Nanny Makes Three(63)

“Oh.” She held up a rectangular container and a silver thermos. “I brought you coffee and some of Candace’s caramel rolls. She was going to come herself, but I had to pick up my car and was heading back this way...” She trailed off as if unnerved by his silence. “I can just leave them and go. Or I can stay with Maggie while you go home and shower or sleep. You don’t look like you got any last night.”

She didn’t look all that refreshed, either. Of course she’d worried. He imagined her tossing and turning in her bed, plagued by concern for Maggie. It was in her nature to care even when it wasn’t in her best interest to do so.

“I’m so sorry,” he told her, his voice a dry rasp. “I should never have let you leave yesterday. We should have talked.”

“No.” She shook her head and took two steps toward him. “I should apologize. The way I acted yesterday was unforgivable. I should never have been thinking of myself when Maggie was so sick.”

Liam caught her upper arms and pulled her close. He barely noticed the container of rolls bump against his stomach as he bent his head and kissed her firmly on the lips, letting his emotions overwhelm him. The aching tightness in his chest released as she gave a little moan before yielding her lips to his demand.

He let go of her arms and stroked his palms up her shoulders and beneath her hair, cupping her head so he could feast on her mouth. Time stood still. The hospital room fell away as he showed her the emotions he’d been keeping hidden. His fear, his need, his joy. Everything she made him feel. He gave it all to her.

“Liam.” She breathed his name in wonder as he nuzzled his face into her neck.

“I love you.” The words came so easily to him now. Gone were his defenses, stripped away by an endless, lonely night and his elation that she’d returned. He wasn’t going to let her question his devotion ever again. “No, I adore you. And will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes for you to believe you are the only woman for me.”

A smile of happiness transformed her. He gazed down into her overly bright eyes and couldn’t believe how close he’d come to losing her.

“I love you, too,” she replied, lifting on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the lips.

“I rushed you because I was afraid your career would take you away, and I couldn’t bear to lose you.” Suddenly it was easy to share his fears with her, and from the way she regarded him, she understood what he’d been going through. “This time we’ll take it slow,” he promised. “I’m determined that you won’t feel rushed into making up your mind about spending the rest of your life with me.”

She gave a light laugh. “I don’t need any time. I love you and I want to marry you. Together we are going to be a family. No matter what happens with Kyle, Maggie will always be like a daughter to us and a big sister to our future children.”

“In that case.” He fished the ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. “Hadley Stratton, love of my life, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She shifted the thermos beneath her arm and held out her left hand. “Liam Wade, loving you is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t wait for us to get married and live happily ever after.”

He slipped the ring onto her finger and got to his feet. Bending down, he kissed her reverently on the lips. One kiss turned into half a dozen and both of them were out of breath and smiling foolishly when they drew apart.

“Kissing you is always delightful,” she said, handing him the coffee. “And we really must do much more of that later, but right now my mouth has been watering over these caramel rolls for the last hour.”

“You’re choosing food over kissing me?”

“These are Candace’s caramel rolls,” she reminded him, popping the top on the container and letting the sugary, cinnamon smell fill the room.

“I get your point.” He nodded, his appetite returning in a flash. “Let’s eat.”



The morning of her wedding dawned clear and mild. The winds that had buffeted the Texas landscape for the last week had calmed, and the weather forecasters were promising nothing but pleasant temperatures for several days to come.

Today at eleven o’clock she was marrying Liam in an intimate ceremony at the Texas Cattleman’s Club. Naturally Kori was her matron of honor while Liam’s best man would be Mac McCallum. Because the wedding was happening so fast, Hadley had opted for a white tulle skirt and sleeveless white lace top that showed a glimpse of her midriff. Since she was marrying a man she’d reconnected with less than a month earlier, Hadley decided to kick conventional to the curb and wear something trendy rather than a traditional gown.