“How have you been?” His voice was so gentle, she could almost believe he really cared.
She refused to let him know how for the first three days after she arrived home she’d run to the phone each time it rang. Or how she’d slept with it on the pillow beside her because she didn’t want to risk missing his call. She still had her pride.
“I’m fine,” she replied, pulling away from him and walking into the living room. “You didn’t have to come all this way to ask me that. It’s been two weeks, after all.” Thirteen days, but she was probably the only one counting.
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t care. I do. I was just giving you time.”
“Time to what?” she shrieked. She was furious and hurt and didn’t care if she sounded irrational. She was irrational.
“Time to get over everything that happened. Time to figure out what you want to do.” He raked a hand over his head, something he did when he was aggravated or unsure. She wished she knew which one it was. “Time to decompress. I didn’t want to put pressure on you.”
“So you just turned your back and left me floundering.” She flopped onto a chair, furious with herself for letting that bit slip. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how much she’d needed him. How hurt and lost she’d felt without him. But she’d survived. He might have let her down, but her pride hadn’t.
He knelt in front of her and took her hands into his. Despite her pride screaming at her to yank them away so she could appear strong, she didn’t. She missed his touch. “I’m sorry, Camille. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
She huffed and looked away.
“Would it help if I told you I missed you, too, and that I did some floundering of my own? That I walked into your bedroom day after day, imagining you there.”
“Only if it’s true. I don’t need to be patronized.”
“Oh, it’s true all right. It’s just... Everything happened so fast between us. Our feelings changed overnight, going from hate to friendship to something more intimate in such a short time. You were under a lot of stress, which can make you do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. I didn’t want you to be bound to me when the pressure was off. I wanted you to be sure you wanted me even in the most mundane time.”
“So this wasn’t about me. It was about you.”
He was silent for several long moments. “Yes,” he finally said. “I guess I was protecting myself. Your life here is exciting.”
“Too exciting.”
“Maybe. But you couldn’t wait to return. You were finally free. Free to come back. Free to leave me.”
She had said that, but she hadn’t meant it in the way he heard. But he didn’t know that. He might have believed she was glad to shed the dust of the Double J off her feet. Given how it must have sounded to him, he’d taken a risk showing up on her doorstep unannounced. The irony of that was unmistakable.
Her anger melted. She didn’t want to be at odds with him anyway. What she really wanted was to be in his arms again. Looking at him, she saw his heart in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. I could come back if I wanted to. Not that I wanted to.”
“And yet you came back.”
“Yes. I had to. I couldn’t just walk away from my life and leave everything up in the air.”
“I know.”
“And you were right,” she admitted grudgingly. “I did need some time to decompress.”
“How was work?”
“I haven’t gone back. I just can’t make myself step into that building. I know the people who wanted to harm me are gone, but that doesn’t seem to make me less afraid. Just thinking of it scares me silly.”
“Hey, you’re okay.” She didn’t even know she was trembling until he pulled her to her feet, wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. He smelled so good. Although he didn’t smell of hay and the ranch, but rather of an enticing cologne, his scent was still familiar.
“I hate being afraid.”
“You don’t have to be. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” He led her to the sofa and pulled her onto his lap.
She leaned her head against his chest, basking in his nearness and his warmth. Jericho had actually come to her. The seed of happiness that she thought had died in her began to sprout and blossom.
“Are you determined to go back to that firm?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you’re uncomfortable, maybe you should quit and try something else.”
“Like what?” She managed to keep the disappointment from her voice. She thought he was going to ask her to return to the ranch, but he was trying to help her find a new job.
“There must be other financial firms where you can work.”
“Sure. New York is America’s banking capital.”
“I imagine working here is the ultimate goal.”
“Yes.” She could have left it there, kept her pride intact, but she didn’t. “For some.”
“Is it for you?”
“Not any longer. It’s amazing how having people plotting to kill you can change your perspective.”
“That’s now. With time, you might feel different.”
She was shaking her head before he was finished speaking. “No. I’m done.”
“What are you going to do next?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to think about it.”
A smile began to grow on his face. “Would you consider thinking in North Carolina?”
The hope began to grow again, lighting the darkness in her heart like a sunrise. “I would.”
“You would consider it or you would come back home?”
She sucked in a breath. “Home?”
“Yes, home. I need you. I miss you. Shadow misses you.”
“I miss that crazy dog, too.”
“You’ll come back to me?”
“To you?”
“Yes. I love you, Camille. I can’t imagine living my life without you in it. Marry me.”
Joy blossomed in her heart and laughter bubbled out of her. “I love you, too. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He kissed her then, and she returned it with the love she felt throughout her body and soul. She was happier than she’d ever imagined being. She’d gone to Jericho to save her life and had found the life she wanted to live and a love to last a lifetime.
