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Bewitching: His Secret Agenda

Page 37

by Carla Neggers

“She is. Which is surprising, since she takes after her daddy.”

  Allie handed him the picture back and smiled. “Sounds like you made some real progress with your family.”

  “It wasn’t easy,” he admitted, sliding the picture back into his wallet. “I thought for sure they wouldn’t forgive me. That I didn’t deserve forgiveness.”

  “Is that why you’re here? Absolution?”

  He swallowed. “I’m here to fight for you.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t stop thinking about you. I know it’s going to take time to learn to trust me again, so I’m going to stick it out until that day comes.” He did what he’d been wanting to do since he first walked into the room—he touched her. Just a light brush of his fingertip down her cheek, but when she didn’t flinch, his heart soared. “I want to be with you, Allie,” he said huskily. “I want you in my life. No matter what it takes.”

  She stepped back and his hope waned. “I haven’t done much else but think about what happened. Between us. And with Lynne and Jon. You were right,” she said, glancing at him, “I was so scared of not being able to make it up to them that I lost myself. And when I found out the reason you were here I realized I wouldn’t be able to protect them any longer. Yet I felt I had to. To make up for what I’d done.”

  She still blamed herself. He hated that she couldn’t see all the good she’d done. “You did all you could for them.”

  “It doesn’t seem like enough. And when I think about them living their lives on the run... I really thought they could settle in Serenity Springs and be safe.”

  He was suffused with guilt for his part in it, anger for how he and Nolan had been fooled. “And they would’ve been safe if it wasn’t for me.”

  “No. I wanted to blame you, but I know as long as Miles is searching for them, they’ll never be safe.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I...I appreciate you and your partner sending Miles on a wild-goose chase.”

  “I hope it worked.”

  She nodded. Licked her lips. “I’ve missed you,” she blurted, blushing.

  His heart raced. “Darlin’, you don’t know how happy I am to hear that.”

  He reached for her but she evaded him, crossing to the side table by the back door. She picked up her purse. “You’re lucky you got here when you did,” she said, rifling through her bag. She pulled out an envelope. “I’m taking a trip tomorrow, and since I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone, Kelsey is going to run the bar for me until I get back.”

  “Are you returning to New York?” Though he told himself that would be best for her, he couldn’t help but wonder if she meant to start over. Without him.

  “No. Not New York.”

  She handed him an airplane ticket. He frowned and then glanced at it. And did a double take when he read the destination.

  He caught his breath. “Dallas?”

  Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “I was coming after you.”

  He tipped his head back. “Thank God.” Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’ll never lie to you again,” he promised, moments later. “I love you, Allison Martin.”

  She smiled. “I love you, too, Dean Garret.” She fiddled with the button on his shirt and glanced up at him from under her eyelashes. “As a matter of fact, why don’t you and I sneak out of here? We can go back to my house, and I can show you just how much I love you....”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard in weeks.”

  He kissed her again and when they drew apart, they were both breathing hard. She was already reaching for her coat. “Oh, and don’t forget your hat.” The glint in her eyes was wicked. “Unless you have something against wearing it in bed?”

  He laughed and settled his Stetson on his head. “No, ma’am, I surely don’t.”

  * * * * *

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  ISBN: 9781460313312

  The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

  BEWITCHING

  Copyright © 1993 by Carla Neggers

  HIS SECRET AGENDA

  Copyright © 2009 by Beth Burgoon

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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