But it had never felt like home. Not for him. Yet the last time he’d been here, to pick up Daniel’s letter, he sensed a warmth and peace inside those same four walls the minute he stepped over the threshold. Erin had managed in a week what he hadn’t in eight months. She’d made the house a home.
A hollow ache pressed against his ribs, and he swallowed hard. He started to climb out of the van then hesitated.
What would he say? Where did he begin to explain all the tangled emotions in his heart?
Alec slipped his gun harness off his shoulder and locked it in the glove box. He didn’t want any reminders of his violent past around when he begged Erin for a fresh start, a second chance.
Before he lost his nerve, Alec strode up to the front porch, a bouquet of wildflowers in his arms, and took the steps three at a time.
Before he could knock, the door flew open, and Erin greeted him with a tearful gaze. “I think you have the wrong address.”
He flashed her a tentative smile. “I hope not. The card says they’re for the woman I love.”
She raised a trembling hand to her mouth. “Love?”
“I need to say how sorry I am for hurting her. And that I was hoping she’d give me a second chance. Does that woman live here?”
“But that night…at the warehouse you said—”
“I know. Forgive me. I needed you to believe I felt nothing, so you could move on with your life. Problem was, I found I couldn’t move on with mine…not without you in it.” He laid a hand on the bulge at her belly, more pronounced now than three weeks ago. His breath snagged in his throat. “You and the baby.”
Tears filled her eyes as she took the flowers from him, and he hurried on with his explanation, terrified she’d shut him out, send him away. “The thing is…I was afraid of loving you.”
“Afraid?”
“God, yes. Loving you scares me to death, sweetcakes.”
“Wh-why?”
He forced a laugh. “Come on. Marriage, diapers, mortgages and car pools. That stuff is terrifying to a guy like me.”
“But you’re a black ops agent… .”
“No.” He framed her face with his hands and whispered, “I’m a guy who has never had any semblance of a home life or family before.”
Erin’s face crumpled, and a tear broke free of her lashes. “Oh, Alec, I should have realized—”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Be my family, Erin. You and Little One.”
“But what about your work? What about the danger we’d be in?”
“I’m leaving the black ops team.”
She shook her head in confusion. “To do what?”
He shrugged. “I have options. I can train agents. Be a recruiter. Join the police force. I have enough in savings to float us for a long time while I decide what I do next.”
She grinned. “I have no doubt you can do anything you want to do.”
He swallowed hard and drilled her with an imploring gaze. “What I most want to be is a husband, a father, a family man. With you.”
Erin opened her mouth, and he heard a tiny hitch in her breath.
“Erin, I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or ever will love anyone. Marry me. Grow old with me. Have my baby.”
She blinked, her expression stunned. “I don’t know what to say.”
He grinned. “That’s gotta be a first.”
She gave him a hiccupping laugh as tears spilled from her eyes. “Yes. My answer is yes! I would love nothing more than to grow old with you and hold hands with you when we’re ninety.”
Laughing his joy and relief, Alec sank his fingers into her thick vanilla-scented hair and pulled her close for a deep kiss.
Eleven months ago, he’d launched a manhunt for his best friend in the jungles of Colombia. But in searching for Daniel, he’d found so much more than he ever dreamed possible.
He’d found his happiness. His soul mate. He’d found his home.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459230675
Copyright © 2012 by Beth Cornelison
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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.
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