sleeping, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Her father. He’d obviously broken the news to her mother and now had come to try to convince her to stay. She’d half expected her mother to call her by now. Jordan considered refusing him entrance, but maybe it was better to talk to him. In truth, she was starting to feel a bit guilty. “I’ll be right down,” Jordan said.
She hurried back to the bedroom and grabbed her robe, then walked to the elevator. As she descended, she smiled to herself. For the first time in her life, she felt like a grown-up. She’d made a decision for herself and she was happy about it. Sure, she’d miss her work, but she was setting out on a whole new chapter in life.
The elevator doors opened in front of her and her breath caught in her throat. A disheveled Danny Quinn waited for her. A gasp slipped from her lips and she rubbed her eyes. This couldn’t be right. What was he doing here?
“Hi,” he said, shifting back and forth on his feet.
Jordan stepped out and looked around the empty lobby. Arnie sat at his desk, watching her surreptitiously. “What are you doing here?”
“I just have to say something and then I’ll go if you want. I’m not sure that I really made things clear before you left.”
“You flew all the way here to say something to me?”
“Yes. I didn’t really get a chance to say it the right way. And then when I realized that, I followed you to the airport, but you had already boarded your plane and they wouldn’t let me get on and talk to you. So I bought a ticket, but then our plane had to stop in Iceland because of mechanical problems. And when I got here, I realized that I didn’t have your address, so it took me a while to track that down, but-”
“You’re here,” Jordan murmured, with a smile.
“When you left, everything was happening so fast and I know we didn’t get the chance to really say all the things we wanted to. I was trying to act like it was no big deal. And then, after you left, I thought, what if she doesn’t come back.”
“I have a ticket for Sunday, Danny. I tried to call you and let you know. I’m all packed.”
“Really?” he asked, a smile breaking across his face.
“Really,” she said.
He reached out and smoothed his hand along her arm. “Does this mean I get to touch you anytime I want, and I can kiss you and lie next to you and wake up with you in my arms every day?”
“Definitely,” Jordan said. “I’ve been trying to sleep and I can’t because you’re not there.” She paused. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And what about your job and your family? Won’t you miss all that?”
“Of course I will. But it won’t matter. I think I was throwing myself into work because I didn’t have anything better to do with my time. But now, all I want to do is spend my days and nights loving you.”
“You want to live in Ireland?”
She nodded.
He yanked her into his arms and kissed her deeply, his hands furrowing through her hair as he molded her mouth to his. And as Jordan lost herself in the wave of sensation that washed over her body, she realized that she couldn’t live without him. His strength…his affection…his smile…
When Danny drew back, he glanced over her shoulder. “Can we maybe find someplace more private to talk? This really isn’t the kind of thing that should happen in the lobby.”
Jordan grabbed his hand and pulled him to the elevator. They stepped inside and she pushed the button for her floor. As soon as the door closed, Danny turned around and faced her, his gaze searching her face.
“I have something for you. But maybe I shouldn’t do it here.”
“What? You brought me a present?”
“I don’t know if you’ll want it. You might not even like it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring, a beautiful antique ring with a small ruby set in a Victorian filigree.
“It was my great-grandmother’s,” he said. “My mum gave it to me when I told her that I was coming to see you.” He drew a deep breath. “I promise that I will do everything in my power to make our lives together perfect.”
The elevator door opened and Danny winced. “I should have waited. This isn’t romantic.”
Jordan laughed. “Oh, yes, it is.” She took his hand and drew him out of the elevator. “Keep going. I’m listening.”
“In the hallway?”
“All right.” She ran ahead to her apartment door and by the time she got it unlocked he was behind her, his hands wrapped around her waist.
“Here?” she asked.
“No,” he said, glancing around her apartment. He pointed to the sofa in the living room. “There.”
When she was finally seated, Danny knelt in front of her. “All right. Here it is. Jordan, I love you. I think I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. I know I fell in love with you the moment I kissed you.”
She stared at him, wide-eyed, her hands clutched in her lap. Jordan tried to maintain a calm facade, but her heart was beating so hard it felt as though it might burst out of her chest.
“I’m willing to work hard. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m not sure I can give you what you have here, but I will make you happy. I can move to New York if that’s what you want. You’ll never have a day of regret, I promise.”
“I know,” she said. “And what about the ring?”
“Shite, the ring,” he muttered, patting his pockets. “The ring. It’s not something fancy, but it’s a promise.”
“A promise is good. And I don’t need anything fancy.”
He pulled the ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her finger, then pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “I want you in my life, Jordan. Forever.”
“You have me,” she murmured, running her fingers through his hair. “For as long as you want me.” Jordan stood up in front of him and untied the belt of her robe. She shrugged out of it, letting it drop to the floor at her feet. Then she reached for the bottom of her nightgown. Grabbing the hem, she pulled it over her head and tossed it aside.
Danny reached out and splayed his hand across her stomach. “Are you trying to seduce me?” he asked.
Jordan smoothed her hand over his cheek. “Yes, I am.”
“Don’t you think we should talk about this a little more?”
She slowly shook her head. “We can talk later. I want to make love to the man I love.”
He pulled her close and pressed his face into her stomach. “Promise me something, Jordan.”
Furrowing her fingers through his hair, she tipped his gaze up to meet hers. “Anything.”
“Promise we’ll be together forever.”
“I promise,” she said, pulling him to his feet.
Danny stood to remove his clothes. When he was naked, he grabbed her waist and they tumbled onto the sofa in a tangle of limbs. When his mouth found hers, Jordan knew this was the only thing she needed in life. Danny Quinn-his heart, his soul, his body, his love. Maybe there
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate Hoffmann began writing for Harlequin Books in 1993. Since then she’s published sixty-five books, primarily in the Harlequin Temptation and Harlequin Blaze lines. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys music, theater and musical theater. She is active working with high school students in the performing arts. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her cat, Chloe.
