Isabelle would be happy. Her sister had no idea what had happened between Emily and Dane, but she’d always asked if anyone had heard from him.
For now though, Emily would keep him to herself as she memorized his strong shoulders and joked, “You must say that to all the girls.”
He pressed his hand to his heart. “I never flirt. I don’t even try to talk to women, which always upsets Brady.”
Interesting. Dane was the type who didn’t have to flirt. Her friends would have targeted him within minutes. He was attractive, smart, and aloof. Emily held her tongue while the waiter served their salads. When the waiter left, she asked, “Why does it bother Brady?”
He picked up his fork and his cheeks went a little red. “He claims he tries to get women’s attentions but I always end up with…” He lowered his head. “Never mind. Let’s enjoy the meal and each other.”
He took a bite of his salad. She let out another sigh as she said, “No, don’t stop, Dane. We haven’t talked in years. So, you scored more women with the “no talking” bit than Brady did with charming conversation?”
He put his fork down as he laughed. “Yeah. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
She winked at his bashfulness. “As long as you don’t turn into the silent type with me, we’re fine.”
They finished their salads and the waiter cleared their plates. She sipped her wine and once they were alone, Dane asked her, “Why history, Emily? The girl I knew talked about a major in business, and ruling the world.”
The waiter brought them lemon butter chicken and she was sure she’d gain ten pounds. She picked up her fork as her mouth watered. She answered Dane with reluctance. She’d never told this to anyone, not even her friends in college. “The girl you knew grew up moving from apartment to house as my mom married many times… As you know, Sophie took me in when our mom died, but I never really had stability or much cash. In the years since, I’ve grown accustomed to having my own bank account.”
“So, history?” He cut a piece of chicken.
She put off answering to eat her dinner. Dane waited patiently yet she knew he hadn’t forgotten. After a few more bites,, she glanced at him. Something about Dane made her want him to understand. “I didn’t have to struggle while I studied and had the luxury of following my interests. I like history because the stories all progress and teach what can happen if we continue to make the same mistakes. Some things are great puzzles that intrigue me.. Why did you choose archeology?”
He finished his chicken, and rested his fork on the edge of the plate. “Edmond hated when I got dirt on any part of my shirt.”
“Dirt?” Emily sat back and picked up her glass though somehow, here, she had no buzz of any kind from the alcohol. The red wine was perfect.
He scooted closer and shifted his water cup on the table. “In archeology, I dig in the dirt all the time.”
Her eyes widened and she giggled. “So this was rebellion?”
“Maybe a little.. I don’t like thinking about Edmond.” He shrugged. “I do my best to live right. I’m not seeking fortune or fame, which means I can preserve bits of history for the public to see, and learn from, rather than sell to some private collector. They tend to hide their treasures from the world.”
The waiter returned with a cream puff for dessert. She waited until he left, and then she whispered, “How long have you known Ted?”
“He sells to private collectors and probably would have sold to Edmond if he’d lived...” Dane straightened and handed her a fork so they could share the dessert. “A few times now, he’s stolen what I’ve found. The first time I was careless as I didn’t know he existed at all.”
She bit into the frothy cream and powdered biscuit and didn’t want to stop. They both ate the delicious dessert, their forks scraping the last bite. “And the second time?”
“It was a race, and he was faster than me in finding the Incan gold relic.” He leaned closer to her. “The next time, I won. We’ve gone back and forth.”
Her heart beat sped up. She wanted him to kiss her and only trusted herself enough to say, “I see.”
His face darkened. “Until you, I’ve never seen Ted use a gun. Walking into the club to see him pointing a weapon at you and your friends was surreal.”
She hoped they were okay. “Yeah, I understand.” Surreal, and terrifying, but he’d saved her. She pressed her hand on his chest.
He edged closer and her eyes fluttered closed as he said, “Fate brought us together again, and for that, I’m happy.”
He needed to kiss her. Why was he so far away? She didn’t open her eyes as she whispered, “Maybe you and I should try for real, Dane.”
He brought his chair so close that his knees bumped against hers. “I like having you near, though I’d like for everything else around us to slow down.”
Kiss me already. “We have more in common than I thought we did.”
“Other than interest in old things?” He chuckled and his mouth covered hers—gently at first, and then more passionately, letting her imagine a different world where everything was beautiful just from his kiss.
The magic didn’t stop as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and twined his thick hair at his nape between her fingers.
Never stopping was her vote.
Unfortunately, he ended the kiss and his withdrawal made her ache. She tried to ignore the longing as she said, “Yeah. It’s honorable that you’ll give the jewels back. You don’t have to.”
“I want to do the right things in my life.” He stood and offered his hand. The quartet played a classic tune and she clasped his palm, acknowledging the spark racing through her body. He said, “Besides, the jewels came from my stepfather’s estate. He was just another private collector keeping treasures from the public. The man killed any love I might have had for him that day in the barn—giving the necklace my mother loved to you brought me peace.”
He pulled her closer and swayed with her. She rested her head against the hollow at his throat and hugged him. “We don’t have to talk about that anymore.”
