He took her face in his two hands. “No more of this.” His voice was rough with barely contained emotion. “I can’t stand it. You’re what I want, you and Ginny. You are my love. My only love. Whatever you want, Mary. However you want it. I’ll marry you in a minute. I swear it. I’m here now, and I’ve got you in my arms. And I am never letting go.” He kissed her then, her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her chin—a rain of kisses, falling fast and sweet.
“Gabe. Oh, Gabe….” She lifted up on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his in a kiss that was long and deep. And when she finally dropped back on her heels, she told him, “I love you. I should have been more patient, more understanding.” She touched the side of his face, in wonderment that he was really there, with her, again. At last.
He caught her wrist, and smiled in pleasure to see she wore the bracelet he’d bought for her.
She sniffed back joyful tears. “I’m so glad I finally had the sense to open that pretty box you left behind. The other beautiful things you gave me…they were in the jewelry box in my bedroom, and my bedroom is gone.”
He looked at her with the same joy she knew was shining in her own eyes. “They’re only things, Mary. You and Ginny are safe. Everyone came out alive, right?” He waited for her nod before he added, “That’s what matters.”
She whispered, “I was coming to get you, Gabe. Today, as a matter of fact. But here you are. Oh, Gabe. Here you are…”
“I love you, Mary.” He said it softly, honestly, with no hesitation, looking straight in her eyes. “Marry me. Please.”
“Oh, Gabe. Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if I wasn’t.” He took her by the shoulders, his gaze steady. True. “Believe me, it’s not a thing I take lightly.”
“Then, yes. Oh, yes!” She grabbed him close again.
They held each other there in the dusty yard, the smell of soggy ash heavy in the air, by the smoldering ruin that had been the barn, oblivious to the firefighters rolling their hoses, stowing their ladders, getting ready to go.
The sky grew lighter. Morning had come.
And the Bravo Bachelor had found his own true love, at last.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3128-7
THE BRAVO BACHELOR
Copyright © 2009 by Christine Rimmer
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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