Terms of Engagement

Fourteen

When Kira regained consciousness, Quinn was leaning over her in a small room, pressing a cool rag to her brow. To his right, a tall blond man with an air of grave authority had a finger pressed to her wrist while he studied his watch.

“Dennis is a doctor, and he wants me to ask you if…if you could possibly be pregnant,” Quinn said.

“I wanted to tell…you. First thing… I really did.”

“What?”

“Yes!” She blushed guiltily as Quinn stared down at her. “Yes. I’m pregnant. “I…I think that’s why I got too hot while we were dancing. I’ve been having morning sickness while you were gone.”

“That’s why you were so pale. Why didn’t you call me? Or tell me when I got home?” Quinn’s hand tightened on her arm, and his expression grew grim. “Because you were unhappy about the baby? Were you planning to end the pregnancy without telling me?”


“No!” she exclaimed, horrified.

Quinn turned to the doctor and grilled him about her condition. The man quickly reassured him that her pulse and blood pressure were just fine. Still, he advised that she see her own doctor the next day, just to make sure.

“We’re going home,” Quinn said. “You’re going to bed. No wonder I thought you looked thin. You should have told me.”

“I was going to…”

“When?” he demanded so coldly she couldn’t answer him.

That was the last word either of them said until they reached his loft. In the car, he gripped the steering wheel with clenched fists, while his profile seemed fashioned of unyielding granite. Never once did he look her way. Deliberately, he shut her out. The walls between them thickened and grew taller. Would she ever be able to reach him again?

Once inside the loft, he lingered in the crimson shower of light by the door while she fled to the master bedroom.

Alone in the vast room, she stared at the bed they’d shared. Silently, she kicked off her heels and pulled off the red dress and then slipped into a frothy white nightgown.

This wasn’t the way she’d imagined telling him about the baby.

The rubies on her neck felt heavy, unbearable, but when she went to undo the clasp, her fingers shook too badly for her to manage it. The weight on her heart was even heavier. How could he have thought, even for one second, she might want to end her pregnancy? How could she go to bed when heartbreak was suffocating her?

She had to talk to him, to at least try to make things right. Without remembering to grab a robe, she raced to the huge living room. It was empty, so she tiptoed back down the hall to his bedroom door, which he’d shut against her. She called his name, softly at first. When he didn’t answer, she knocked.

His door swung open and he stood before her, his powerful, bare-chested body backlit by the lamp on his nightstand. He looked so glorious, she caught her breath. For a long moment, she could only stare at his bronzed muscles with bemused fascination. He was so fit and hard. If only she could throw herself into his arms and tell him she loved him and his baby.

But she knew he didn’t want her love.

“I want this baby, and I was going to tell you,” she whispered.

She watched his magnificent muscles cord as he pushed the door wider. “When?” he muttered roughly, disbelieving her.

“Just before I passed out at the party. I wanted to tell you in person, and… It was just that I was scared,” she continued breathlessly. “I—I…couldn’t believe you’d want my baby, too.”

“Our baby,” he corrected in a tight tone. “Couldn’t the baby give us something more positive to build on?”

“How? If you regret marrying me. And blame our child for trapping you into a permanent involvement with a woman you don’t want.

“Quinn, if you’d planned to dissolve our marriage after your takeover of Murray Oil, you don’t have to stay with me because of this. I hope you know that. This doesn’t have to change the businesslike nature of our arrangement.”

He sucked in a breath. “Damn it. Are you ever going to quit telling me what I feel?”

“But isn’t that…how you feel?”

For a long moment he was silent. “Would you listen to me for once, instead of being so sure you’ve got me pegged?”

“Yes. All right.”

After another lengthy interval, his expression softened. “I guess I’m a little scared by your news,” he said simply.

“Because you know our marriage isn’t real?”

His mouth tensed. “No! Because babies are a lifetime commitment. Because they are so little…and so helpless. Because they know how to turn their parents into doting sots—and they do it with charm, in no time flat. Anything could happen to a baby.” He caught her hand, and when she didn’t struggle, he pulled her into his arms. “Or to you…while you’re pregnant. I couldn’t bear it.” He kissed her brow.

It was bliss to be in his arms.

So he didn’t love her, couldn’t love anybody. But he cared. She was sure he cared, at least a little. He was holding her as if he did.

