Charlotte's Homecoming
Page 21
It was going to be a very long time before he’d be comfortable taking his hands off her, never mind letting her out of his sight.
She only nestled closer and gripped his T-shirt, just as she had earlier.
“It’s going to be embarrassing,” she murmured, “when we check out and the desk clerk realizes we only wanted the room for an hour.”
Gray laughed. “I’ll just leave a tip and the key. They have my credit-card number. We don’t have to face anyone.”
She raised her head and peered at him. “Do you think you can make it home now?”
As sated as he felt, still his muscles tightened. “Only if you’re really coming home. With me.”
Charlotte didn’t hesitate. “Dad and Faith won’t know I’m not in San Francisco. Although I suppose I should call Faith tonight—she must have told you when my flight was.”
“Yeah. She wished me luck.”
Charlotte was quiet for a minute. “Gray…are you still mad?”
“God, no! I just…reacted. You couldn’t help what you felt. And I can see that you’d do anything for Faith.”
Some indefinable tension left her body. “I wish you’d said, when you left that message.”
“Would you have stayed if I had done that?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I don’t know.” Pause. “Probably not. I was pretty shaken up. Mostly because…”
“Of what you felt when we made love.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “It was so much. Too much.”
“No. Not too much.” He rolled onto his side, so he was facing her, and reached over her to turn on the lamp. He wanted to see her face when he proposed. But first he smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “Cute.”
Charlotte wrinkled her nose. “It was this, or dye it again.”
“Uh-huh.” He stroked her cheek, touched his thumb to her mouth. “So which is it? New you, or old?”
Her smile was sassy. “Which do you think?”
“New,” he said in a husky undertone. “Definitely new.”
“That’s what I think, too.” She nipped his wandering thumb. “You know, we could keep the hotel room for two hours.”
“Yeah.” He was already aroused again. “We could. But first…”
Something in his tone made her eye him warily. “First?”
“We haven’t known each other very long.”
“No.”
He cleared his throat. “Are you really staying?”
“I’m really staying. I had an interview yesterday. Did Faith tell you?”
Gray nodded.
“It’s a great job. I really want it. But no matter what, I’ll hold out for one up here.”
He sucked in a breath. “Will you marry me, Charlotte? I never believed in love at first sight, but it happened to me when I walked into the barn that day. I want you forever.”
Her face lit, her eyes sparkled. “Yes! Oh, Gray, I love you!” She scrambled atop him, making him wince a few times even as he gathered her in. “You didn’t think I threw away the cost of an airline ticket just so we could tumble in bed for a couple of hours, did you?”
“That did give me hope,” he told her, his hands framing her face again just so he could look at her.
Happiness, he thought, with a peculiar shaft of pain and pleasure, made Charlotte Russell truly beautiful. He had every intention of ensuring she stayed beautiful for the rest of her life.
“I love you,” he told her, and drew her down to him until their lips met.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6063-8
CHARLOTTE’S HOMECOMING
Copyright © 2010 by Janice Kay Johnson.
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 publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at Customer_eCare@Harlequin.ca.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
†Under One Roof
†Under One Roof
†Under One Roof
*Lost…But Not Forgotten
*Lost…But Not Forgotten
*Lost…But Not Forgotten
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN