He clenched his hands into fists. “I want to believe you,” he said desperately.
“Then do. I love you, Del. Worse, I need you. I can’t imagine a world without you. I don’t want to have to find out, either. I want us to have another chance. You are the best part of me. I need you to survive-not physically, but emotionally. The truth is I’ve always needed you. I just didn’t know it before.”
Something soft and wonderful flickered in his eyes. “We can’t go back to the way it was before. The old Josie and the old Del. It didn’t work.”
“I know. We’re both different people. It’s going to take some effort to avoid old patterns, but I think we’re doing really well so far.”
“Me, too.” He crouched next to her chair. “The new and improved Josie Scott is the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.”
Hope flared inside of her. “Really?”
“Yeah. All I ever wanted was for you to need me.”
“I do need you.”
He took her hand in his. “I love you, Josie.”
“Oh, Del.”
She threw herself at him. He caught her in his arms and held her close.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was walking.”
“I know. I even understand. But no more secrets, okay?”
“Promise.”
“So you want to get married again, or what.”
She straightened. He was smiling at her. “You’re proposing?”
“Absolutely. In fact let me do a better job of it.”
He shifted so that he was on one knee, then he pulled a ring box out of his pocket and held it out to her.
“I love you, Josie. I want us to start over, learning from the lessons of the past and this time getting it right. I would be very honored if you would agree to be my wife. Again.”
She laughed, then hiccupped on an unexpected sob. When he handed her the box, she opened it and stared down at the beautiful diamond ring.
“It’s different,” she said.
“I still have the old ones, but I thought we deserved something new. For our fresh start. So are you going to marry me?”
Josie hesitated. “I do love you, Del, but I need you to be very sure. I’ll never be the same. I have scars.”
“You and your scars. What you have, aside from an incredibly stubborn streak, is a man who loves you very much and is grateful to have you back in his life. He would also like you to accept his proposal because the ground is hurting his knee and he wants to take you to bed and make love with you.”
She threw her arms around him and laughed. “That was a lovely speech, and I would adore for you to take me to bed.”
He kissed her, then slid the ring on her finger. Even as she admired the glittering diamond, he gathered her in his arms and headed for the bedroom. As they entered the room, he murmured, “Say yes, Josie.”
“Oh, didn’t I accept?”
“Josie!” He growled low in his throat, but this time the tension came from passion, not anger.
“Not just yes, Del,” she said just before she kissed him. “But always.”
SUSAN MALLERY
is the bestselling author of over thirty-five books for Silhouette. Always a fan of romance novels, Susan finds herself in the unique position of living out her own personal romantic fantasy with the new man in her life. Susan lives in Washington State with her handsome hero husband and her two adorable-but-not-bright cats.