“But nothing will happen because we’ll take good care of the baby…and me,” she said reassuringly.

“My father was strong, and he died. We’re all only a heartbeat away from death.” There was so much grief and passion in his voice she felt hot tears sting the back of her eyelids.

“Which is why we have to live each moment to the fullest,” she whispered. In a burst of tenderness, she raised her fingertips to stroke his temples in consolation. “We don’t have a second to waste. We might as well be dead if we’re afraid to live.” To love, she wanted to add.

Quinn’s arms tightened around her. He lowered his face and this time it was her mouth he sought. When he found it, he kissed her long and deeply. She opened her lips and sighed. She’d wanted him to kiss her like this for hours, days. Maybe that was why she couldn’t help shivering in delight and giving him everything—all her love, even her soul—when she kissed him back.

“Oh, Kira…” For an endless time, he couldn’t seem to stop kissing her. Then, suddenly, he let her go and jerked free of her embrace.

“Forgive me. I forgot—you don’t want me pawing you. That’s what made you sick, earlier.” His dark face was flushed and his breathing ragged.

“No… I told you… I’ve had morning sickness. Only sometimes it’s not just in the morning.”

“Go to your own room. We can talk tomorrow.” Even as his harsh rejection wounded, his eyes continued to hungrily devour her.

He wanted her. He was pushing her away because he desired her so much. And because she’d made him promise not to sleep with her.

She’d been wrong, impossible from the first. She’d missed him while he was away. She was carrying his child.

Everything had changed for them.

If she had to beg, she would.

“Don’t make me sleep alone tonight,” she pleaded. “Because I won’t sleep. I’ll just lie there…wanting you.”

“I won’t sleep, either. Still, in the morning you’ll regret it if you don’t go.” His expression darkened. “Like you did before…on the island.”

But she hadn’t regretted it. He had.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “You did say we should focus on the positive…for the baby’s sake. Am I right?”

His sensual mouth quirked ever so charmingly, and the heat in his gaze soon had her bones melting.

“How do you make me break every rule that allowed me to survive during my long, dark years of grief?”

“I get that you don’t want to love anybody ever again. Especially not me,” she whispered. “But I’m not asking for your love tonight.”

When he would have protested, she sealed his lips with a fingertip. “I’m not asking for anything you can’t give. I just want to be with you.”

“My father loved my mother too much, and…she destroyed him…when she left. I can’t help thinking you’re just waiting for the right moment to walk out.”

Don’t you know how much I love you? Don’t you know that if only you loved me, I would never leave you?

Her knees were so weak with desire, she could barely stand. No way did she possess the courage to voice her true thoughts. She was afraid they would only drive him further away.

Her hold on him was tenuous, and only sexual. She had to accept that, use it and hope that someday she could build on that foundation.

Reaching toward him, she splayed her fingertips against his massive chest. Flesh and bone and sinew felt solid and warm beneath her open palm. When she ran her fingers over his nipples and through the dark hair that matted his torso, he groaned, which pleased her.

“Kira. Darlin’.” On a shuddering sigh, he pulled her close and teased her lips and jawline with his mouth and tongue.

Lifting her, he carried her to the bed. There, he slid off his belt and slacks and pushed her nightgown down her shoulders. As it pooled onto the floor, he pulled her against him and pushed inside her slick satin warmth. Riding their mutual passion, they let it carry them like a charging black steed, faster and faster, until they soared together in torrid surrender. Afterward, as she held on to him, her sated body melted into his.

“You’ve ruined me,” he whispered.

“Whiner,” she teased.

“Seriously. I’ll never be able to move again,” he said.

She laughed. “Sure you will. And it better be sooner than you think. Because I’m going to be wanting more…very soon. You’ve neglected me…you know.”

“Have I now? And whose fault was that, darlin’ Kira?”

For an entire hour, he held her against his body as if she was precious to him. When she kissed his rough cheek, his throat, his nipples, he muttered huskily, “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

“I’ve missed you.”

“Slave driver.”

But he smiled and ran his hands through her hair as he pulled her close.

This time his love was sweeter, and slower, and afterward, when he kissed her belly gently, he showed her that his intense passion included their precious child.


“So, you want my baby, do you?” he whispered.

