstairs. I...can’t wait.”

Dani, lost in the pleasure of his mouth, fought with the buttons of his waistcoat and then his shirt. “Here,” she demanded, shoving her hands between the plackets to slide them over his hot skin. “Now.”

With a savage curse he swept her off her feet, and together they dropped onto the sofa against the wall. He shoved a thigh between hers.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he rasped against her lips, before taking her mouth in a kiss that was abruptly impatient. “I want this...you.”

And, thrilled by this new dark edginess, Dani lifted her mouth to his and gave him everything.


Sagging against the bathroom wall, Dani swiped the back of her shaky hand across her mouth. It was the second time she’d lost the contents of her stomach in the past twenty-four hours, and she couldn’t remember how often she’d lost them over the past few weeks.

Maybe it was time to admit it probably wasn’t a virus, or even stress. Maybe it could still be stress, she admitted with a grimace. They hadn’t yet heard from Richard, and that usually wasn’t a good thing. But, although the waiting was exhausting, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as waiting for Dylan to lose interest and dump her for someone more suitable. Someone more beautiful, more exciting, more...everything.

Someone not likely to embarrass him in public.

Although, she admitted reluctantly, he seemed to be showing no signs of losing interest. Instead, every day he seemed to be...more. More patient, more passionate, more... God...more tender, she thought with a delicious shiver. He touched her more often—and not just during sex—as though he wanted her to know he was there. Wanted her to get used to the weight of his hand, the heat of his body, even in a crowd of people.

And he’d made her crave him, she admitted with a touch of panic. Crave the way she’d awake locked in his arms. Crave being with him. And if that didn’t scare her enough, the way he kept hijacking her thoughts did. She thought about him at the most inconvenient times and she hated it. Hated it that he’d come to mean so much...

Oh God, she was in trouble. The kind that could break a girl’s heart if she wasn’t careful.

But Dani had learned the hard way to be very careful. Careful not to let the expression in his eyes and the touch of his hand as it smoothed the length of her spine affect anything more than her senses. And she was being extra careful with her heart, which was locked up tight and safe.

And that was a good thing. A very good thing. Or she’d be—

“So...” An annoyed voice interrupted her panicked thoughts. “When are you going to stop hiding in the supply room or the bathroom and tell me what’s going on?”

Dani opened her eyes to see two sneakers beneath the stall door—one propped over the other as though their owner leaned casually against the wall. She groaned. Amy gave new meaning to the word persistent.

She rolled her head against the wall, too exhausted to shove at the damp hair that had fallen into her face. “I’m fine,” she rasped through her burning throat.

The nurse muttered a succinct curse. “You’re still sick, aren’t you?”

Yeah, a little voice answered, love-sick.

No, no, no! she denied, aghast. Nothing of the sort. She was just a little stressed. Waiting for Richard to strike always made her tense.

“Of course I’m not sick,” Dani scoffed weakly because it was patently obvious to everyone that she hadn’t been herself lately. “I’m just hoping to escape your endless questions. I’m fit as a fiddle.”

Her friend made a rude sound in the back of her throat. “Then you won’t mind getting checked out by Rachel.”

Rachel, an ER physician in her fifties, was the shift supervisor.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Amy.”

Dani impatiently brushed her suggestion aside and pushed to her feet. Cursing the exhaustion that made her want to lie down and sleep for a week, she opened the door.

“I don’t need to see Rachel or anyone else. I’m just feeling a little under the weather, that’s all.”

“Okay,” the nurse said.

She sounded so agreeable that Dani relaxed as she headed for the row of basins to wash her hands and rinse her mouth. Too soon it seemed, because then came Amy’s next words.

“If you won’t see Rachel, then I want you to use this. Right now.”

Dani sent a frowning look over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw the slender box her friend held out.

“Seriously?” she demanded with a snort. “You want me to pee on a stick?”

Blue eyes stared back, level and serious. “Yes.”

Dani rolled her eyes and pulled off a strip of paper toweling to dab her face. “You know that’s not possible.”

“Because you have Asherman’s?” Amy asked mildly. “Or because you haven’t been getting any with a certain gorgeous orthopedic surgeon?”

Dani quickly looked around the bathroom, relieved to see it was empty. “Well, because... Because...” she stuttered, then snapped her mouth closed when she couldn’t think of a single reply other than You know why.

She turned away, pretending she was on top of things when the truth was she felt as though she was going down for the third time.

“Unprotected sex?” Amy yelped.

Dani gave a guilty start. A quick look over her shoulder showed her friend staring at her with open-mouthed shock.

“Seriously?” She shook her head as though to dispel the image. “Are you insane?”

