Alex swung the light away and he got his first clear look at her. She was wearing an oversize robe with a big brown stain down the front. Her hair hung straight as sticks around her face, her eyes and nose were pink.
His heart swelled. She was beautiful.
"You can come in," she said coldly, "but only until the storm is over. I wouldn't want to have to try to explain why I'd let a man drown on the front steps."
"Thanks," he said, and shuffled past her. "You're dripping on the floor."
"An astute observance, Princess. I don't suppose you have a towel to spare?"
She hesitated, shrugged and turned on her heel. Travis followed after her in waterlogged silence, up the stairs, down the hall, to the bedroom. A moment later, she slapped a stack of scratchy towels in his arms.
"Here."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
His brows lifted. "Such good manners."
"There's no reason not to be polite," she said stiffly.
He looked at the bed, then at her. "We weren't always, so well mannered, when we shared a bedroom."
Alex flushed. "When you're done drying off," she said, making for the door, "come downstairs."
"I want you to come back."
Damn, he hadn't meant to tell her that way. He'd intended to take her in his arms, kiss her, tell her how she'd changed his life...but he could feel his chances slipping away. He'd never seen his Princess so cold and removed.
"Alex? I said-"
"I heard what you said." She stood absolutely still, her back to him. "What do you expect me to say, Travis?"
"That you will," he said, as if this were all too simple to need explanation.
Her heart, her foolish, foolish heart, which had been oh, so close to melting, quickly began icing over.
"Come back to you, you mean." She swung toward him.
"Yes."
He took a step forward, wishing he could see her eyes but she was pointing the flashlight at him again. His heart gave an unsteady lurch. This wasn't going right. He'd admitted that he loved her, asked her not to leave him. Why wasn't she in his arms? He knew that she loved him. She had to love him.
"No. "
Travis came to a dead stop. "What do you mean, no?"
Alex licked her lips. Don't look at me that way, she thought. As if you really love me, not just want me. Don't, oh don't.
"Princess." He cleared his throat. "Princess, I know I let you down-"
"Is that what you think this is all about?"
"Okay. I hurt you. But I never intended to. When I said you were-that you were more than a mistress to me, I meant that you'd become the center of my life."
"That's nice," she said politely.
Travis's eyes narrowed. What was this? He was putting his heart on the line here and all she could say was...
"Nice? I bare my soul, and you tell me, `That's nice'?"
"I am not coming back to you," she said. Her voice quavered; she told herself not to dare cry. "I hate you, Travis. I hate you!"
"No, you don't."
"Go away. And never come back."
"You're in love with me, Princess."
"In love with...?" She laughed, or hoped the sound she made was a laugh. "Oh, that ego of yours is unbelievable! Why would you think I'm in love with-" The lights blazed on. Alex blinked and looked at Travis. What she saw in his face made her breath catch. "You stay away from me, Cowboy," she said quickly, but it was too late. He was already moving toward her. She took a step back, then another. Her shoulders hit the wall.
"Don't you dare touch me, Travis! Travis? What do you think you're doing?"
"Undressing you," he said calmly.
"No!" She wriggled. A big mistake. She knew that as soon as the center of her body connected with the center of his. "Travis. Listen to me. First you broke into my house-"
"I didn't break in. And it isn't your house." He frowned. She'd never been a Girl Scout; he could tell that by the impossible knot she'd tied in the sash of her robe. "You let me in, remember?"
"Only because I didn't want your dead body on my conscience. Dammit, this won't solve anything."
"Yeah, it will." He looked up and gave her that quick, smug smile that had always managed to drive her wild. "You won't be able to lie to me, once we've made love."
"We are not going to make love!" She slapped at his hands. "Stop that!"
"Remind me to give you lessons on how to tie a square knot."
"You're never going to give me lessons in anything again."
"I am," he said calmly. "I like to sail, and I'd never let you tie a knot like this in a line on... Ah. There we are. It's open."
"I don't like boats. I am never going to sail with you..." Alex's breath caught. "Don't-don't do that."
"Do what?" he said, very softly, and he lowered his head to hers and kissed her.
"Travis," she whispered, as he stroked his hand down her throat. "Please. Please..."
He kissed her again. Her lips clung to his. "Tell me that you love me," he said softly.
"I don't. I..." She moaned as he nuzzled her robe from her shoulder, then kissed the slope of her breast.
"Say it, Princess," he whispered.
Alex swallowed dryly. "This is coercion. It isn't fair."
Travis smiled. "You're right, it isn't." He lifted her into his arms and kissed her tenderly, again and again. "Say it anyway."
Tears stung her eyes. "All right. I admit it, I love you. I've always loved you, from the beginning."
Travis leaned his forehead against hers. "Thank you, Princess."
The tears came, then, slipping down her cheeks. "You're my soul," she whispered. "My heart. You're all I ever wanted."
"Alex. Sweet Alex." Gently, he lowered her to the bed and came down beside her. "I love you. I adore you. I don't ever want to wake in the morning without you in my arms, or go to bed without your kiss at night."
"Oh, Travis," she said in a broken whisper, "if only you really meant that..."
He drew back, trying his best to look offended. "I do mean it. When I slip a wedding ring on your finger, darlin', you'd better understand that we're goin' to be makin' those vows for all time."
Alex stared up at him. "Wedding ring? Vows? Travis... Are you asking me to marry you?"
"I'm not askin' you, Princess. I'm tellin' you. You are goin' to marry me."
Lord, he was nervous! He took a deep breath and told himself to take it easy. He wanted her to know what she was agreeing to because once she did, he'd hold her to her promise for the rest of their lives.
"Alexandra. Marry me. And be my love, forever."
Alex laughed with joy. She curled her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Yes," she whispered, between kisses. "Yes, yes..."
Travis grinned. He sat up, pulled his wet T-shirt over his head, kicked off his sneakers, rid himself of his jeans and briefs, and took her in his arms again.
"I kind of figured I'd find you here," he said.
She sighed. "Well, I had nowhere else to go. You were right, I hated Thorpe House. And I couldn't go back to your place."
"You came here because of us, darlin'. Because this is where our lives together really started."
She smiled. "You're right."
"You know, Princess, I was thinking that this place shouldn't be owned by a faceless corporation." He gave her a long, lingering kiss. "We could live here. Weekends, anyway, while we build Peregrine into what it should be."
Her face lit, and then she sighed again. "It's too late, Travis. Remember? I sold the vineyard to your father."
"Not quite. The deal didn't go through yet."
Alex smiled. "In that case, I'll call my lawyers, tell them I want to give Peregrine to you, as a wedding gift."
"You can't." That smug smile flashed across his handsome face again. "I phoned your lawyers from my plane. I bought the place for us."
"Bought it? Travis Baron, you are the most arrogant man in the world. How could you be so certain you knew what I'd say?"
"I just knew," he said, without any arrogance at all, "that neither of us could ever be whole, without the other."
The words seemed to shimmer in the air between them. "Oh, Travis," Alex whispered, and she began to weep.
Travis sighed and drew her closer. "My sister once told me I'd never be able to make sense out of women," he muttered.
"Your sister was right." Alex said, sniffling against his shoulder. "When do I get to meet her?"
"Soon," Travis said. "Very soon. But first..." He kissed her, and rose above her. "It's rainin' out, darlin'." His voice was a teasing whisper. "And you said you always wanted to take a walk in the rain."