“So much, too much,” she admitted in a breathless whisper as she pressed his dark head against her flat stomach. “More than anything. In fact, I hope the baby’s a boy and that he looks just like you.”

He laughed in husky delight and nuzzled her tummy with his feverish lips. “Be careful what you wish for. He’ll be a handful, I assure you.”

“I can’t wait.”

When he held her close like this and was so teasingly affectionate, she could almost forget he didn’t love her, that he never could. She could almost forget how inadequate and uncertain she’d always felt.

Almost…

He was a handsome billionaire, who could have any woman he wanted. What could she do to hold him?

Nestled in his arms, she fell into a restless sleep and dreamed. She was a child again, standing beside her parents as they cheered Jaycee and her basketball team to victory. Then she was sitting in her room alone. The house was empty because her mother and father had driven Jaycee to a slumber party.

Older now, Kira was walking across the stage at Princeton where she’d graduated with honors. As she posed for photographs, she smiled brightly through her disappointment. None of her family was in the audience because Jaycee had a conflicting high school event. The picture was all they’d have to remember this huge milestone in Kira’s life.

“Remember to smile,” her mother had commanded over the phone. “You never smile.” A pause. “Oh, how I wish I could be there to see you graduate!”

“Couldn’t Daddy stay with Jaycee?”

“You know your father. He’s no good at those high school functions without me.”

The dream darkened into a nightmare. Quinn was standing in a shower of crimson light, holding Cristina against his long, lean body. “I have to marry her, don’t you understand? I don’t want to. You’re the one who’s special to me. Don’t ever forget that my marriage to her is strictly business. You’re the woman who really matters. Who will always matter. Nothing will change between us. You’ll see.”

Then he kissed Cristina as those awful words repeated themselves in her mind. “Strictly business…”

Kira woke up crying that phrase even as Quinn wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“Hush. It’s okay, baby. You were only dreaming.”

Was she? Or were her dreams where she faced the harsh truths she denied when awake?

“I’m fine,” she murmured, pushing him away. “You don’t have to comfort me. I can take care of myself—just like I always have. I didn’t ask you to love me—did I?”

“No, you damn sure didn’t.”



Strictly business.

God, if only Quinn could feel that way, too, maybe then he’d survive this nightmare.

As soon as Kira’s breathing had become regular again and Quinn was sure she was asleep, he’d tossed his own covers aside and shot out of bed.

Groping clumsily for his slacks on the dark floor, he yanked them on and stalked out of the bedroom in bare feet. When he got to the bar, he splashed a shot of vodka into a glass.

Strictly business.

Damn her! Not that he didn’t feel sorry for her, because he did. Even now, her stricken cries echoed in his mind. She was no happier than he was.

He’d been right to think she’d regret the sex. So, why the hell had she slept with him when he’d given her an out?

He’d never figure her out. She might regret what had happened, but he couldn’t. She’d been too sweet, and he’d craved her too desperately. Hell, it embarrassed him to think of how needy he’d felt all week without her in London.

Frowning as he stared into his glass, he remembered how he’d grabbed his cell phone at least a dozen times in his eagerness to call her, only to shove it back in his pocket. All he’d wanted was to hear her soft voice. Without her, he’d felt cut off, alone, alienated in a city he usually enjoyed.

Once in San Antonio, he’d rushed home. And when he’d seen her, he’d wanted nothing except to sweep her into his arms and kiss her endlessly. But she’d been pale and withdrawn.

Every day his obsession for her increased. If she could not reciprocate, they were shackled together on the same fatal course his own parents had traveled. He would not endure that kind of marriage.

His father had given his mother everything, and it hadn’t been enough.

He would not make the same mistake.

Fifteen

Quinn’s side of the bed was ice-cold.

Nothing had changed.

He was gone.

It wasn’t the first time Kira had woken up alone in Quinn’s bed, but this morning, she felt needier than usual. Maybe because of what they’d shared the night before, or maybe because of her bad dreams, she wanted a good-morning kiss. And maybe breakfast together punctuated with a lot more kisses.

But he’d left her for work, which was all-important to him. Hadn’t business been the sole reason he’d married her?

To him, last night must have been about sex and nothing more. She’d known that, hadn’t she? Still, as she lay in bed, her body sore from making love, she felt lonely. Would it always be like this?

