Milo was in the living room, and he was staring at the front door. Christie walked up next to him, and touched his head. He licked her hand, then watched the door some more.
A moment later, someone knocked.
She debated ignoring it, but her lights were on. She walked to the side of the door and stood up on her toes. Pulling back the curtain, she looked at the front stoop.
It was a man. A big man with dark hair, and her heart started beating harder. At first glance, from the side, he looked like Boone, but that couldn’t be. Boone didn’t know where she was. Nate had made sure that no one did. But damn, it sure looked like Boone.
He knocked again, and she saw his profile. A cry escaped as she put the gun down on the table by the door, then jerked the locks open. Her hand shook so hard she almost broke the knob. But then it was open, and oh, God, it was him. “Boone.”
He lifted her into his arms, and kissed her over and over, spinning her around and inside, where he kicked the door shut. Then he kissed her again.
He tasted like Boone, like everything she remembered. It wasn’t possible, he couldn’t be here, but she touched his face and it was his face.
“Christie,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
She laughed. “That’s my line. How are you here? Is it over?”
He studied her eyes as she studied his. So green, so beautiful, with that incredible crease right above his nose. She kissed him right there, and then on the lips again.
He put her down, but she still felt as if she were flying. “Tell me, dammit. How are you here?”
“It wasn’t easy. But I found you. Dammit, Christie, I’ve missed you so much.” He swallowed hard. “I had to find Nate first. He didn’t want to give it up, believe me. But he told me to tell you to keep the good thought. Things are happening. Slowly, but they’re happening.”
“So it’s not over?”
“No, baby, it’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I was miserable without you. If we have to live like this, then I say we do it together. You and me. It won’t be fun, but it’s not fun now, right?”
She cupped his face. “I knew I loved you for a reason.”
“You do, huh? Love me?”
She nodded, so incredibly sure.
“Then you’re cool with this? With us?”
She kissed him again, and this time she took her sweet time. It was everything she remembered, and so much more. Her hands explored his back, his butt, then went back for seconds.
When she finally pulled back, he was smiling at her. Not that loopy grin from when his mouth was all bangedup, but the beautiful smile she knew from her dreams. “How’s your leg?”
“Ugly, but useable.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“No,” he said. “This is good. This is worth everything. I love you, Christie. I’m not willing to lose you again.”
“Well, isn’t that something,” she whispered. She touched his lips with her fingertips, then leaned in close. “Because I’m not willing to be lost.”
In November 2006, look for Jo Leigh’s next
Harlequin Blaze novel, RELENTLESS, part
of an exciting new miniseries featuring
more of Kate, Seth and Nate.