"Don't you dare." Tears filled her eyes, even as her lips were quivering into a wholly reluctant smile. "Don't you dare try to make me laugh."
"I want to make you laugh." He walked around the table to stand before her. "I want to make you happy, Shelby. What I never want to do again, is to make you cry." He traced the dark shadows under her eyes with his thumbs, noting her reddened, swollen eyes with remorse. "I love you, Shelby."
"I thought you did," she whispered achingly. "But when Paul…" Her voice broke off as she stifled a sob.
"Whitley!" Garrett said with contempt. "He blew any chance he might've had to ever work for me." His blue eyes narrowed to angry slits as he thought of the trouble and misery Whitley's spiteful trip had caused. "Forget Whitley, I already have." Not that he would ever forgive the other man's interference. It was not the McGrath way.
He reached for Shelby, pulling her into his arms. She went stiffly, but did not fight him. Her body, though physically exhausted, had taken over for her mind. And she craved his nearness, the warm strength of him that she feared she would never experience again.
He held her pressed tightly against him, lightly stroking her hair. "You feel so good in my arms," he murmured huskily. "We only spent one night apart but I missed you so much it felt like a part of me was missing." The feel of her firm, rounded breasts crushed against him stirred his body into hard, urgent arousal. "I have the key to cottage 101. Come with me, sweetheart."
"Just like that?" Shelby's voice was still raspy. She felt what was happening to his body and it evoked a piercing, sensual response deep within her own. But the lingering pain of last night's misery had not yet been dispelled. "You want me to go to bed with you and forget all about what's happened?"
Garrett sighed. "Who said anything about going to bed? I asked you to come to the cottage with me. We can talk privately there. You'll agree that we do have a lot to talk about?"
She drew back a little and the glance she gave him was almost admiring. "You really are slick, McGrath."
"Thank you, I think." He took her hand and led her out of the house, down the path to cottage 101. "But it's not a good thing to be too, uh, slick. I need a woman around who won't let me get away with it all the time."
"You have your grandmother and at least four of your sisters to do that."
"Yeah, but ultimately, they end up kowtowing to me. They've fallen victim to my infallibility myth. There are times when I believe it, too, and that's not good. I need a woman around to remind me that I can be wrong at times. And when I'm wrong, I'm wrong in a big way."
She gazed up at him as they walked hand in hand. Despite what had gone on between them last night, at this moment all she could feel was an overpowering sense of rightness at being with him. She loved him, it was that simple. Whatever arguments or obstacles arose between them was secondary to that powerful, elemental fact. And Garrett loved her. He was trying so hard to be penitent. Suddenly she was both touched and amused by his attempts to humble himself for her.
"For example, the way I handled this Halford House mess was inexcusable," he continued glumly.
A sudden smile broke over her face, lighting her weary hazel eyes. "I assume you're talking about the misunderstanding?"
Garrett stopped in his tracks and stared down at her. He instantly comprehended her understanding, her forgiveness.
"Shelby!" He breathed her name adoringly. In a spontaneous burst of relief and joy, he picked her up and swung her around once, twice, three times, before setting her back on the ground. "I love you so much," he groaned, holding her tight.
Shelby closed her eyes and hugged him back. "I know. I love you, too, Garrett."
"And you'll marry me?" he pressed urgently. "As soon as possible?"
She nodded. "Although now that the big secret is out, we don't have to follow your desperate timetable. We can have the wedding and reception here at Halford House a few weeks from now. Your whole family can fly in and stay here. They really ought to inspect the newest McGrath holding, don't you agree?"
"I most definitely agree, my darling," Garrett said, scooping her up into his arms.
"And I think we need some time alone, just the two of us, before adding a little McGrath to our family," Shelby continued. Why stop now? She was on a roll here.
"Agreed." He kissed her, sealing the bargain, then proceeded to carry her all the way to cottage 101.
* * * *
FAMILY FEUD Page 18