Face flaming, Dani squawked, “A condom broke and then...and then we didn’t...um...” She rolled her eyes and snickered, because she couldn’t help feeling like a teenager facing her mother after being caught having sex in the sitting room. “We...um...didn’t bother after that. Mom.”

Amy snorted. “Let’s forget the safety issues for just a moment, shall we?” Grabbing Dani’s wrist, she pulled her back toward the stall she’d just vacated.

Resisting, Dani huffed out an exasperated laugh. “Amy—”

The nurse stopped and spun around so suddenly that Dani plowed into her.

“I care about you.”

The hitch in her friend’s voice, the concern, silenced any retort she might have made.

“You’ve lost weight, you’re pale and you have dark circles under your eyes. You’re a mess and I’m worried about you.”

After a couple dozen heartbeats Dani sighed and surrendered. She didn’t want to tell her friend that she was afraid she was in love with a man who was way out of her league—a man who was a member of a social class she could never belong to. Didn’t want to belong to, she reminded herself.

“All right,” she growled, grabbing the pregnancy test and stomping into the stall. She turned and jabbed it into the air. “If only to prove that your theory is totally off the wall. I’m a little run-down and I can’t shake this virus. That’s all.”

Secure in the knowledge that she was right, she shut the door smartly in her friend’s face. She was the doctor, wasn’t she? Surely she’d be able to tell the difference between a virus and early pregnancy? Even if it was possible.

Which it wasn’t.

Ten minutes later, however, she was staring in shock at the twin pink stripes in the results window. Her knees wobbled, her ears buzzed and her head felt as if it was two feet above the rest of her body.

“But... But that’s—”

“Impossible?” Amy demanded, her face alternating between delight and shock that probably mirrored Dani’s.

“But...but... Dr. Cartwright said... He said—”

“Well, clearly he was wrong,” Amy interrupted, practically shoving the stick under Dani’s nose. “Doctors sometimes are, you know. They aren’t infallible and they aren’t God.”

Dani refused to believe it. “These things aren’t definitive either, Amy,” she said briskly, grabbing the box to check the use-by date. “They’re often defective and give false positives. I have Asherman’s.”

“Well, clearly you don’t,” Amy retorted smartly. “And to make certain, why don’t you schedule an appointment with Dr. Dawson? Getting a second opinion won’t hurt.” Her eyebrows arched challengingly. “Will it?”

Yes, dammit, it would hurt. Especially if she got her hopes up and it turned out to be a faulty test. It would... She’d be devastated.

“Fine,” she said calmly. “But I’m telling you it’s a false positive. I’m not pregnant.”

She shook her head firmly and for an instant wondered who she was trying to convince. Herself or Amy.

“I can’t be pregnant. It’s just not possible.”


She was pregnant.

Fierce joy warred with disbelief and panic as Dani gripped the steering wheel until her fingers ached. Driving off the ferry at Departure Bay, Nanaimo, she was scarcely aware of the stream of cars and throng of people around her.

For God’s sake, she lectured herself silently as her heart pounded and her vision wavered. Get a grip. She was pregnant, not dying. But damn if she wasn’t hyperventilating—in a good way—at the notion of life growing in her belly. And hyperventilating—not in a good way—at the thought of telling Dylan.

A keening moan escaped before she could shove it back. It was the very last conversation she wanted to have. Not after assuring him they were safe. Not after the best month of her life. And like an idiot, she even found herself dreaming of a future with Dylan—which was ridiculous, especially as she’d been the one to insist they were temporary. He’d think she was trying to trap him and he’d be furious. She couldn’t blame him but it would be the end of anything good between them.

Her belly clenched, then rolled greasily with panic. Could it really be true? Perhaps what she and Nicole Dawson had seen was a cyst...or a tumor? She couldn’t be so lucky as to be pregnant, could she? Not after the past few years of hell. Not after that devastating diagnosis.

Maybe she should have another scan to be sure. Maybe the sonar had been faulty and maybe—

A bubble of hysterical laughter popped, loud enough to startle her. She was losing it. Maybe she should just book herself into the psych ward because she was clearly having a mental breakdown.

There was no mistake.

She’d seen that little blob on the sonar herself, heard the unmistakable sound of a fetal heartbeat through the roar of blood in her ears. And, despite the shock, she’d distinctly heard the gynecologist say, “Congratulations, Dani, you’re pregnant.”

Nicole had laughed and pointed to the monitor, where the tiny buds attached to the blob were moving like crazy, as if Dani’s child was waving at her and saying, Hey, Mom, look at me. I’m here.