Dane took her hands and spun her in a dance. They seamlessly found each other’s bodies in harmony with the music. He said, “I never talk about any of that, with anyone ever, Em. Don’t you know how special you are to me?”
He was the only guy she’d ever given a bit of her heart to. No other boyfriend had been that close. She made a decision to live in the moment as she adjusted his collar. “Dane, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve said since we met.”
“I only speak the truth.” He pressed closer.
She stood on her tiptoes and let the enchantment of the evening wash through her as she whispered into his ear, “Let’s go to my room.”
He missed a step, then brought her closer, keeping her next to his heart. Tonight was theirs and she’d hold onto him for as long as he’d let her.
Chapter Ten
Waking up in Dane’s arms made her body hum. Last night, Dane had proved all the ways he’d become a man. No one had rocked her like this, ever. She curled into him.
He groaned a little and kept his eyes closed as the sun must have started rising outside their heavy curtains that blocked the light. A few more minutes alone with Dane, was good.
He sighed. “I’ve missed you, Em.”
“Seriously?” Her heart skipped a beat. If only… no. She couldn’t think about tomorrow right now. Instead she hugged him and let his body heat warm her in the chill of the room.
He ran his hand down her naked back and cupped her backside. “Yeah, you… alone… like this.”
Emily smiled and vowed she’d stay in his arms for as long as she could. “I bet you say that to all your naked women.”
He opened his eyes, glanced down at her willing body, and then laughed. “Not at all. That’s usually, ‘It was nice to meet you. Goodbye’.”
Dane was the type to leave but it didn’t stop her attraction for him, at all. Emily curled her leg around his and tapped his musc
ular chest. “You’re bad!”
He rolled her beneath him and kissed her forehead. “No one else compares.”
Every cell in her body came alive. Dane made her believe in happily-ever-after when she was in his arms. She sighed and said, “Let’s say I believe that for a moment-”
“You should.” He stilled, propped himself up on his pillow with one hand, and stared down at her. “You can ask Brady, who was briefly a roommate when we were getting our PhDs.”
She’d never shared much about herself with her other ex-boyfriends. But Dane knew her, and accepted that she hadn’t turned into some savvy business woman, like her younger sister, while still in college. He seemed to like that they had history in common. The large gates around her heart were unlocking for him. She glanced at his muscular body and said, “Even if I do believe you… I just wanted to say, I’d like to see you again after all this is over.”
He brushed her hair behind her head on her pillow. “Maybe my university is hiring.”
A laugh escaped her lips though she had those sparks inside her just from the gleam in his eyes. She shook her head and said, “I’m pretty sure Harvard hires Ivy League.”
He stilled. “Why didn’t you go for an Ivy League college? We both know half of getting in is your bank account, and who you know.”
He spoke with the belief she was smart enough to get in and the rest was money or politics. She squeezed his hand and shrugged. “I liked going home to see my family. Gainesville was far but not so far in case of an emergency.”
“I haven’t been to see Michael in years.” He didn’t move a muscle.
Right. Her sister’s husband. His father. Everyone in her family knew Dane. She swallowed and said, “I know.”
He traced her arm and shoulder. “Maybe after we return the jewels, you’ll go with me?”
Home? With Dane? Every cell in her body sparked with the idea they might have a future. “I’d like that.”
He caressed her body, lowering the sheet. “Me too.”
“What do you plan to do with your life, now that you’ve finished getting your PhD? You didn’t send me an invitation to your graduation.”
“You wouldn’t have come and I didn’t have your address.”
“Do you have some professor gig waiting for you in Florida?”
“No—the local universities weren’t hiring. I was going to sell real estate.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“Just until I find a college that wants someone with my degree.”
“Maybe you should move to Boston? There are lots of universities near me.”
She grabbed the sheet and held it closer but otherwise didn’t budge. Was he serious? She’d never lived with a man before. Her heart beat faster as she laughed again to pretend she wasn’t nervous as she joked, “Are you going to let me crash on your couch?”
His gaze narrowed. “Couch? No.”
“Oh.” A hum grew in her veins. He was asking her to move in. This was new and she wore a stupid smile on her face like she’d been dealt a good hand at cards.
She’d never been good at a bluff.
His fingers traced her arm, leaving a trail of tingles. “You’d share my bed.”
She rolled back and looked at the ceiling as her heart thundered. If she could trust any man, it was probably Dane. He was so different, but she hadn’t expected this. She turned her head toward him and took his hand. “Ah. Now I’m seeing this life you planned for us.”
He leaned on his side and met her gaze. “Every night can be like last night.”
Emily wanted to just say yes and let the chips fall, but her own father flashed in her mind, stealing her joy. How he’d claimed to be too busy to take her in after her mother died. She nibbled on her lower lip. “We’re going to have to see though.”
He turned and his muscular body brushed against her smooth skin. “Why? What’s holding you back?”
Admitting she was scared bloomed like a warning sign in her mind and she shook her head. She was nothing like her mother who chose loser guys and Dane was honorable and way better than her father had ever been. She knew that without a doubt. “I like to be useful. I don’t want to be a housewife, not yet.”
