“Aside from making love to you for so long that you’re physically unable to walk into the office−”
He saw a soft lump crawl down her throat.
“−I want with you all of the things I never thought I was capable of. Love. Laughter. Peace. I want to come home and hold you every night.” He shook his head. “But, even though I’ve worked hard to build a stable business, I’m still going to be called out to the field. I’m still going to carry the weight of my past. Underneath a suit, I’ll still be that man.”
“That man,” she echoed.
To his dismay, she turned away to stare at the sunset painting on her living room wall. This was it. The Ice Queen dismissal.
“That man attracted me long ago, and I hadn’t even met him. I spoke with him on the phone. I admired him from across an ocean. His grit. His strength. His intelligence−but he was just a voice back then. A man I had hired to assist some people in distress. Okay—” she nodded as he caught the soft profile of a smile, “—a man I hired to save BLUE-LINK’s ass.”
Ray chuckled. “You just cursed. I thought you didn’t curse.”
She turned her head to look at him. “I do a lot of things with you that I don’t normally do.”
With graceful precision, she turned and stepped towards him. “Then I met that man in person. Everything about him attracted me. He was everything I wanted to be. He harbored ghosts just like myself, and he conquered them. He is a businessman.” Her lips quirked. “I can relate to that.”
She took another step−close enough that he could reach her if he tried.
“And you are not afraid of me. You don’t place me on a pedestal that is impossible to climb. You treat me like the person I truly am. Someone with doubts, insecurities, a lust to do the right thing−”
Ray raised an eyebrow. “You said you wanted to be like me.” His voice was rough. “It sounds like you already are.”
The urge to reach for her had grown overwhelming, but he wanted her to take that last step.
“I work a lot,” she declared in a whisper.
“So do I.”
“I don’t know how to drive a car, and I don’t know many movies.”
“I saw your driving skills. I can work with you to improve them. And I don’t know many movies either. We can make a point to watch at least one movie a week.”
Something in her eyes flashed. Hope. Her shoulders quivered. The force with which he clenched his hands at his sides was liable to break several fingers, but he was determined to keep them off of her.
“I want to go back to upstate New York. To see the neighbors. To talk to them. To remember.” Blue eyes glanced up from under long lashes. “Will you go with me?”
“Of course.”
She glanced at the couch and then measured him for a moment. “I am planning a trip to South Africa. There is something I want to return there.” She looked again at her purse. “It belongs in a museum.”
Pain lanced his heart as he stared at the pensive silhouette of this beautiful woman.
“Are you sure?” he whispered.
Blonde hair skittered across her shoulders as she nodded. “Yes. It is something I need to do.” She looked up at him. “Will you go with me?”
“Of course,” he replied.
Under the scrutiny of that crystalline gaze he felt vulnerable in a manner he’d never experienced before.
“I love you,” she said.
To hell with restraint. His fingers unfurled and he reached for her hands, linking them.
“Quite an admission for the Ice Queen, don’t you think?”
A thin amber eyebrow arched. Her lips curved into a droll smirk.
“Yes, it is.”
Ray looked into her eyes, knowing he would forever lose himself in them.
“I love you, too,” he uttered.
Sun poured through the living room window and flashed across the ring on her right hand.
“How am I supposed to compete with that if I get you an engagement ring?”
Amanda’s smirk slipped into a beautiful smile. “I don’t want any more diamonds. If it comes to that, you’ll find something special and significant to both of us.”
He would hunt the world to find such a gem, but the brightest jewel stood right before him.
“Now,” she took that last step, releasing his hand so that her fingers could walk up his chest and climb over his shoulder. “Can we get back that part about you making love to me until I can’t walk?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller's first novel, WIDOW'S TALE earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. A great fan of the romantic suspense genre, nonetheless, Maureen decided to take an adventure into outer space with her bestselling BEYOND series. The BLUE-LINK series has brought her back down to Earth, and back to her romantic suspense origins.
Whether she’s watching her beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers or eating a giant bowl of mashed potatoes, you can always expect a smile from Maureen. Stop by and visit her on her website at www.maureenamiller.com
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