Blame It On Paris

way more than enough. It's time to get back to us.'

She was just lifting the cold pop to her lips. Now she set it down again. Her fingertips were suddenly frozen, and not because of the temperature of the can. 'Okay,' she said carefully.

'I needed to find a way to resolve the deal with my dad. But the motivation was you, when I realized that you really didn't want to live in Paris.'

'I told you I would-'

'Yeah, I know you did. But I also heard you talking to my sister about how much this was home for you. It wasn't what you said, it was the tone in your voice. How much it means to you. I didn't realize, I swear, Kel. I thought you'd love it in Paris.'

'I'd love anywhere we were together. I told you. I meant it.' Love ached in her voice. 'It was you. I wanted you to be happy. And at first, I thought you were so dumb, Will. You couldn't see it, how hard you were working in Paris, how readily you found business work there, because that's so who you are. Maybe you wanted to think of yourself as not driven or ambitious, but I have news-'

'Well, maybe I am. Just a little.'

'But en route, I got so confused. Because when we got back home here. I saw how it was with your sisters, your dad. They never let up. So then I thought maybe you were better off in Paris, and I'd just thrown an apple in the orange bin by pushing you so hard to settle things with your dad.'

'Apple in the orange bin?'

'Whatever, I can't do metaphors right now. I'm having a major blond moment, and never mind that I'm brunette. Anyway. I'm just trying to say I didn't think you'd be happy until you figured it out. It wasn't even about your dad or about where you lived. You can live anywhere. You can do anything. But I really believed you needed to know the kind of work, the kind of life, that would make you happy. You needed to know vow.'

'Hey. You were the one who lost her identity.'

'I did. I did. But maybe that was when I recognized the lost soul in you, Maguire.'

'Nah. I wasn't a lost soul. The minute I found you, I was never a lost soul again. Just because it took me a while to put the pieces together. I knew what the finished picture had to be. Kel. You. With me. Forever.'

Oh, for God's sake. She thought she'd lost him. Her pop spilled and so did his when she hurled herself at him. Her mouth found his like a bee finds honey, knowing what she needed, knowing where exactly to find it. He tasted…oh, yeah. Just like her magical Will, the lips smooth and tender, that tongue of his wily and wet.

His shirt crinkled when he wrapped his arms around her. taking her in, holding her close, rocking her. 'I never wanted you to give up anything for me, Kel. It made me feel good that you loved me enough to do that. But it made me feel awful as hell to think you'd leave something that really, really mattered to you to cater to me.'

'I'd be happy to cater to you.' She stopped to kiss him again, on the throat, on his cheek. 'I just didn't believe you'd be happy, which meant that I didn't believe we could be happy as a pair unless both of us were very clear about who we are. What we need. From each other. From ourselves. I was afraid.'

'I don't want you ever afraid again.'

'I was afraid you'd always feel dissatisfied. Kind of trapped if all that stuff about your father was hanging over your head.'

'Well, it's not hanging now.' He stood, pulled her up and leveled a slow, hard kiss on her lips until they were both out of breath. 'I've got something in my pocket for you.'

'I know.'

'Not there. My real pocket. The right one. Feel?'

Since he asked, she voluntarily groped and probed. 'I'm finding two hard things. One is harder than the other. But one definitely seems to feel like a small square box.'

'Yeah, that's the one I was trying to tell you about. The other thing's for you, too, but I think we'd better go inside first, don't you?'

She did. but suddenly remembered what was inside the front door, and froze.

'WHAT'S WRONG? What's in the house?'

'A letter,' she said. 'Actually a letter and a check. Or an international money order, to be precise, rather than a check-check. Not that I've seen anything like this before, but-'

'Kelly, spit out what you're talking about.' His arm protectively around her, he determinedly led her inside now. Lawn mowers were still droning in the distance, a few kids in the street playing kickball. but the sun was dropping like a stone.

Inside Kelly's front door, Will switched on the overhead, which happened to be an old brass chandelier, and immediately smelled fresh paint, dried fresh varnish. The front hall looked extraordinarily different, with crown moldings and gleaming wood floors. She'd done wonders, which didn't surprise him. The only things out of place were the two torn pieces of paper on the floor.

'It was for…well. I had to convert it from euros. But I think it was for about a half million dollars. And believe me, I couldn't wait to tear it up,' Kelly told him.

He saw her eyes. All the hurt, all the fury. Another time, he would have pressed a hand on his heart to make sure it didn't leap out of his chest, but he needed to clarify the situation before indulging in a heart attack. 'You tore up a check for a half million dollars?' he repeated.

'I don't want it! I never wanted his stupid money, Will! I don't want anybody's money! Money is just…' She made whirling motions with her hands.

'I know. It's just money.' he said, soothing her, loving her another zillion-years' worth. She really didn't give a damn about fortunes, at least not in the way most people in his life always had.

'He got the results from the stupid DNA test. He also got all my e-mails, all the ones he never answered. But now he says he read them. And when he got the DNA results, he sent the check, admitted he was wrong. He should have acknowledged me before. He wants to get to know me now. He regrets not being part of my growing-up years and all that, blah-blah-blah.'

Tears spattered from her eyes. Not a gush of them, just a little splash.

'That's what you wanted.'

'I didn't want money. I wanted him to know me. To want to know me. To really believe I didn't want anything from him but to find out who my father was. The check feels like a stupid payoff.'

Again Will shot a quick look at the torn-in-two check. At least she hadn't shredded it. It might just tape back together. Not that he was inclined to mention that now.

One of them had to be practical in this life.

Will knew which one of them was going to be. But right now, he locked the door-physically and in every other sense-against any and all intrusions. Including practical ones.

'You know what?' he murmured, and pulled her into his arms again.

'What?'

'Whatever you do about your dad, I'll be standing next to you.'

'Whatever you're stuck with. Will, I want to be standing next to you.'

The kiss that followed seemed softer than silver, shinier than gold. He gave from his heart, showing her his heart. He'd never done that before…really, truly, revealed his naked heart to anyone. But Kelly knew him, better than he knew himself.

He could trust her, more than he even could himself.

'I'm thinking,' he said, 'that I'd really like to see what you've done with the upstairs…'

'Brilliant idea,' she assured him, and turned toward the stairs. 'You want to start with a shower?'

'Yes. Together. But I'd really like to show you the box in my pocket first.'

'Oh. Oh, yes, the box.' She lifted her head, showing him the mischievous smile, the brown eyes so full of emotion. The Kelly he'd first fallen in lust with. The Kelly he'd later fallen hopelessly in love with.

He dug in his pocket, and emerged with the velvet box. Because she never could wait more than two seconds for a present, she pounced.

She fell silent as she looked at the contents.

'Will,' she said quietly, 'there are two rings here. Not one.'

'I know. The big one-the hussy- I thought you'd better have a three-carat sparkler, so your mom would like