Stretching, she rolled onto his side of the bed where his scent lingered and hugged his pillow. Then, realizing what an idiot she was, she hurled his pillow at the wall. It struck an etching, which crashed to the floor.

Footsteps in the corridor brought a quick blush to her face.

“Mrs. Sullivan? Is that you? Do you need my assistance?” Jason sounded so stiff and formal, she cringed. She wanted her husband, not some uptight houseman with high-class British airs.

“I’m fine,” she cried.

How was she going to get from Quinn’s room to hers in her sheer nightie without Jason seeing her wrapped in a blanket? Such an encounter would be embarrassing for both of them.

When five minutes passed without another sound, she cracked the door. There was no sign of him, so she ripped a blanket off the bed, covered herself and shot down the hall on flying tiptoes. Once inside her bedroom, she bolted the door.

As she dressed, taking her time because it was hours before she needed to be at Betty’s, she turned on the television. Murray Oil and the EU deal were all over the news.

Both the local news channels and the national ones were full of stories about Quinn’s heady successes. In too many shots, a beaming Cristina stood so close to Quinn the pair seemed joined at the hip. Why hadn’t Quinn told her that Cristina had gone to London with him?

Cristina worked for him. Surely he’d taken other executives. It was no big deal.

But in her fragile mood, and after her dream last night, it felt like a big deal to her.

You can’t blame a man for something you dreamed!

Maybe not, but she still had to ask him about Cristina and his reasons for taking the woman to London. So, when the phone rang, she rushed to pick it up, hoping it was Quinn.

“Hello!” she said a little too brightly.

“Kira? You don’t sound like yourself.”

The critical male tone was very familiar. Still, because she was focused on Quinn, it took her a second to place the voice. Then it came to her: Gary Whitehall, her former boss.

“Hi, Gary.”

“Are you still looking for a job?”

“I am,” she said.

“Even though you’re Quinn Sullivan’s wife?”

“Yes, even though. He’s a very busy man, and I love doing what I’m trained to do.”

“Well, Maria is retiring because she needs more time to help her daughter. The minute she told me she wanted to play grandmother, well, naturally, we all thought of you.”

She lifted a brow. And Quinn.

“You could have your old job back… Although, like I said, I wasn’t at all sure you’d be interested now that you’re the Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Well, I am, so…this is wonderful news.”

“Then you’ll make yourself available for a meeting? No hurry, though. Don’t want to pressure you.”

“I’m available. In fact, I’m free for an hour or two this afternoon.”

They agreed upon a time and hung up.

The call boosted her mood until she remembered how Quinn had rushed off to work this morning without even a goodbye. Until she remembered what a gorgeous couple he and Cristina had made on television. They were both so stylish and good-looking. They had business concerns in common, too.

With an effort, she quit thinking about Cristina and refocused on Gary’s offer. She was glad Gary had called, even if it was her marriage to Quinn that had made her more attractive as a job applicant.

On a whim, she decided to call Quinn and run the job idea by him just to see what he’d say.

Oh, be honest, Kira, you just want to hear his sexy voice and distract him from Cristina.

Kira made the call, only to be deflated when his secretary told her, “I’ll have him return your call. He’s in a meeting.”

“With whom?”

“Cristina Gold. They’re taking a last look at the contracts for the EU deal before everything is finalized.”

Don’t ask a question if you don’t want the answer.

“Would you please tell him…that I’ll be on my cell.”

“Are you all right, Mrs. Sullivan?”

“I’m fine,” she whispered as she hung up.

Perfectly fine.

Clutching the phone to her breast, she sank onto her bed. She didn’t feel fine. She felt more uncertain than ever.

Leave it alone. Cristina works for him. That’s all there is to it. Go to Betty’s. Do the interview with Gary. Forget your stupid nightmare.

But being pregnant had her feeling highly emotional. She couldn’t leave it alone. She had to see him. After last night, she had to know how he felt.

Dressing hurriedly, she was in his office in less than an hour. The same beautiful blonde secretary who’d greeted her on her first visit greeted her again, more warmly this time.

“Mr. Sullivan told me you two are expecting a baby. He sounded so happy about it. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“Would you like coffee? Or a soda?”