“Look at that,” Nicole had said, moving closer to the monitor. “I’ve never seen anything like it in such a young fetus.” She’d grinned as she’d tapped a few commands into her computer. “This little one’s already a fighter.”

And in that instant Dani had fallen completely in love.

The baby she’d never thought she’d have was already more than a heartbeat, already more than a dream. In a shocked daze she’d barely heard the specialist promise to send her a video of the scan. She didn’t recall heading down to the ER, clutching her prenatal prescription, to arrange a couple of weeks off before getting into her car and driving with no real destination in mind.

She’d found herself at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal and had purchased a ticket to Vancouver Island before she’d even known that she was heading home.

Pressing a shaky hand to her belly, where a miracle bloomed, where life blazed defiantly despite the odds, Dani wondered how her parents would react to the news that their divorced daughter was pregnant. How they would feel about her bringing up her child alone.

They loved her and would support her no matter what—she knew that. It wasn’t like a hundred years ago, or even fifty, when women had been ostracized for having children out of wedlock. She’d be fine. They’d be fine. Lots of women brought up children alone and they turned out great. It wasn’t as if she needed a man. She didn’t. She had a great support system who would only be too happy to help.

The last thing she wanted was a man around just for the sake of his child. Not that she would keep the child from Dylan, Dani mused but that kind of relationship was doomed to fail from the start. Considering her one and only attempt at marriage had been such a disaster, there was no way she’d attempt another.

Besides, Dylan didn’t love her. How could he? They’d only known each other a short time—although it seemed much longer. He liked the sex they were having but he didn’t love her and probably never would. What they had was explosive chemistry, and even explosions eventually lost energy and petered out.

Would he think she’d lied? Probably. Would he think she’d deliberately tried to trap him? Definitely.

Oh God, she thought with a shudder, he was going to be furious. He’d demand she get rid of it and then he’d make sure she lost her job, and—

No, she chastised herself. That was Richard—not Dylan. But that didn’t mean he’d want to be tied to her because of an unplanned pregnancy. She knew how he felt about that. About that woman in West Africa.

It might be the worst possible time to discover that her scarring had healed but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—be sorry. Not when she so desperately wanted this baby. Her baby.

A little thrill worked its way past the panic. Her little miracle. Hers and Dylan’s.

Dylan. Panic replaced the thrill until her chest ached and her vision swam. What would she say? What could she say?

Oh, by the way, remember I told you I have Asherman’s? Well...funny story...seems like the doctor was wrong. And not only was he wrong but I guess he miscalculated the possibility of me falling pregnant too. So how do you feel about being called Daddy?

Sure—she could just imagine how well that would go down.

Not.

He deserved to know—he was going to be a father, after all—but not yet. Not until she’d had time to get used to the idea herself—time to accept that a miracle had touched her life. And time, she thought fatalistically, to brace herself for the fallout.


For the seventh time in less than two minutes Dylan checked the address Maddie had given him and tried to ignore the annoying GPS voice telling him he’d reached his destination.

That was really great, he thought dryly as he studied the neat house overlooking the Georgia Strait, where Dani had supposedly grown up. But what it didn’t tell him was why she’d come here when her life and her job were in Vancouver.

He’d had no idea that she’d even been thinking of leaving the city. Leaving him. Early Wednesday morning, when he’d gone to the ER in search of her, he’d been missing her and planning a romantic weekend away. He’d found her curled up on the sofa in the break room and something powerful had moved through him as he’d dropped to his haunches and smoothed the messy curls off her face.

He’d kissed her soft sleepy mouth, his body tightening when she’d hummed in the back of her throat and slid languid fingers through his hair. He’d left her looking flushed and aroused, as though she’d been missing him too.

By the next day she was gone.

For almost forty-eight hours she hadn’t answered her phone or returned any text messages. He’d been frantic, thinking something bad had happened to her, and had called every hospital in the city to find out if she’d had an accident and wasn’t able to call him. For God’s sake, she’d been dizzy and nauseous for weeks—she could have passed out behind the wheel of her car.

When he’d finally heard from her it had been a hurried voice message saying that something had come up and she’d be out of town for a while.

That had been a week ago—which was how long it had taken him to clear his schedule and, more importantly, track her down.

The ball of slow-burning anger that had lodged in his chest right beside fear and concern flared brighter. She’d kissed him as though she couldn’t get enough—as though he was more to her than a colleague and neighbor with benefits—and then she’d just walked away.

He hadn’t heard anything from her since that cryptic message five days ago that had made his gut clench with fear and his chest tighten.

