One Wild Wedding Night_ Getaway - Leslie Kelly [20]
And she did. Oh, she truly did.
So as Dean came out of the cabin for the last time, his keys in his hand, Bridget didn’t think. She acted. Plucking the keys away, she threw them as far as she could, shocking even herself with the spontaneous action. He’s going to kill me.
He gaped, looking stunned. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I want the rest of our weekend,” she said. Lifting her hand, she thrust an index finger into his chest. “I have until tomorrow morning, damn it, and I want it.”
His mouth fell open, as if he didn’t know what to say.
“And if you think you’re going to drive me back to Chicago, dump me on my doorstep, then disappear out of my life again, you’d better think twice, Dean Willis. We started something last night and we’re going to finish it.”
She was prepared for a frown, even a yell that she’d tossed his keys into the snow, possibly stranding them here. The one thing she absolutely did not expect was what she got.
“What if it takes a lifetime to finish it?”
His voice was soft, his tone so unexpectedly tender, that at first the words didn’t sink in. Once they did, her heart started beating again, the world started turning again. This was the lover speaking…quiet, introspective. And very, very serious. “If we take a lifetime, you mean?”
He slid his hands around her waist, beneath her coat, so she felt the warm possession of the touch. Tugging her close against him, he stared down at her, his eyes sparkling beneath the brilliant rays of morning sun. “Yes. Us, together. Bridget, I am in love with you and I have been for a long time.”
She sucked in a shocked breath. “You love me?”
He nodded, then, with a regretful frown, released her from his embrace. “Enough to take you back to the city, let you get back to your real life and decide if you want me to be a part of it.” Clearing his throat, he added, “With no forced proximity—no kidnappings—to mess with your head.”
His words finally helped her figure things out. Why he’d come back looking so dejected, why he’d been so determined to take her home. Back to reality.
He wanted her to choose him…not be stuck with him.
Funny. She’d chosen him months ago, even before she knew who he really was. “I love you, Dean. I’ve loved you for a long time, too.” His smile dazzled and Bridget reached up to cup a tender hand around his rough cheek. “If you hadn’t kidnapped me last night, I would have eventually pounded down your door to see if there really was something between us.”
“But you were so mad after Marty’s arrest….”
“I was. Mainly because I was heartbroken. I thought you’d used me, that you’d felt nothing.”
“You were wrong. I felt everything.” He turned his face to kiss her palm. “I’m so sorry.”
Bridget rose on tiptoe, twining her arms around his neck. Pulling him down, she gave him a sweet, tender kiss, offering forgiveness. And a lot more. “Can we please stay?”
His eyes twinkled. “I think we’re going to have to, at least until the snow melts.”
Chuckling, Bridget tugged him back toward the door. But suddenly remembering why he’d gone out, she gasped. “Please tell me you finished your shopping before your cell phone rang.”
He knew exactly what she meant. Because with a smile that was pure sin, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a shiny, new-looking box of condoms. Two dozen.
Laughing in sheer happiness, she said, “Ambitious.”
“But not slutty,” he replied, a twinkle in his eye.
As he put an arm across her shoulders and led her back inside their secluded hideaway, Bridget considered how different the world looked on this bright winter morning. Was it really possible that a life could change completely in one short night?
Watching as Dean closed the door behind them, then pushed her coat off her shoulders to draw her into his arms, she knew it was most definitely possible.
Anything was.
Epilogue
They nearly missed their flight.
After a long, full night of eroticism