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By Root 648 0

that when I came here, you were just a name in a news article, a picture on a magazine cover. I didn't know you. But I did know my brother and Amelia. I knew how much they had suffered, how much they loved each other. I couldn't let anyone hurt them. Especially Mark. He had just lost his wife, the woman he loved more than anyone in the world. You know how that feels, don't you? You, more than anyone, know how that feels."

"Yes, I know," she admitted.

"Mark threatened to leave. He said he'd take Amelia and disappear before he'd give her up. I didn't want that life for her, the kind of life I had led, always on the run, always hiding from someone."

"So you set out to ruin each one of us. And we made it so easy."

"You didn't. I had nothing on you. You were smart and caring, kind and compassionate, beautiful, nurturing, loyal to a fault." He reached out, unable to hold himself back from touching her. Her soft hair drifted through his fingers, and he rested his hands on her shoulders. "I couldn't think of one reason why you wouldn't be a terrific mother. You're an incredible woman. Don't you know that?"

"Keep talking."

He smiled, sensing the battle was half won. "All I could think about on the water today was getting back to you, asking you to forgive me."

"I don't think I've actually heard the words."

"Will you forgive me, Kate?"

She made him wait a long, tense moment, then her lips, her beautiful, generous lips curved into a tender smile. "Yes, I'll forgive you. I love you, too, Tyler. That's why I made love to you last night, even though there was more to be discovered between us. Deep down inside, I knew you were a good man. Maybe you weren't being completely honest, but then I hardly hold the title for honesty myself."

"What else did you know?" he asked, teasing her cheek with a soft kiss. He liked the way she caught her breath, and he did it again, just to hear that small sound.

"I knew -- You're distracting me, Tyler."

His tongue swept the curve of her ear. "I'm listening, Kate."

"I knew you could make me feel like this, crazy, reckless, not that those are necessarily good things but they sure feel good," she said with a sigh. "You make me laugh, and you make me think about the future, and I've never let myself think about the future. Not in a long time. I'm not proposing or anything," she added with a nervous laugh. "It's too soon for that."

She kissed him again, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up against him until he could feel every inch of her. Only it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. "Did you say your father was in your bed?" he grumbled.

She grinned. "Yes, and my sisters are in the kitchen. This house is way too crowded."

"I know where there's a hotel room with lots of privacy."

"Will you show me?"

"Oh, I'll show you lots of things." He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the door.

"Tyler, wait, I need my purse, my coat, my --" He cut her off with a deep, passionate kiss.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Ashley asked as she and Caroline came out of the kitchen.

Tyler put his arm around Kate. "She'll see you tomorrow," he told them. "We have a few things to discuss in private."

"You're leaving us with Dad?" Caroline asked in shock. "You can't leave us with Dad."

Kate laughed. "As a matter of fact, I can. Good night."

Tyler kicked the door shut behind them and looked down into Kate's smiling face. "You're okay with this, right?"

"I'm more than okay. I'm madly in love, and tonight is ours. Tomorrow I'll worry about tomorrow."

"Well, what do you think of that?" Caroline asked in dismay. "Kate just runs off with the sexy reporter when we've got a huge mess on our hands."

"Sounds like something you would do," Ashley replied.

Caroline didn't appreciate the smug look in Ashley's eyes. "Very funny. Do you think it's serious between them?"

"I hope so. I haven't seen Kate look so happy in a long time."

"It would be great if they got together, because