Luke closed his eyes, and for the first time, Jane saw his vulnerability. She’d always thought of him as invincible, which she realized now she’d used as an excuse for treating him badly. An indescribable mix of emotions played across his face.
“Jane, I don’t want you as any of those things, either.”
His words, spoken slowly and with deliberation, hit her low in the belly. Maybe she’d wreaked irreparable damage, and maybe her chance with Luke was lost.
He opened his eyes and penetrated her with his dark, sensual gaze. “I love you. I want you in my life permanently.”
Jane blinked again and again, stunned to silence. Before she realized she was crying, she felt Luke’s fingertips on her cheek, wiping away the dampness.
“Do you mean—”
“Shh,” he said, putting a fingertip to her lips. “Let’s do this right.”
Ignoring the seat-belt signs lit up in the cabin, Luke unbuckled his, and Jane followed suit as he tugged on her hand. When he had her standing in the aisle, he knelt on one knee, and people all over the cabin began straining their necks to see what was going on with the man and the crazy bridesmaid chick.
Holding both her hands in his, he looked into her eyes, oblivious to the stares. “You are the most amazing, exciting woman I’ve ever known. Will you marry me, Jane Langston?”
“Yes,” Jane whispered, her voice suddenly failing her.
Applause burst out in the cabin, and nearby passengers congratulated them as Luke stood up and took her into his arms. When he kissed her, Jane knew she’d finally figured out the difference between the wants of a girl and the needs of a real, grown-up woman.
Epilogue
“When in doubt, follow your heart. The answers are more often found there than in the pages of a self-help book.
—Jane Langston, from her newly titled work-in-progress, Sex and Sensuality
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, one week later
“NO, MOM, I do not want little girls dressed up as fairies sprinkling fairy dust down the aisle before I walk out.” Jane looked over at Luke, reclined on the bed wearing nothing but a lazy smile, and rolled her eyes.
He patted the empty space on the bed beside him and gave her a meaningful look.
But Jane knew she wasn’t going to get off the phone that easily with her mother, not after just having told her about their marriage. They’d decided to elope privately on the beach in Puerto Rico, but they both were in agreement on doing a “real” wedding for the family later, once they’d enjoyed a lengthy honeymoon in the Virgin Islands.
“Honey, don’t you worry, we’ll get all the details settled when you get home. I just want you to know, we’re proud of you, very, very proud.”
Jane found herself gripping the phone a little too tightly, straining to be sure she’d heard her mother clearly.
“You’re proud of me for eloping?”
“Of course not. Don’t get me wrong, Luke seems like a fine man, but I mean I’m proud of you. Not just all you’ve accomplished with your book, and not just the way you defended yourself against that awful man at the wedding, but you—the lovely woman you’ve grown into.”
Jane leaned against the door frame, stunned to silence.
“Maybe I forget to say it, and I know I’ve been preoccupied with Heather’s wedding…”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Well, I’ll let you two lovebirds get back to your honeymoon.”
When Jane hung up the phone, she gave Luke a stunned look. “That was weird.”
“You can tell me all about it later. Right now I have plans for us, and they don’t involve talking about your mother.”
Jane untied her white silk robe and shrugged it off her shoulders, letting it fall in a puddle at her feet. “Those sound like my kind of plans.”
“Come here, woman.” He pulled her onto the bed on top of him, encircling her in his arms.
Ever since she’d told Luke about what happened at the wedding reception with Eli, he’d been even more protective of her than usual, always wanting her within the safe haven of his arms.
Jane ran her hands up his bare chest and neck, then buried them in the dark curtain of his hair. “So what are these plans, anyway?”
He nudged her legs open with his knees, and she felt his erection pressing against her, where she was already wet and ready for him. He slid inside, and Jane expelled what she had come to recognize as the sigh of a well-pleasured woman.
“I was just thinking about your next book,” he said.
“Hmm?” Jane became less and less interested in conversation with each delicious thrust.
“Now that you have a more balanced view of men thanks to me, maybe you could write a little letter of appreciation to me at the beginning.”
She smiled. “Oh, believe me, I’ve got a letter of appreciation for you.”
“Good, then you’re already thinking about what you should say.”
“Mmm-hmm. ‘To my dear husband Luke, thank you for always remembering when to shut up and make love to me.’”
“That’s not quite the message I had in mind,” he said, then paused to give her a long, slow kiss. “But I get the point. We’ll continue this conversation later.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7284-6
WHAT A GIRL WANTS
Copyright © 2003 by Jamie Sobrato.
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