ONCE UPON A VALENTINE

by ALLISON LEIGH,

  His chest rose and fell in a deep, deep sigh.

  Then he closed his hands around hers and nudged her back onto the bench. He let her go and stuck one hand in his pocket. “I think I fell in love with you the first time we met,” he said softly. “It had nothing to do with the baby. And although there’s not a cell inside me that regrets we made him, it’s a heck of an ironic note that he’s the one getting in the way of the truth.”

  He suddenly went down on his knees in front of her until their faces were even. “I love Fig, Shea.” He pulled his hand from his pocket and held it up between them. “But I have always loved you first.”

  A ring sat perched on the end of his little finger. The diamond, surrounded by smaller, watery blue stones, glittered and sparkled even more because his hand was actually shaking.

  She pressed her fingers over her lips. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

  “I bought this for you after Erik and Rory’s wedding but there’s been a part of me that knew I wanted you as my wife long before that. Long before you told me Fig was on the way. But you weren’t exactly cooperative, sweetheart, and gave me no sort of chance to...woo...you.” His lips twisted wryly.

  She bit her lip, looking into his eyes.

  “By Valentine’s Day I was getting desperate. So I stooped to using your cat. It’s not my proudest moment, but—”

  She leaned forward and kissed him silent. “But it worked,” she whispered. “Marsha-Marsha loved the toys. And I love you.”

  He cupped the back of her head and pressed his forehead against hers. “I was going to give you the ring last night. After dinner. Somewhere dressy. Romantic. Properly, the way Bea’s been lecturing me.”

  “Give me the ring now,” she said huskily. “Give it to me and I promise I will never, ever take it off.”

  He let go of her and took her hand. He slid the ring into place, then he turned her palm upward and pressed his lips to it before settling it against the center of his chest, right in the same spot where she’d pressed so hard on Harvey’s chest just yesterday.

  But she could feel Pax’s heart beating hard against her hand. Hard and sure and steady.

  Just like he was.

  “Thank you for loving me,” she whispered. “For showing me how to believe.”

  His eyes gleamed. He brushed his hand over her hair. Cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb slowly over her lips. “Thank you for finally letting me,” he whispered and kissed her so sweetly she melted.

  She didn’t know what would happen with the Washtub. Whether it would fade into fond memories for those who’d read her, or whether she’d find new life. With or without Shea along for the ride.

  But she did know that whatever happened, it would be okay. Because Pax wasn’t going to let her fall. And if there ever were some reason that she did, he’d be there to catch her.

  Always.

  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly. “Take me below?”

  He gave her a surprised look.

  Then a slow grin crossed his face.

  He pushed to his feet, took her hand and led the way.

  Epilogue

  December

  From the balcony that circled the grand reception hall at the Hunt family home located on Lake Washington, Shea stared down at the eighteen-foot Christmas tree that held court in the room below. “It’s not exactly little, is it?”

  Pax laughed softly. “You’ve been working with Harry for months now. Do you really think he ever does anything little?”

  She made a face. Up until now, she’d either met with the tall, gangly man at the Tub’s office, at Cornelia’s office or at the corner office Harry still kept at the HuntCom’s corporate complex. “True,” she admitted ruefully. It had taken her a full month after striking their deal before she’d had the guts to speak her mind to the intimidating old man. Cornelia’s warning that her husband could be a steamroller hadn’t been misplaced. But when he’d kept insisting that the Tub was beyond help and she’d stomped her foot and accused him of not being the visionary everyone said, he’d barked out a laugh, nodded approvingly, and told her to call him Harry instead of Mr. Hunt.

  From that day on, the Tub had been on a bullet train toward a new life.

  Changes at the paper, though, had seemed small potatoes in comparison to the changes for her and Pax.

  She smiled a little, turning from the festively decorated tree and Cornelia and Harry’s guests below to look at her husband of less than a week.

  They’d been married in a small ceremony in the same church as Erik and Rory, on the anniversary of the ice storm, and she couldn’t imagine a more perfect wedding day.

  She couldn’t imagine a more perfect life.

  She and Pax had already made the rounds among Cornelia and Harry’s guests. All of their respective daughters and sons and their spouses were there, as well as the staff of FGI and the Tub. And all of them combined made up only a fraction of the total guests present. “Can’t believe Harvey had the nerve to go to Hawaii for the holiday and miss all this.”

  “Maybe he wants to work on his tan.”

  She grinned wryly. “Maybe.”

  Pax’s finger slowly trailed down the back of her bare neck and she shivered.

  Even though she was now a married woman, the publisher of the Tub and the mother of a healthy three-month-old baby boy, she’d still had to borrow a dress from her mother suitable for the Hunt’s annual Christmas ball. Gloria hadn’t quite forgiven her yet for making her a grandmother before she was ready, but she was coming around. Mostly because she got a kick out of Jonathan telling her she looked young enough to be the baby’s mother.