* * * * *
If you loved this story,
don’t miss the first two books in
SWEET BRIAR SWEETHEARTS
by Kathy Douglass
HOW TO STEAL THE LAWMAN’S HEART
THE WAITRESS’S SECRET
Available from Harlequin Special Edition.
Keep reading for an excerpt from BAYSIDE’S MOST UNEXPECTED BRIDE by Kerri Carpenter
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Special Edition story.
You know that romance is for life. Harlequin Special Edition stories show that every chapter in a relationship has its challenges and delights and that love can be renewed with each turn of the page.
Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Special Edition every month!
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever and whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS of your choice
OR
EXCLUSIVE GIFTS from your favorite authors or series.
Click here to join for FREE
Or visit us online to register at
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
Harlequin My Rewards is a free program (no fees) without any commitments or obligations.
Bayside's Most Unexpected Bride
by Kerri Carpenter
Chapter One
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Well, kind of. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and before we know it, the Yuletide season will be here. Looks like everyone’s favorite editor in chief is starting the festivities early by spending time with local hottie Holly Carron. The duo were spotted at The Brewside yesterday looking quite cozy. And right when everyone thought Bayside’s forever bachelor would never settle down! Stay tuned for more developing details...
Riley studied the screen in front of her and pursed her lips. Yep, Sawyer was going to be pissed. The Bayside Blogger strikes again. He hated when she wrote about him.
Who didn’t?
Riley fluffed her red hair, held back with an oversize blue headband to complement her green-and-blue-plaid dress with the adorable white collar. She’d seen this dress in the store and knew instantly that she could rock the retro vibe. What would the ubiquitous Bayside Blogger say about her outfit? Riley grinned. She knew exactly what she’d say.
Everyone’s favorite ex-Manhattanite Riley Hudson is sporting her wannabe New York fashion in small-town Virginia. Hard to be fashion forward when she’s just copying Kim Kardashian’s recent ensemble. Always the bridesmaid, Riley.
“Hey, Ri, did you file that article on the upcoming holiday movies?”
Riley glanced up to see her coworker Claudia Thomas hovering above her cubicle. Claudia was the most striking woman Riley had ever seen, with her long, jet-black hair, delicate features and statuesque six-foot height. Definitely didn’t fit into their quaint coastal town on the Chesapeake Bay. She was also the senior editor in the Style & Entertainment section, which Riley wrote for.
“Yep, just sent it your way. I think I covered the majority of the new ones, plus I added my top-ten holiday classics. Got a couple good quotes from the guys over at the Palace Movie Theater, too.”
“Excellent,” Claudia said with a big smile. She spotted Riley’s computer screen and gestured toward it. “I see you’re reading the Bayside Blogger’s column today. Sawyer is gonna be pissed.”
“Uh, yeah, just finished it. But I don’t know why he would be. A ton of people saw him at The Brewside with Holly yesterday.”
Claudia leaned onto the wall of Riley’s cubicle. “But you know how he hates to be featured in that column. The Bayside Blogger should really tread lightly, especially since Sawyer is the only person who knows her identity.”
Riley fidgeted in her chair. “It’s not like he would out her. Or him. Not after all this time.”
“Maybe not.” Claudia lowered her voice conspiratorially. “You think it’s serious with him and Holly?”
Riley suddenly felt uncomfortable. She shrugged. “Who knows?”
Sawyer Wallace was more than the editor in chief and owner of the Bayside Bugle. More than her boss. She’d known him her entire life. Two years older than her, their families were very close and had always shared holidays, vacations, barbecues and practically every important milestone.
Sawyer was like an annoying older brother, only...not brotherly at all.
“My friend Vivica asked him out a couple weeks ago.”
Riley perked up at that tidbit. She straightened in her chair. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Probably because Sawyer turned her down. Crazy, because Vivica is the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. But, personally, I think something’s going on with him.”
They both turned toward the glass office in the corner of the newsroom where Sawyer was intently studying his computer screen.
“Something bad?” Riley asked.
“You tell me. Your families are tight.”
Riley eyed Sawyer in his office again. Apparently not that tight. Although, he had been extra surly lately. Sawyer did that whole stereotypical moody-writer thing well. But it never bothered her. In fact, she always knew how to make him lighten up and laugh.
“I say we get him drunk at this year’s holiday party and force him to reveal the identity of the Bayside Blogger,” Claudia said.
Riley smiled. “I don’t think there’s enough spiked eggnog on the planet to get that closely guarded secret out of him. Besides, I’ve tried.”