“Hi, it’s Dani,” she’d said, sounding shaky. “I’m... Uh... Something came up and I’ll be out of town...a while.” She’d paused and exhaled noisily before continuing. “Look, Dylan, I...we...” She’d cleared her throat. “Oh boy,” she’d muttered. “This is hard. There’s just a few...um...things I need to take care of. I’ll... I’ll call you, okay? Soon...later. Um...bye.”

It was obvious even to a blind man that she was either in some kind of trouble or she was dumping him. And if she was in trouble why hadn’t she come to him? Surely she knew he’d be there for her? Surely she had to know that he was falling for her?

Hell, he’d done everything but give her the words.

Was that why she’d run? Why she wasn’t answering or returning his calls? Had she realized that he’d ignored their “temporary” rule and started thinking long-term? Had she panicked because she wasn’t feeling the same?

Neither her friends in the ER nor Maddie knew anything—or if they did they weren’t talking.

When he’d called Cole’s sister to find out if she knew where Dani had gone, and why, the first words out of her mouth had been, “What have you done?”

Maybe he was a clueless male but he had absolutely no idea. And if he listened to her voice message over and over—more to hear her voice than to figure out what she wasn’t saying—no one had to know but him.

Her disappearance had hit him hard, left him reeling. He’d sat on his empty houseboat feeling as though someone had ripped open his chest and stuck a jagged stake through his heart. Unable to stand his bed without her in it, he’d crashed on the sofa, only to stare at the roof all night.

It was during those dark hours that he’d finally admitted the sobering truth. He wasn’t falling for Dani. He’d already fallen—with a rude jolt. And, lying there, all he’d been able to think about was how bleak the future would be without her in it.

He was crazy in love—the can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t think kind of insanity—with a woman who gave covert ops a bad name. Hell, special forces could learn a thing or two about escape-and-evade tactics from one sweet and frustratingly elusive ER doctor with big gray eyes and a husky laugh.

But, then again, Dylan hadn’t become the best reconstruction ortho surgeon in British Columbia by sitting back and letting success come to him. And he’d be damned if he’d meekly wait around for Dani to get around to dumping him in person.

He knew about her marriage and he understood why she was wary of men and commitment. But she hadn’t really given them a chance. The entire time they’d been together she’d had one foot out the door, despite all his efforts to lure her all the way in.

Now, clenching his jaw, he shoved open the Jeep’s door and slid out, slamming it behind him, ignoring the fear edging his frustration. He had to get her back, he admitted to himself. Life just wasn’t the same without her.

Looking forward to the coming confrontation, he started down the driveway to the house and took the steps in a single bound. Dani’s battered sedan was the only car out front, so he was confident he had the right address. But after five minutes of punching the doorbell he was still outside, cooling his jets.

After a brief battle with himself he set off around the house, beginning to panic because she might be lying injured somewhere. Maybe she was still dizzy and had fallen and hit her head. Maybe she was bleeding out and needed an ambulance. Maybe... Yeah, he thought with a disgusted snort. And maybe he needed to get a damn grip.

She could be out shopping or... Or out with another man, he thought darkly. Maybe this wasn’t her parents’ house but the home of an old lover—or maybe a new lover. Maybe she’d met someone else and didn’t know how to tell him.

Battling his visions of her lying helpless and unconscious—or laughing with another man—he headed around the house, passing flowerbeds in a profusion of colors and a neat vegetable garden that looked well-tended, reaching a sprawling deck overlooking the strait. Although it was obvious by the empty glass and abandoned book that someone had recently been sitting there, it was now deserted. The sliding doors were locked and the house appeared empty.

He was just about to return to his car and wait for someone to show up when he noticed an open gate at the end of the landscaped garden. Realizing it opened onto some steps that led to the beach, he followed his instincts and found himself on a sweep of forest-ringed sand littered with rocks, driftwood and beach debris.

A visual sweep told him it was deserted, except for a single figure about a quarter-mile away. He knew instinctively that it was Dani, sitting hunched on the sand while a dog played in the nearby surf, barking at the seagulls and chasing the crabs.

At the sight of her something in his chest expanded and squeezed with a painful clench. Anger flared, and even if it hid an all-encompassing relief that she was okay he wasn’t about to let it distract him from his purpose. He was going to get answers and he was done with playing her games.

Flexing his jaw, Dylan took off down the beach toward the only person in the world who could make him crazy. The one woman, he’d realized this past week, he could not—would not—live without. She’d sneaked past his defenses, burrowed under his skin and dug deep furrows into his soul, filling them with her sweetness, her surprisingly wicked sense of humor and with the quiet gray eyes that could look into him and see everything.

She’d teased him with something he never thought he’d find.

A future.

Now all he needed was to get her to accept that he could be her future too.