by Gina Wilkins
Even as Dani blinked in disorientation, Teague shot out a hand to hit the light switch, making the room go dim again. “Let’s just keep the rest of the world outside for a little while, shall we?” he asked, shutting the bedroom door.
She caught his hand and tugged him toward her. “I think it’s going to be longer than a little while.”
Laughing softly, he tumbled with her down onto the bed.
Epilogue
Nobody said relationships were supposed to be easy, Teague reminded himself as he walked into the kitchen of his house, still sweating from the heat of a blazing September day that had long since faded into an oppressively sultry night. He vaguely remembered being lectured by Mrs. Parsons, back when he’d been trying to analyze his feelings for Dani. His former neighbor had told him then that keeping a marriage together was hard, and that it required a lot of compromise and concessions.
Some of his friends and acquaintances had expressed concern that a union between a workaholic FBI agent and a one-time pampered princess would be extremely difficult, with her expecting more than he could give, and him forgetting to observe the little niceties that kept such a woman satisfied. Expect problems, he’d been told, sometimes subtly, sometimes quite bluntly. He should brace himself for the possibility of failure.
He had listened politely to all those warnings, he thought now, looking around the empty kitchen, but he hadn’t let them dissuade him from marrying Dani after a whirlwind courtship. He’d been absolutely, rather naively, convinced that they could overcome whatever adversities life threw at them, that their love would be strong enough to weather the storms.
He had been uncharacteristically optimistic, blithely certain that he and Dani were meant to be together, firmly assured that they would find a way to hold their relationship together, even though so many others in his profession—in every profession, for that matter—fell apart beneath the strain of everyday aggravations.
Walking through the quiet hallways and up the empty stairs to the bedroom, he wondered now, as he sometimes did, what had made him so quick to believe that he and Dani would succeed where so many others had failed. It hadn’t been at all like him to let his heart lead him when common sense tried to hold him back. It had been the only time in his adult life when he’d allowed himself to be a romantic fool, ignoring his deeply ingrained warnings of danger and rushing recklessly into unfamiliar terrain.
Shaking his head in bemusement at how foolishly love-struck he had been, he opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.
Dani sat in a little chair in front of the antique vanity she’d found at an estate sale, spreading a scented cream onto her arms, which were bared by the thin white summer nightgown that fell softly over her perfect curves. She jumped up with a gasp when he entered the room, and then rushed straight into his arms.
“I didn’t even hear you come in,” she scolded between eager kisses. “When did you get back?”
“Just now,” he replied, pulling her more snugly against him, even though he was rumpled and sweaty and she was clean and rose scented. He figured they could take a shower together. Later. “I came straight up to find you.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked, holding herself away from him for a moment.
“Starving,” he assured her, and reached for the hem of her gown. It had been a long three days since he’d last seen her.
Laughing, she fell onto the bed with him. They had learned never to waste a moment of their time together. While they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves when they were apart, it was times like these that recharged them, giving them strength and encouragement to face the demands of their very busy lives.
So maybe it wasn’t always easy, Teague thought, losing himself in Dani’s arms. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. But, despite anyone’s reservations, including their own, he had been absolutely right: the love he and Dani had found together as friends and neighbors was well worth any effort it might take to keep it alive for a lifetime.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1804-2
THE MAN NEXT DOOR
Copyright © 2008 by Gina Wilkins
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