by Gail, Stacy
“Alive I can do. ‘Well’ may not be totally accurate.”
“I don’t know,” she countered, raising her hand to his face. “You look pretty good to me.”
“You think so?” He draped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his big, warm frame. “I love you, Beth, and I want you to have the wonderful life you deserve. Do you think I’m the right guy to make you happy?”
She swallowed against the lump suddenly blocking her throat. “I love you, and I think I always have. My life changed for the better the moment I laid eyes on you, Captain Walker.”
“Don’t call me that.” He grimaced. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be that man again, that thrill-seeking officer who threw himself at deployments like he was immortal. I need to know that you love who I am now—that you love the man I’ve become.”
Her heart clenched as she trailed her thumb down his cheek. “I love who you were, I love who you are and I love who you’ll be.”
“And I love you for making me a better man than I ever thought possible. I can’t wait to find out what the future holds for us.”
Beth grinned, her heart filling with a deep sense of security and contentment that she’d never known before. She loved this man, and that was all that mattered. Everything else would fall into place, one way or another.
Chris smiled suddenly, that same charming, face-lighting beam that had blown through all her defenses way back in June. “Remember the first time I called you from Afghanistan? Do you remember what I promised?”
“That you’d be home for Christmas.”
“And here I am.” He hugged her into his chest and pressed his lips against her temple, his voice a soothing whisper against her ear. “Finally, truly home.”
* * * * *
About the Author
Rebecca Crowley inherited her love of romance from her mom, who taught her to at least partially judge a book by the steaminess of its cover. She writes contemporary romance with smart heroines and swoon-worthy heroes, and never tires of the happily-ever-after. Having pulled up her Kansas roots to live in New York City and London, Rebecca now resides in Johannesburg, South Africa. Find her at rebeccacrowley.net and on Twitter at @rachelmaybe.
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ISBN-13: 9781426897467
GIFTS OF HONOR
Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
ISBN-13: 9781426897474
Copyright © 2013 by Stacy Gail Shoeman
HERO’S HOMECOMING
ISBN-13: 9781426897481
Copyright © 2013 by Rebecca Crowley
Edited by Angela James
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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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