She bit down on her lip, her eyes tearing. "Really?"
He smiled. "Absolutely. You're an incredible woman, Julia-smart, sexy, brave-and you never quit. You inspire me."
"I feel the same way about you, Alex. Your courage, your sense of adventure, the way you embrace new things constantly amaze me. And you're really good in bed, too," she added with a smile.
"It's about time you mentioned that," he said with a sexy growl. "I think I'm the luckiest man on earth right now." He leaned over and placed a tender, passionate kiss on her lips.
"And I'm the luckiest woman," Julia murmured against his mouth. "Do you know why I came here?" she asked him, pulling away for just a moment.
"Tell me."
"I wanted to connect with my parents. The letter my mother wrote to us made me realize that my parents lived their lives with purpose and passion. They were willing to risk everything for love and family. That's the way I want to live. I don't want to play it safe. I want to follow my heart-wherever it leads. This trip was the first step."#p#分页标题#e#
"Where are you going next?"
She moved deeper into his embrace. "Right here…I love you, Alex. I was going to come and find you after this trip." She paused. "I don't want you to stay in one place for me. I want to go with you wherever life takes us. I have some thoughts of my own about spreading music around the world. I could use a partner for that."
"You've got one. And if the last few weeks are any indication, I think you and I are going to have a very exciting life."
She gazed into his eyes and saw a future filled with promise. Now she knew not only where she'd come from… but where she was going.
Read on for an excerpt from
Barbara Freethy’'s next thrilling novel of romantic suspense, coming in the summer of 2006.
"To my wife." Nick Granville gave Kayla Sheridan a dazzling smile as he raised his champagne glass to hers.
Kayla blinked back a tear of happiness. She could hardly believe she was married, but an hour ago she'd vowed to love this man above all others. He'd put a ring on her finger and a diamond necklace around her neck, and he'd promised to stay forever, which was really all she'd ever wanted. A child of divorce, she'd said more than her share of goodbyes. That was over now. She was Mrs. Nicholas Granville, and she would make her marriage stick.
The champagne tickled her throat. She felt almost dizzy with delight.
Nick leaned forward and kissed her softly on the mouth, a promise of what was to come. "I'm going to get some ice." He sent her a meaningful look. "I think we'll want some cold champagne… later."
A tingle of anticipation ran down her spine. "Don't be long."
He paused at the door and pulled out the antique pocket watch she'd given him as a wedding present a few minutes earlier. "Thanks again for this," he said. "It means a lot to me."
"My grandmother told me I should give it to the man I love. And that's you."
She wanted him to say he loved her, too, but he had already left the room. It didn't matter. He'd married her. That was what was important. She'd spent most of her twenties with a commitment-phobic boyfriend, who couldn't bring himself to pop the question. Nick had told her on their first date that he intended to be her husband. She'd been swept away by his love and his confidence that they were perfect for each other. Now, only four weeks since that first date, she was his wife. She could hardly believe it. She'd never done anything so impulsive in her life.
Too restless to sit, Kayla got up to take a look out the window. Their luxurious honeymoon suite was on the hotel's twenty-fifth floor and offered a spectacular view of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains. She was only four hours from her home in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it felt like a million miles. Her entire life had changed during a simple wedding ceremony that had been witnessed by only two strangers. It was her one regret that neither her family nor Nick's had attended the wedding. But the past was behind her. Tonight was a new beginning.
Turning away from the window, she entered the bedroom. She took off her dress and slipped on a white see-through silk teddy that left nothing to the imagination. Then she drew a brush through her long, wavy brown hair. Gazing at herself in the mirror she could hardly believe her sparkling, glowing image. She looked like a woman in love. And that's exactly what she was.#p#分页标题#e#
Kayla sprayed some perfume in the air and walked through it. Debating whether or not she should wait for Nick in bed, she tried out several sexy poses on the satiny duvet. She felt completely ridiculous and chided herself for being nervous. Her wedding night would be perfect no matter how it got started.