“I just want to talk to my husband. He didn’t call me back, and since I was in the neighborhood…”

“I’m afraid he’s still going over those contracts.”

“With Miss Gold?”

The young woman nodded. “I’m afraid the documents are long and very complicated. A mistake could cost millions. Miss Gold is one of our attorneys, you see. She had several concerns.”

“Please tell him I’m here.”

After the young woman buzzed him, she looked up almost immediately. “He says he’ll see you. Now.”

Intending to lead her down the hall, she arose, but Kira held up a hand. “I remember the way.”

When Kira reached his office, Cristina was just exiting with a thick sheaf of documents. She tossed Kira a tight smile. Behind Cristina, Quinn leaned negligently against the doorjamb.

When he opened the door, Kira said, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Glad that meeting’s over. And doubly glad to see you.” He shut the door. “I needed a break.”

Despite the welcoming words, when their eyes met, she felt a sudden unbearable tension coming from him.

“Sorry I left so early this morning, but I had a couple of urgent texts.”

“From Cristina?”

“One was. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of balls in the air related to the EU deal,” he said.

“No problem.”

“You look upset.” His voice was flat.

“I didn’t realize Cristina went to London with you…until I saw some of the news coverage on television.”

A cynical black brow lifted. “I took a team of ten. She was part of the team. She’s very talented at what she does, or I never would have hired her.”

“Not only is she talented, but she’s beautiful, too.”

He stood very still. “I imagine her looks are part of why she made it into so many of the TV shots. Look, there’s no need for you to be jealous of her…if that’s what this is.”

“I’m not.”

“I’m married to you, and whether you believe it or not, that means something to me.”

What did it really mean if he could never love her?

“Since you obviously want to know more about Cristina and me,” he began in the maddening, matter-of-fact tone of a lawyer presenting his case, “I’ll clarify our relationship. We dated briefly. The press gave our romance more attention than it deserved.

“Then she broke up with me—for another man with whom she’s still seriously involved. At the time, she complained I never had time for her. He did. Naturally, I was angry, but since then I’ve realized she was right.”

“A vengeful man might have held what she did against her,” she said coolly. “Why did you hire her?”

“We worked together on several projects before we dated. She will do a lot for Murray Oil.”

“So, as always, business is all-important to you? Does nothing else ever matter? Not even your own injured feelings?”

He shrugged. “They weren’t that injured. I got over her pretty quickly.”

Would he get over Kira and be this matter-of-fact about it? At the thought, Kira cringed.

“Business will always be an important part of my life. I don’t deny that. It’s part of who I am. I hired her…before I met you.” He paused. “What is it you want from me this morning, Kira?”

“Right. I’m interrupting you. You’re a busy man. You probably have many more important meetings to get through today. All those balls in the air. And here I am, your pregnant, overly emotional wife needing reassurance.”

He studied her warily. “What do you want, Kira?”

Why couldn’t she be as cool and logical as he was? Because everything in her life was out of balance. She was pregnant and feeling needy. There were too many unanswered questions in their relationship, and she was still reeling from the discovery that she’d been adopted.

She wanted to belong somewhere, to someone. She wanted to matter to Quinn. If she’d been more important to him, wouldn’t he have kept her in the loop while he was gone? Wouldn’t he have shared more details concerning his oil deal?

“I guess I want the impossible,” she blurted out. “I want a real marriage.”

“Now you want a real marriage, when all along you’ve said that’s the last thing you want? Last night you woke up crying from some dream, apparently about me, demanding ‘strictly business.’ You pushed me away as if you wanted nothing to do with me. If I give you space it’s wrong. If I push myself on you it’s wrong.”

“I know I’m not making sense,” she said. “Our marriage was never based on love, mutual understanding or anything that makes up a true partnership. I guess I’m upset because…because I don’t know… I just know I can’t go on like this!”

“As soon as I complete this deal, I’ll have more time…”

“How will that matter if you don’t want the same kind of marriage I do? Now, maybe because of the baby and finding out I was adopted, I have this huge need for things to be right between us. I want more. I’ve wanted more my whole life. I don’t want to feel left out anymore. Most of all, I want to count to my husband.”

“If you wanted to belong in this marriage, then why did you tell me from the first that you didn’t want to sleep with me?”