Everyone in town had tried at one point or another. The Bayside Blogger not only had a daily column in The Bayside Bugle, but she—or he—also had a blog and utilized every social media channel imaginable. No one was off-limits—the blogger always seemed to know everything about everyone, anytime, anywhere.
“I can’t believe he won’t tell anyone who she is. Even us. We work here, for goodness sake. And that damn Blogger is published in my section.”
“We should go on strike,” Riley stated dramatically, making Claudia laugh.
“You may be onto something. In the meantime, I’m going to read over your article. Oh, by the way, my husband and I are going to take a weekend trip to New York in December. You know, see the holiday windows and the big tree and Rockefeller Center.”
Riley tensed. “Cool.”
“I know you lived there for a while. Maybe you can give us some restaurant recommendations.”
She twisted her fingers together. “Well, you know New York. Everything’s constantly changing. I haven’t been back in a couple years. I’m totally out of touch.”
But she wasn’t. After graduating from Syracuse, Riley had moved to the city that never sleeps. She’d worked at a start-up marketing firm writing copy and social media posts. She’d lived in a massively overpriced studio apartment where she’d had to store her shoes in her oven and hang her laundry from her curtain rods.
It had been fabulous. Everything she’d always wanted. Living in the greatest city in the world. She’d stayed out late and seen Broadway shows and walked down Fifth Avenue at night. As often as her entry-level salary allowed, she’d tried new restaurants and bakeries. She’d been dazzled by the lights, the sounds, the people.
At least, that’s what she let people think of her experience in the Big Apple. It was easier to pretend her life was closer to Friends than Two Broke Girls.
When she’d returned to Bayside for holidays, she’d never been able to let the truth slip, which was that pretending to be a sophisticated young twentysomething in Manhattan was exhausting. And frustrating. And expensive. And...disappointing.
She’d wanted to live in Manhattan forever. She’d had a whole picture of what her life would be like, but the reality never matched up to it.
She was supposed to have an amazing job, a large apartment with tall windows that overlooked Central Park, a group of friends to rival Monica, Rachel and Phoebe. And, of course, her cool boyfriend would be the icing on the cupcake.
But that’s not how Connor McKenzie turned out to be.
She frowned. She’d seen no harm in dating her coworker. After all, their company hadn’t had a policy against it. At least, that’s what he’d told her. Why wouldn’t little old naive twenty-two-year-old Riley believe the dazzling, successful thirty-year-old Connor?
So, all had been well...until it wasn’t. She’d moved back home.
Well, more like run back with her tail between her legs. Now she never talked about her time in Manhattan if she could help it. Or she’d tell people the version she knew they expected to hear. At twenty-nine, Riley had definitely learned her lesson.
Claudia’s
face fell and Riley relented. She hated letting anyone down. “I mean, I guess I could put a list together. Remind me.”
This seemed to appease Claudia. “Great. And don’t forget, editorial meeting this afternoon.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Riley watched her editor walk to her office before returning to her screen and studying Sawyer’s name embedded in the Bayside Blogger’s column. Maybe Claudia was wrong. Maybe he wouldn’t get too mad about it.
“Hudson.” Sawyer’s voice boomed out from his office. “Get in here.”
As she got up and adjusted her dress, more than one head turned in her direction with sympathetic eyes. Never a good thing when Sawyer used his outdoor voice. Or called her by her last name.
“What’s with him?” Dennis, her next-door cubicle mate, asked quietly.
“Dunno. Probably pissed about that restaurant review I did. They were an advertiser.”
“Hold strong.” He touched his stomach. “I ate there, too. It wasn’t good.”
Riley grabbed her notebook and pen. “Will do.” Then she headed toward Sawyer with the sinking feeling she already knew what this was about.
When she reached his office, she stayed where she was in the doorway. She crossed her legs, accentuating the fabulous brown suede knee-high boots she’d bought in DC last weekend when she and her best friend, Elle, had driven to the city for a girls’ weekend.
“Hey, boss. What’s up?”
He steepled his hands on his desk and peered at her with his dreamy hazel eyes.
Damn. Dreamy? She meant irritating. Beady even.
The weather was unseasonably cold already and he was sporting a pair of corduroy pants and a somewhat ugly argyle sweater that she knew had been a Christmas gift from his mother last year. Not the most stylish of outfits and yet somehow he looked like he’d walked out of the pages of an L.L.Bean catalog. Just because he was tall with broad shoulders and had really cute sandy-brown hair that flopped on his head because he needed a haircut. And today he was wearing his glasses. What was it about a large lumberjack-looking man who wore glasses? Why did that make her stomach twist up into knots? And then there was his lopsided smile...
The Rancher and the City Girl Page 18