She rubbed her hand across the sprinkling of hair on his chest and listened to the slow beat of his heart. “I can’t help thinking about Caroline, the agony she must be living through.” Reaching up, she swiped at a tear. “She planned the rest of her life around Elliot, around her love for him.”
His hand on her hair stilled. “The man she loved didn’t exist.” He resumed his rhythmic stroking. “It’s probably better for her that he ended his own life, pulling the trigger of Jesse’s gun. Knowing he was locked up in a cell, enduring the ordeal of a trial after everything he did, would have been worse than dealing with her grief and somehow moving on.”
“She’ll have the support of her friends. The way I see it, Caroline was as much a victim of Elliot’s deception as the rest of us.” She frowned. “He was sick, had been for years. I think if the police look into his childhood, they’ll find he was abused by his foster parents.”
Dillon rolled onto his side and raised her chin, looking deep into her eyes. “I can’t work up much sympathy for Elliot, no matter what caused him to snap. If he’d hurt you...” He stroked the bandage on her cheek with his thumb and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I don’t think I can live without you, Brooke.”
The emotion in his eyes filled her so full of hope and love, she thought she might burst. “You don’t have to.” Cupping his face in her hands, she stared into his eyes, seeing each individual fleck of green in the gold. “But I need to be sure this isn’t just a reaction to your fear. I need to know it will last once life is back to normal.”
A smile spread across his face. “I don’t mind spending the next few decades proving how much I love you.” He kissed her again.
Desire shimmered through her, a slow lick of flame along her nerve endings.
“I do love you, Brooke. I did long before Elliot took you from me, but I was too stubborn to admit it, even to myself. I should have known all along that love and commitment don’t make life more complicated. They lend support and make it easier to handle problems.” He squeezed her. “Not to mention a hell of a lot more fun.”
“Are you going to love me when I’m in a bad mood and snap at you for leaving your socks on the floor, when Otis digs up every plant in your yard, when I ground your son for coloring pictures on the walls?”
His eyebrow shot up. “That’s the best you can come up with? Are you going to love me when I track mud through the house and ask why dinner isn’t ready yet? Are you going to love me when I can’t take you out to dinner for our anniversary because Zack is in a school play or has a baseball game?”
She let the words sink in, fill her with warmth. “Our anniversary?”
“You bet.” He kissed her, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth, stroking into her mouth with his tongue, teasing her until she was dying for more. He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Anniversaries are what people have when they’re married. Will you marry me, Brooke? I want to make love to you every night and wake up next to you every morning. I want you by my side through good days and bad. I want you to help me raise my son and be the mother of a half dozen more just like him.”
Tears ran down her cheeks, and her smile shook. “I love you, Dillon.” Reaching up with a trembling hand, she brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. “Yes, I’ll marry you, but we’ll have to talk about the half dozen kids.”
“I’m willing to negotiate.”
Laughing, she kissed him back and rolled with him in the tangled sheets. “In that case, let’s get started.”
A word about the author...
Write about what you know. Jannine Gallant has taken this advice to heart, creating characters from small towns and plots that unfold in the great outdoors. She grew up in a tiny Northern California town and currently lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband and two daughters. When she isn’t busy writing or being a full time mom, Jannine hikes and snowshoes in the woods around her home. Whether she’s writing contemporary, historical, or romantic suspense, Jannine brings the beauty of nature to her stories.
To find out more about Jannine and her books, visit her website at www.JannineGallant.com.
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More Titles from Jannine Gallant
and The Wild Rose Press
Victim of Desire
Lonely Road to You
After All These Years
Maybe This Time
Nothing But Trouble
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A Deadly Love Page 27