“I guess to protect myself…from ever feeling like I feel now—needy…confused. I knew this marriage was only a business deal for you. I didn’t want to get my heart broken,” she whispered.

“What are you saying?”

“What we have isn’t enough. Not for me…or for you.”

“You’re pregnant. We can’t just walk away from each other. It’s not about you and me anymore, or even Murray Oil. We have a child to think about now.”

“That’s all the more reason I don’t want us trapped in a loveless marriage. I want a husband who can love me. I want my child to grow up in a loving home. After the deal you just made, the executives at Murray Oil trust you. You don’t need to be married to me anymore. You can divorce me and date somebody who understands you, someone who can make you happy…someone like Cristina.”

“Damn it. I don’t want a divorce. Or Cristina. Like I said—if you’d ever once listen to me—she’s practically engaged.”

“But you don’t love me…”

“Well, I damn sure don’t love anyone else. And I’m not lusting after anybody else. I’m focused solely on you! You’re very important to me, Kira. Vital. Still, it’s true that I’m not sure I’ll ever be capable of loving anyone—even you. Maybe I’ve been hard and dark and driven for too long.”

“Well, I want a man who will commit his heart to me, or I want out.”

“Okay,” he said in a tone that was cold, infuriatingly logical and final. “Now that our marriage has served its purpose, you want out. Well, I don’t want out, and I’m not ready to let you go. But if that’s what you want, I won’t hold you against your will any longer.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you what you say you want. You’re free to leave. But understand this—I intend to take an active role in raising our child.”

“Of course,” she whispered, feeling shattered.

“Then so be it,” he said.

He stared at her, waiting for her to walk out the door, and, for a brief moment, his guard fell. She saw longing and pain flash in his eyes.

Suddenly, she realized just how much she’d wanted him to fight for her, for them.

After stumbling blindly out of his office, she sat behind the wheel of her car, clenching her keys in her hand. All her life she’d wanted someone to fight for her, someone to put her first. She’d had a right to push for more from her marriage.

He wasn’t willing to fight for her as he’d fought for his oil deal in London, so she would do the fighting.

She would fight for her self-respect, and she would teach their child to fight for his, too.



Kira had been in no condition to be interviewed by Gary the afternoon she’d parted from Quinn, so she’d rescheduled.

Two miserable days later, she still didn’t feel strong enough, but here she sat, facing Gary across his wide, cluttered desk in his flashy corner office that overlooked the museum grounds and the busy street that fronted the modern building.


If only she could stop thinking about Quinn and how bereft she’d felt ever since he’d agreed to end their marriage.

Concentrating on Gary, who wasn’t the most fascinating man, was difficult. Lately, everything had been difficult. Returning to Quinn’s gorgeous loft, packing the beautiful clothes that she would no longer need and then moving back into her cramped apartment with her dead plants and resentful cat had been full of emotional hurdles.

Rudy wouldn’t sit on her lap or use his scratching post. Only this morning he’d peed on her pillow just to show her how much he resented being abandoned.

“Quit feeling sorry for yourself! I’m the one who got married and pregnant…and separated,” she’d yelled at him.

Swishing his tail, he’d flattened his ears and stalked indifferently to his bowl where he’d howled for more tuna.

She tried to pay attention to Gary, she really did, but her mind constantly wandered to her miserable new separated state and to Quinn and how cold he’d been right before he’d watched her walk away.

Suddenly, she found Gary’s droning insufferable and longed to be anywhere else, even home alone with her sullen cat. If she didn’t interrupt Gary, he might easily rant on for another half an hour.

“Gary, this is all very fascinating, but I need to ask a question.”

He frowned.

“Is this job offer contingent on me remaining married to Quinn?”

“What?”

“Let me be blunt.”

His mouth tightened. “You do that so well.”

“Quinn and I have separated. Do you still want me for this job? “

His face fell. “Separated?” Flushing, he pushed himself back from his desk. “Well, that does change things.” Recovering quickly, he ran a nervous hand through his hair. “Still, I want you to work here, of course.”

Her voice was equally silky as she leaned toward him. “Of course. I’m so glad we understand each other.”

A few minutes later he hastily concluded the interview. “I’ll call you,” he said.

She left, wondering if he would.