This time he laughed and his voice was deep and demanded her attention as he said, “I would expect nothing less.”
If only this was possible. She patted his cheek. “Dane, we’re just dreaming.”
His gaze narrowed like he saw straight through to her soul. “Why? You can tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
The night she’d called her dad when her mother hadn’t come home and the police showed up at the house replayed in her mind. When she’d learned her mother had died, her father still hadn’t come. Sophie had been the only one to hug her. Then she remembered in the same moment how Dane had walked away after prom and never called. She lowered her lashes to avoid his direct gaze. “You left me once. I don’t know how to fix that hole in my heart.”
He lifted the sheet and looked at her chest. “I left a hole? Where?”
Her pulse slowed down. Maybe she needed to not hold Dane accountable for her father. She looked up into his eyes. “Silly. Yeah. I had such a huge crush on you.”
“I didn’t know that.” He kissed her knuckles.
Emily was good at pretending nothing bothered her in life. She sat up and stretched her arms. “That’s because I’m tough.”
“I’ve noticed. But you’re also sweet.” He sat and joined her, hip to hip.
“Doubtful.” A tremble raced through her. Sweet wasn’t her. “You must have noticed Michael’s training.”
“Not what I was talking about.” He winked, but then let out a sigh. “But I’m glad he was good to you.”
Perhaps his biological father wasn’t the best conversation for first thing in the morning but she pressed her hand on Dane’s thigh. “He’d be good to you, too.”
“He might not approve of us.” Dane crossed his legs in a yoga pose on the bed.
The yoga stretches shocked her. No man she knew stretched with such precision. Emily ignored it and raised her eyebrow, “And you’d care?”
Coffee would be a better wake-up call than exercise. She stood. He got out of bed too, and bowed his shoulders forward, then shook his muscles loose. “I wouldn’t. You would.”
“Michael is not related to me.” She headed to the small coffee pot in the room and picked up the glass carafe. “Except through marriage to my sister.”
He followed her to the vanity and lifted his toothbrush from a small bag as he said, “You always seemed close to your family.”
She poured the water inside and then started the machine. In a few minutes she’d have her delicious wake-up brew and then head out later to get a proper cup of cafe au lait since they were in France. While waiting for her coffee, she got ready in the bathroom. “My dad left my mom and when my mom died, he didn’t want to take me in. My sister is the only constant—though when we met, I was giving her a hard time.”
“I get that.” For a while they were both silent as they readied themselves for the day. After they finished and he walked out in a white terry cloth bathrobe, he said, “My mother was the only one to ever love me. My stepfather… he… he clearly never cared—he didn’t know how. You are the only one who could understand that—we were both damaged.”
Dane understood exactly. She poured two cups of coffee. “Dane, I’m glad you discovered archeology.” It allowed him to be honorable. He wasn’t anything like Edmond.
“History has much to teach us.” He took the offered cup, blowing on it to cool it before taking a swallow. “When we were in Cairo, working in the Valley of the Kings, we uncovered a hidden tomb. Of course we shared that information with the authorities. I have a rock of that dig embedded in my watch as a way to remember that not every artifact or dig has been discovered. There is a lot to still find and do.”
“Agreed.” She sipped her coffee. “Books offer different views on histor
y and put together a puzzle based on findings.”
He put his cup on the cabinet and then went around her hotel room, picking up his suit from the floor. He straightened and stared at her with his legs braced. “I mean it, Em, when this is over, move to Boston with me.”
“I’m scared.” She lowered her head, heat rising in her cheeks.
In an instant he stood before her. “I get that.”
She traced the open neck of his bathrobe and sucked in her breath. Maybe she could live happily-ever-after with Dane. He hadn’t run out and he knew the real her. She met his gaze and said, “If you’re going to be there, I’ll try.”
“Good.” He put his arm around her. “Glad we settled that.” His lips claimed hers for a fast kiss and she sighed, wishing to freeze this moment, forever. He ended the kiss and then tugged on her bra and the hidden pocket. “Let’s get dressed so we can head to the bank before Ted.”
Emily pulled on a pair of navy slacks she’d ordered yesterday. “Do you think the royal family will see us when we go to London, to return the family jewels?”
He slung his suit over his forearm. She checked that her jewels were still in the hidden pocket, then adjusted the bra under her blouse and eyed her image in the mirror to make sure she looked fine as he asked, “Do you want to meet them?”
Was he joking? “I’d love to be invited to the palace.”
He walked beside her to the door. “Why would that be important?”
“It’s the closest I’ll ever be to being a princess.” She tapped the muscles at his waist and laughed.
He smoothed his hand down her silk blouse. “Sweetheart, you live and breathe like you are a princess already.”
It was true that she liked nice things. “I do like having money, but that’s not the reason.”
“Why, then?” They headed into the hallway and toward his room.
As he opened the door she said, “Because I’m proud of the man you became. I’d like to see that goodness formally recognized, though I understand that you don’t want fame and don’t need a fortune.”
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