  She reached up and toyed with the collar of Pax’s white shirt. “Think it would be rude if we left already?”

  His lips tilted. “Missing Fig already?”

  Fig—actually Finn Isaac Merrick—was spending the night with Pax’s parents, who wouldn’t be returning the baby until morning. “Yes.” It was startling how completely their brown-eyed baby boy had wrapped them around his infant fingers. “But this is the first night out we’ve had without him since he was born.”

  Pax’s eyes crinkled and his gaze felt like a caress. “We could always do something shocking,” his voice dropped a notch, “and go...home.”

  She moistened her lips, feeling her stomach swoop around and suspecting it would always be that way whenever he gave her that look. “And what would we do there?”

  “I can think of a thing or two.”

  They were in the midst of renovating their waterfront home. And even though it was located only a few blocks from her mother’s house, Shea had known the second they’d seen the property that it was the perfect place for their growing family. It even came complete with a slip large enough for Honey Girl. “Does it involve painting the hall bathroom?”

  He laughed softly and tugged on her long ponytail. “Not tonight.”

  She rose up on her toes and brushed her mouth over his. “I love you, Mr. Merrick.”

  She felt his smile against her lips and his hands circled her waist. “I love you, Mrs. Merrick.”

  She shivered again. “I just have one request,” she added.

  “Anything.”

  “I get to take off The Shirt.”

  * * * * *

  Be sure not to miss other books in

  THE HUNT FOR CINDERELLA series, including

  HOLIDAY BY DESIGN by Patricia Kay

  HER HOLIDAY PRINCE CHARMING by Christine Flynn

  Available from Harlequin Special Edition!

  Keep reading f
or an excerpt from A SWEETHEART FOR JUDE FORTUNE by Cindy Kirk.

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  Chapter One

  Standing on the sidewalk outside the Horseback Hollow Superette on a bright Friday morning, Gabriella Mendoza paused to read a text from her father, sent from his room in a rehabilitation center in Lubbock.

  Bath@9. DON’T come b4 10.

  Gabi sighed. Since it was barely eight-thirty, even if she chugged down the highway at the speed of a slug, she’d easily make the one-hour drive into the city before ten. This meant she needed to use this stop at the local convenience store to not only grab coffee, but kill time.

  OK C U after 10, she texted back, then started toward the store known for carrying a little bit of everything. She was mentally calculating how much time she needed to waste when her phone pinged.

  Gabi smiled. Though Orlando Mendoza had recently celebrated his sixtieth birthday, he texted with a fervor normally reserved for teenagers. She’d barely glanced at the incoming message when her forward progress came to a jarring halt.

  “Whoa.” The masculine voice held a hint of laughter. Large hands reached out to steady her when she stumbled.

  Startled, Gabi jerked her head up and the unsteadiness returned full force. Even if his eyes hadn’t been the color of the Texas sky, the blond-haired Adonis in worn Wranglers and a black Stetson would have caused any red-blooded woman’s heart to race.

  “Whoa,” Gabi repeated.

  He lifted his hands from her forearms, but the searing heat from his touch lingered. “Are you okay? I plowed right into you.”

  “Actually, I think it was me plowing into you.” She flashed a quick, apologetic smile. “I’m one of the rare few who can’t walk and read a text at the same time.”

  “Let’s call it a draw.” The cowboy offered up a lazy smile and rocked back on his heels. He made no move to step aside or walk away. It was as if he had all the time in the world to stand in the bright sunlight of this unseasonably warm day in late January and chat with a stranger.

  And Gabi was a stranger, not only to him but to most of the two thousand residents living in this small North Texas town. Though she’d been living in her father’s house in Horseback Hollow for the past couple weeks, she had yet to meet his neighbors. Since she’d arrived from her home in Miami, any free time had been spent at the hospital.

  When she’d been notified the small plane her father had been flying had crashed, Gabi had hopped the first flight to Texas. With her mother dead and her brothers unable to make the trip for various reasons, she’d come alone.

  Gabi hadn’t minded the sacrifice. Her father had always been there for her. All she wanted was him to be independent once again. His transfer from the hospital to rehab yesterday had been a positive first step.

  Hopefully with her father doing better, she’d have the opportunity to meet a few people in town. Like now, she could spend a few minutes flirting—er, becoming acquainted with—the handsome hunk who stood before her, without feeling she was neglecting her dad.

  Unfortunately, before Gabi could formulate something smart and witty to say, his phone rang. The cowboy glanced at the screen, grimaced and answered.

  “Have a fabulous day,” she said softly, regretfully, wiggling her fingers goodbye.

  He shot her a wink. Even as he listened intently, phone pressed to his ear, those clear blue eyes remained fixed on her. The scrutiny made her glad she’d taken a few extra minutes this morning to dab on some makeup and curl her hair instead of pulling it back like she’d been doing all week.