As she stood on the curb outside the museum, about to cross the street, Jaycee called her on her cell.

“How are things going?”

“I’ve been better,” Kira replied. “The interview with Gary went okay, I guess.”

“And Rudy?”

“He peed on my pillow this morning.”

“Well, you abandoned him. He’s still mad at you.”

“I guess. Hold on—”

Pressing the phone against her ear, she looked both ways to cross the street. But just as she jumped into the crosswalk a motorcycle made a left turn, going too fast.

She felt a surge of panic, but it was too late. In the next moment, she was hurled into the air.



It was true what they said about your life flashing before your eyes.

She saw Quinn’s darkly handsome face and knew suddenly, without a doubt, that she loved him.

It didn’t matter that he could never love her. Or maybe she knew, on some deep level, that he must love her, too—at least a little.

She remembered all the times he’d looked at her and she’d felt her soul join to his.

She’d been an idiot to walk out on the man she loved, to abandon a man so afraid of love that he denied what was in his own heart. He needed her.

She wanted to get up and run back to his office. She wanted to beg him for another chance. But when she tried to sit up, her body felt as if it were made of concrete.

Someone knelt over her, but she couldn’t see his face.

“Quinn,” she cried. “I want Quinn.”

The man spoke, but she couldn’t hear what he said.

Then everything went black.



“A Jerry Sullivan is here to see you,” Quinn’s secretary informed him crisply. “Says he’s family.”

“Show him in,” Quinn ordered in a dull voice as he set the lightning whelk Kira had given him back on the shelf. “He’s my uncle. He’ll want coffee with cream and sugar.”

Uncle Jerry didn’t wait for Quinn’s secretary to return with his coffee before he pounced.

“Sorry to interrupt you, but I just heard you separated from your beautiful wife. I’d ask you to tell me it isn’t true, but since you look like something my dog dragged in from the gutter, I won’t bother.”

“Good to see you, too, Uncle J.”

“What the hell did you do to drive her away?”

“I never should have married her in the first place.”

“If you let her go, you’ll be making the biggest mistake of your life. You’ve already wasted too many years of your life alone.”

“Let me be, why don’t you?”

“You’re still in love with her. I can see it!”

“The hell I am. Did anybody ever tell you to mind your own business?”

“Sure. You. Plenty of times. Good thing I’ve got better sense than to listen to the likes of an upstart nephew who doesn’t have a clue about what’s good for him.”

“I think some men are better off single. And I’m probably one of them.”

“Bull. I saw the way you were with her. You’re like your father. He was the most loving man I ever knew.”

“And what did it get him—other than a broken heart and an early grave?”

“You’re not your father. Kira’s not Esther. Kira’s the real thing. Esther was a beautiful woman who knew how to play your dad. And, yes, your dad foolishly loved her with all his heart—just like he loved you. But when you get down to it, even when you’re wrong about the people you love, loving is still the best way to live. That’s why we still miss Kade. He loved us all so much!”

“My father killed himself because my mother left him.”

“You’ll never make me believe that! Kade wouldn’t ever deliberately walk out on you. You were everything to him. His death was an accident.”

“Uncle Jerry, thanks for coming by.”

“Great. Now you’re giving me the brush-off.”

“I know you mean well…but I’m a grown man—”

“Who has the right to screw up his life royally and who’s doing a damn good job of it.”

“If you’ve said your piece, I’ve got work to do.”

“You’ve always got work to do! Maybe it’s time you got a life.” Uncle Jerry smiled grimly. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it, not that it’s any fun watching my favorite nephew walk out on the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“I didn’t walk out on her! Damn it! She left me!”

“So, quit sulking, and go after her!”

“If only it were that easy!”

“Trust me—it is. The only thing stopping you is your damn arrogance.”

“Get the hell out of here!”

Holding a silver tray with a coffee cup, Quinn’s secretary pushed the door open and would have entered except Quinn held up a hand. “Uncle Jerry won’t be having coffee after all. He’s leaving.”

For some time after his uncle had gone, Quinn sat in his office and seethed. Slowly, as he cooled down, everything the older man had said began replaying in his mind. Since his father’s death, Uncle Jerry was the one person Quinn had been able to count on.

