A Forever Christmas - By Marie Ferrarella Page 0,65
any second now, “before Doc starts poking and prodding me and Rick starts picking your brain apart for details about this horror show, I just wanted to ask you… I just wanted to ask you…”
This wasn’t going to come out right, he thought. His head was really hurting him and all the words he’d rehearsed so carefully had temporarily vanished from his brain.
“Oh, hell,” he muttered.
This was going to be worse than she thought. She could feel tears begin to sting her eyes. She decided to spare him the trouble. “That’s all right, you don’t have to say it,” she told him.
Puzzled, he looked down into her upturned face. “I don’t?”
“No.” She pressed her lips together, afraid she was going to start sobbing. “I’ll leave as soon as I give Rick my statement.”
“Leave?” Gabe echoed. The pain he still felt around his neck was nothing in comparison to what his heart was suddenly going through. “Why would you leave?”
How could he ask her that? Was he playing some sort of a game?
Or was he?
“Because you want me to,” Angel answered. “Don’t you?”
“No, I don’t,” he cried with feeling. “What I want is to give you this,” he said in an eruption of frustration, pulling out his hand and opening it to reveal an engagement ring lying in his palm. “I had a whole speech worked out, but now I can’t seem to rem—”
Snatching the ring from him, Angle quickly slipped it on the proper finger on her left hand.
She didn’t want a fancy proposal. All she wanted was him—for the rest of her life.
But first, she suddenly remembered her own news. “I have something I have to tell you first,” she said, “before I give you my answer.”
“What?” he asked uneasily.
She’d wanted to pick her time, but after what just happened, he needed to know—and the sooner, the better. “You’re going to be a father.”
He looked at her, stunned beyond words. “Are you saying—”
“I’m pregnant.” And then she took a breath, knowing this could change everything. “So if you want to take your ring back—”
He didn’t even hear her. His mind was stuck in first gear. “You’re sure? You’re sure you’re pregnant?” he asked.
She nodded. “Very sure. But that doesn’t mean you have to marry me.”
“Yes, I do,” he insisted. “I want my happy ending.” He looked at her and said, “You still haven’t given me your answer.”
He was one in a million. And she loved him. “Yes,” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, yes,” she repeated, uttering each word in between the kisses she rained on his face.
The final “yes” was followed by a long, soulful kiss that was equal parts joy and relief.
Which was the way Rick found them when, concerned by the silence, he finally opened the pantry door. Taking in the scene, the sheriff of Forever smiled knowingly and quietly closed the door again.
“I can always take the statement later,” he murmured, pleased, as he walked away.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Cowboy Soldier’s Sons by Tina Leonard!
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin American Romance story.
You love a happy ending! Harlequin American Romance stories are heartwarming contemporary tales of everyday women finding love—sometimes where they least expect it—and beginning a whole new life.
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
Subscribe to our newsletter for special offers, new releases, and more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Chapter One
We are such stuff as dreams are made on.
—Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Shaman Phillips wasn’t expecting a blonde bombshell to show up at the front door of the Dark Diablo farmhouse, but one glance at her shapely legs, long silky hair and beautiful face made him believe tonight might be a lucky night for a lone wolf. “Hello,” he said. “Can I help you?”
“Hi.”
Shaman decided the voice of an angel went with her amazing looks. She was way out of his league—and yet even a man with scars liked to gaze at beautiful things.
“I’m looking for Chelsea Myers.”
“Ah. The Chelsea Myers who married my brother Gage in July. She’s Chelsea Phillips now.” Shaman leaned forward, out of the doorway, planting his well-worn boots on the porch. “They live at the Callahan place, Rancho Diablo, in Diablo.”
The goddess stepped closer, her high fire-engine-red heels clicking on the wood porch. “My name is Tempest Thornbury. I met Chelsea and Cat in July, before I returned to