  As Gabi entered the Superette, she almost called back that it had been nice to meet him. She stopped herself just in time.

  They hadn’t met, not really. They’d merely run into each other—literally—and exchanged a handful of words. She didn’t even know his name. Of course, that didn’t mean she hadn’t liked what she’d seen, and it certainly didn’t stop her from hoping he’d be there when she came out.

  But, by the time she returned with a twenty-ounce cup of decaf in hand, he was gone. Heaving a sigh of regret, Gabi slid behind the wheel of her father’s boat-of-a-Buick and turned toward the highway leading to Lubbock.

  The car obediently settled into a smooth cruise, allowing her brain to shift to autopilot. She’d made this trip to see her father more times in the past few weeks than she could count.

  When the landing gear on the plane he’d been flying had failed to engage, the experienced aviator had been forced to belly-land. Most of his injuries had been incurred when the plane broke apart on impact. She’d seen pictures of what was left of the Cessna.

  What had the doctor said? It was a miracle he’d survived.

  Gabi rolled up the window all the way, suddenly chilled to the bone. But she reminded herself that was the past. Today was her father’s first full day in the rehabilitation center and a cause for celebration.

  By the time Gabi pulled into the parking lot of the facility, her mood was as sunny as the cloudless sky. She headed toward the front door of the facility with a bounce in her step.

  Once inside, she quickly located the stairs. Seizing opportunities to exercise came so naturally Gabi never considered taking an elevator. She jogged up the steps two at a time, pleased her heart rate remained steady and her breath even.

  Six years ago she hadn’t been able to make it across even the smallest room without needing to sit down. Now her heart beat strong in a body as toned as an athlete’s.

  The walls lining the hallway leading toward her father’s room were filled with pictures and inspiring stories of rehab center “alumni.” With splashes of bright colors throughout and rooms with state-of-the-art equipment discreetly out of sight, the facility had a cheerful feel.

  Doing her best to ignore the faint medicinal scent hanging in the air, Gabi stopped in front of room 325 and gently rapped her knuckles against the closed door.

  “Come in,” she heard her father say.

  She paused. Did he realize it was her and not a nurse or therapist? Pushing the door open only a couple of inches, she paused. “It’s Gabriella. Are you decent?”

  Orlando Mendoza’s deep, robust laugh was all the answer she needed. She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  Her father sat in a chair by the window, wearing a blue shirt with thin silver stripes and the navy pants she’d altered a couple days ago to accommodate his left leg cast. While the past few weeks had added extra streaks of silver to his salt-and-pepper hair, Orlando Mendoza remained a strikingly handsome man.

  He lifted his right hand in greeting, drawing her attention to the cast that encased the arm. Seeing it brought back memories of the day in the intensive care waiting room when the doctor had sat down with her and detailed the injuries: fractured left leg and right arm, bruised kidneys, fractured rib, concussion.

  But her father was tough. And determined. Perhaps it was the sight of him dressed in street clothes or the bright smile of greeting on his lips, but for the first time since the accident, Gabi truly believed he’d make it all the way back.

  “Papi.” She crossed the room, placing her coffee cup on a tray table before l
eaning down and wrapping her arms around him. “You look like yourself.”

  “As opposed to looking like someone else?” he asked with a teasing smile.

  She laughed and pushed back to hold him at arm’s length. If not for the arm and leg cast, Gabi could believe her father was simply enjoying a cup of coffee before heading to the Redmond Flight School where he worked. As a retired former air force pilot, flying had been his life for too many years to count.

  When he’d gotten the opportunity two months ago to help run a flight school in Texas, he’d been as excited as a graduate landing his first job. While Gabi had been sad to see him leave Florida, she’d also been happy for him. The position was exactly what he’d been looking for since he’d retired from the air force.

  And since the crime rate in the area of Miami where he lived had skyrocketed in recent years, she’d found comfort in the knowledge he was now in a small rural community.

  “What are you thinking, mija?” her father probed, his tone gentle.

  Gabi expelled a heavy sigh. “I thought you’d be safe in Horseback Hollow.”

  “He should have been.”

  Gabi turned toward the masculine voice to see her father’s two bosses standing in the doorway. Sawyer Fortune had met her at the airport when she’d flown in from Miami after getting news of the accident. His new wife, Laurel, had remained by her father’s side at the hospital.

  In the difficult days that followed, they’d been her rock.

  “Are you feeling up to company?” Laurel asked Orlando. She was a tall, pretty blonde with long hair pulled back in a ponytail. “If not, Sawyer and I can stop back later.”

  “You’re not company.” Orlando motioned them into the room and gestured to the small sitting area near his bed. “Please, sit.”

  After exchanging greetings and hugs, Gabi also took a seat and let her father direct the conversation. She could tell it made him feel good to have Sawyer and Laurel stop by on a workday to see him.