Quinn walked over to the shelf where he’d placed the lightning whelk. How full of hope he’d felt when she’d given it to him. He remembered her shining eyes, her glowing beauty.

Turning away, he grabbed his cell phone. For a long moment he just held it.

Quinn didn’t just want to call Kira for his own selfish reasons. He was genuinely worried about her and the baby. The longer he went without talking to her, the more worried he grew. Would it be so wrong to call just to make sure she and the baby were all right? Would it? Even if they never got back together, she was the mother of his future child.

Swallowing his pride, he lifted his phone and punched in her number. As he waited for her to answer, his gut clenched.

Then, on the third ring, a man answered.

“I want Kira,” Quinn thundered. “I need to speak to my wife.”

“Sir, I’m so sorry. I’m terribly afraid there’s been an accident…”

The man introduced himself as someone working at the local hospital. He said something about a motorcycle hitting Kira and that Kira had been taken to his emergency room by ambulance. After getting the specifics, Quinn hung up and was grabbing his jacket and on his way to the door, when Earl Murray rang his cell phone.

Quinn picked up on the first ring. “I just heard Kira’s been hurt.”

“Apparently, Jaycee was talking to her when the motorcycle hit her… I don’t know anything else.”

“Then I’ll meet you at the hospital,” Quinn said. His heart was in his throat as he bolted out of his office in a dead run, praying he wouldn’t be too late.

Sixteen

Quinn had never been as scared in his life as he was when he stood over Kira watching the IV drip clear liquid into her veins. Her narrow face had the awful grayish tint Quinn had seen only one time before—on his father’s face as he’d lain in a pool of his own blood.

“Tell me she’s going to be all right. Tell me the baby’s all right.”

“I’ve told you,” the doctor repeated patiently. “Apparently, she was thrown onto the pavement, but seems to have suffered only a concussion and a few bruises. After a night or two of rest, she and the baby will be fine. She’s one lucky young lady.”


“You’re sure?” For some reason, the facts weren’t sticking in Quinn’s head as they usually did.

“As sure as I can be under the circumstances.”

“When will she wake up?”

“Like I told you before—soon. You just have to be patient.”

An hour later, the longest hour of Quinn’s life, her long lashes fluttered. Sensing that she was struggling to focus on him, Quinn gripped her hand and leaned forward.

“Kira… Darlin’…”

“Quinn… I wanted you to come. I wanted it so much.”

“Kira, you’re in a hospital. You’re going to be okay. The baby, too.”

“I love you,” she said softly. “I was such a fool.”

Rather than terrifying him, those three words brought a rush of joy.

“I love you, too. More than anything.” He squeezed her hand tightly. “So much it scares the hell out of me.”

It had only taken her admission to make him brave enough to admit his own feelings for her.

With glistening eyes, she laughed softly. “You really love me?”

“Yes. Maybe even from the first moment I saw you. I just didn’t know what had hit me.” He paused. “Jaycee’s here, along with your parents. We’ve all been so scared for you and the baby. Half out of our minds.”

“They’re all here, too?”

“Of course we’re here,” her father roared.

Kira smiled radiantly up at them. “It’s almost worth getting hit by a motorcycle to have all of you all here…together, knowing…knowing that you love me.”

They moved closer, circling her bed. Holding hands, they smiled down at her. “Of course we love you,” her father said. “You’re our girl.”

“You gave us a terrible scare,” her mother said. “You’re very important to all of us.”

“I’m so happy,” Kira whispered. “I’ve never been happier.”

“By the way,” her father said, “your old boss called and said you’d better get well soon because you’ve got a big job at the museum waiting for you. So, no more waitressing…”

Kira smiled weakly. “I guess that’s good news…but not nearly as good as all of you being here.” Her grip on Quinn’s hand tightened as she looked up at him. “I never, ever want to let go of you again.”

“You won’t have to.”

Quinn needed no further encouragement to lean forward and kiss her. Very carefully, so as not to hurt her, he pressed his mouth to her lips.

As always, she gave her entire being to him, causing warmth and happiness to flow from her soul into his.

She was everything to him. He would love her and cherish her always, or at least until the last breath left his body.

“Darlin’,” he whispered. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again.”

She nodded. “Never. I swear it. Like I said, I was a fool.”

Circling his neck with her hands, she brought his face down to hers and kissed him again.

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