against the door, clicking it shut and leaning heavily on its solid weight.
She swallowed a sob.
Anthony was gone.
He was probably on a plane already.
She pressed a shaky hand over her mouth and let the sobs come freely as she slid down to slump on the floor of the entry hall. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them.
“Joan?” came a soft voice.
She drew her head back, blinking a pair of charcoal creased slacks into focus.
Anthony crouched down. “Are you hurt?”
“Anthony?” she hiccupped.
“What’s wrong?”
She scrubbed her palms over her wet cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
He held out a hand and drew her to her feet. “I saw your interview.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh.” He pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth.
“You’re not fired,” she mumbled.
“And your mother doesn’t have her head in her ass.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry right back at you. I never should have said that.”
She shook her head. Then she nodded. “Yes. You were right. My parents are going to have to get used to me the way I am.”
“I’m sure your parents love you very much.”
Joan drew back, touching his rough face, gazing into his deep blue eyes, so very, very happy to see him. “But what are you doing here?”
“I was making cosmopolitans. You want to get drunk?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah.” Maybe once she was drunk she’d have the courage to tell Anthony she loved him.
“Good.” Then he drew her into his arms again, holding her tight. “Forget getting drunk,” he mumbled against her ear. “You want to make love?”
Joan’s entire body shuddered in relief. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
He drew back once more, his eyes darkening to midnight. Then he slanted his head and brought his lips down on hers. They were hot and moist, and oh so familiar. She lost track of time and space and reason as his tongue made love to her mouth.
Finally, gasping, they drew apart. He kissed her one last time. “Good. Then since I’m on a roll here, you want to marry me?”
Joan’s heart contracted. Her chest tingled, and she was sure she couldn’t have heard right. “What did you say?”
“That wasn’t quite right.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Joan, I love you.”
Her tears started anew. “I love you, too.”
“In descending order of importance, will you A, marry me. B, make love with me. C, get drunk with me. Because it’s been one hell of a day.”
“It’s been one hell of a week.”
“Say yes, Joan.”
Her broad smile tightened her cheeks. “Yes. To all of the above.”
His arms held her closer. “I saw your interview.”
She nodded. “So you said.”
“My boss offered me a raise.”
“You deserve it.”
“And a partnership.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”
“So my agent is one of the partners?”
Anthony kissed her tenderly. “Your husband is one of the partners.”
She rocked in his arms. “I like the sound of that. Are we moving to New York?”
“I say we keep both places.”
Joan smiled and nodded against him.
“And Pellegrin already called. They want to talk about your book tour. Nice one, by the way.”
“I thought you’d appreciate that.”
“Were you trying to win me back with that interview?”
“Was I that obvious?”
He shook his head. “You were that perfect. We have a lot of work ahead of us, you and me.”
“That’s the truth. Starting with my parents.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m guessing they’ll be here in a few hours.”
“You talked to them again?”
“No. And that can only mean one thing.”
Anthony stroked her hair. “You going to be okay?”
Joan inhaled deeply, a sense of calm descending over her. “I’m going to be just fine. You, on the other hand, might have a little explaining to do to my father.”
He cringed.
She laughed. “Becoming my fiance should mitigate his wrath.”
“Stroke of genius on my part.”
“Your genius is why I hired you.”
“I love you, Joan Bateman.”
“I love you, Anthony Verdun.”
He hugged her so tight that he lifted her clear off the floor. “My darling. You are about to take my world by storm.”
Barbara Dunlop
Barbara Dunlop is the award-winning, bestselling author of numerous books for Harlequin and Silhouette. Her novels regularly hit bestseller lists for series romance, and she has twice been shortlisted for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award. Barbara now lives far up north in the Yukon Territory, where she is currently curled up in her log cabin working on her next story.
