“Wait a minute, Michelle. Give the guy a break. Hear him out. You owe him that much.”
“I don’t.”
“What can it hurt?”
Michelle sighed. She couldn’t hurt any more than she already did.
And she did have to talk to him to arrange to get her things from his home.
What about Penny? She couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye. In fact, Michelle thought, maybe she shouldn’t leave at all. At least not until school started. That’d show Josh that his distrust had been misplaced. That she could be counted on to uphold her end of the bargain no matter what!
“Go wash your face, I’ll let him in if he gets here before you’re finished,” Abby said.
Feeling refreshed and ready to face the world some time later, Michelle walked into the living room, and stopped when she saw Josh.
“Abby went for a walk,” he said, rising when she entered.
“It’s hot out.”
“She won’t melt. I couldn’t catch the elevator.”
“How did you know I’d be here?”
He gave a half smile. “I’m a great P.I., remember? Isn’t that why you came to me in the first place?”
Michelle could scarcely remember why she’d gone to Josh’s office that first day. She only wished now that she hadn’t.
No, that wasn’t strictly true. She just wished she hadn’t fallen in love with him.
“Sit down, Josh. Your towering over me makes me nervous.”
“Good, then maybe I won’t be the only one nervous here.”
Startled, Michelle’s gaze clashed with his. “You’ve never been nervous a day in your life.”
He’d been so calm when dealing with Penny and her injury, with playing the role of devoted bridegroom, when handling Brandon’s inquisition.
“Try scared silly,” he said stepping closer.
“About what?”
“That I blew things beyond repair.”
She shrugged, watching him warily.
Slowly, as if not to frighten a scared puppy, he reached out his hand and cupped the back of her head.
Michelle stiffened. “Don’t.”
“Michelle, last night was special. But it wasn’t the only special part of our relationship. Just being with you is special.”
She closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn’t have to look at him, she could think straight.
“You don’t need to sweet-talk me any more, Josh. I’ve said I’ll stay until after Caroline has her baby, and by then Penny will be settled into her after-school care.”
“Good. Then there’s just us to discuss.”
“There is no us.” She opened her eyes and glared up into his. “I can’t believe you stopped the investigation.”
“I wanted you to stay,” he said simply. “I was afraid that if I fulfilled my end of the bargain, you’d take off. Would it hurt to stall a little longer? You said you just wanted to know about your dad, where he was, what he was doing. A few months one way or another wouldn’t matter, would they? Not after all this time.”
“I trusted you. I depended on you to uphold your end of the bargain.”
“And I will. We didn’t discuss time frames. If I deliver the goods by November, I’ll have done my part, right?”
His other arm came around her shoulders, drawing her closer and closer until Michelle put her palms up against his chest to keep some space between them. Only the minute she touched the warmth of his shirt, she longed to cling, not push.
Which reminded her of last night.
Which instigated the pain she’d felt earlier.
“You didn’t have to resort to making love to keep me around,” she muttered, her gaze dropping to the column of his throat. The pulse point beat in time to his heart. She had the oddest notion to kiss him and feel that pulse against her lips.
Josh made a sound that was half laugh, half groan. “Resort to? Michelle, I’ve wanted you for weeks. Last night was just a man at the end of his tether. It had nothing to do with anything else but how we feel about each other and you know it.”
“I don’t know anything of the sort. How do you feel about me?” she asked, her own heart starting to pound.
“How do you feel about me?” he countered. Slowly she let her gaze meet his. Almost holding her breath she wondered if—
“You’re the hot-shot P.I., you tell me.”
“Babe, you’ve got me so mixed up I’m lucky I can put my shoes on in the mornings. I can't begin to guess how you feel about me, because I’m so caught up with feelings and emotions that I never expected to experience. I love you, Michelle O’Malley. I fought against it, denied it as long as I could. Then I didn’t want to frighten you off. That hadn’t been part of our agreement, but it didn't matter. I wanted you last night. I still want you. So now you know.”
Michelle stared at him in shock for several minutes. Then she slipped her hands up and around his neck. “You really love me? The man who never planned to marry again? The man who swore off women for good, except as a baby-sitter for his daughter?”
Resting his forehead against hers, he nodded.
”I can tell you’re going to be the kind of wife who says I told you so.”
She laughed, her heart soaring. “Josh, I love you too!”
He almost crushed her in his embrace, his mouth finding hers in a searing kiss.
“Truly?” he asked a few minutes later, searching her eyes for the sincerity she knew he’d find.
“Yes, truly. But I didn’t want you to know. I remember all the times you said you didn’t want to marry.”
“Before I met you, honey. Before I knew you. Stay married to me, Michelle. Let’s make a lifetime together.”
“Oh, Josh, yes!” Michelle tightened her grip and kissed him, trying to show him with a single kiss all the love she had for the man of her dreams. He wouldn’t always be easy to live with, but she wouldn’t have any other.
She pulled back and smiled brightly. “Let’s go get Penny and tell her.”
He nodded, releasing her slowly. “Not that she’ll get the distinction. She didn’t know this was
