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she said.
“Same.”
“I feel so . . . grateful. For everything. You. My health. My job. My life. I never realized how good I had it, just day-to-day good, you know?” She tipped her head back to look at him. “I feel lucky.”
He sifted his fingers through her hair, and the expression in his deep brown eyes made her heart ache. He had a sensitive side that he never showed in public. It was like he took all those detective traits—the observation skills, the intensity, the attention to detail—and focused them on her, anticipating exactly what she needed before she even knew herself. She’d never felt such intimacy with anyone, ever.
He brushed a curl away from her face. “I’m the lucky one.” He kissed her forehead.
She tightened her arms around him. “Jacob?”
“Hmm?”
Her heart was beating double-time now. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She pulled away and looked at him. “Really?”
He smiled. “You look shocked.”
“I just . . . I didn’t expect you to say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because. I don’t know. Everything seems fast.”
“It is. That’s why I’ve been waiting to bring it up. I didn’t want to throw too much at you at once.”
“Too much, as in what?”
“Telling you I love you, asking you to move in with me. For real, not just until your cast comes off.”
She stared at him, at a loss for words. His tone was light, but his eyes were solemn.
“You want me to—”
“Yes.” He reached over and stroked her cheek. “Does that scare you?”
“A little.” A lot. Her heart was doing flip-flops now. “Everything with us is happening so fast.”
“That doesn’t make it wrong.”
“No, but it makes it risky.”
“So what?” He picked up her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “You take risks to get what you want at work. Why not take a risk with me?”
The tentative look in his eyes made her chest fill with love and joy and nervousness, all at once.
She smiled. “Nice tactic. You phrased it like a dare, so I’d be tempted to say yes.”
He kissed her knuckles.
“You really want me to move in here?”
“You. Your books. Your cat. Everything. I want to be with you, Bailey. I know it’s happening fast, but I also know we have something good. This feels right to me.”
She smiled. “Same.”
He leaned forward and kissed her softly.
“You’re smiling,” he said. “Does that mean—”
She cut him off with a kiss.
“That means yes.”
Continue reading for a
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FLIGHT
available in spring 2021!
THE LIGHT WAS perfect, but she didn’t have long.
Miranda Rhoads dipped the paddle and glided smoothly through the water as she composed the shot. Cattails in the foreground, the tall lighthouse a distant spire. In between, the bay was a vast mirror that reflected the pinkening sky.
She lowered the blade of her paddle again, this time pushing off the spongy bottom to maneuver around a clump of reeds. This was it. She balanced the paddle on her thighs and adjusted the strap around her neck. Anticipation thrummed through her as she lifted the camera. Conditions were exactly what she’d hoped for when she saw the weather report last night and remembered one of her father’s sayings: Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.
Miranda took a deep breath and waited. Seconds and minutes slipped by, and she let her mind drift like the kayak. The humid air settled around her. She listened to the hum of insects in the marshes behind her, a trilling chorus that swelled and subsided with the breeze. She took another deep breath, and for a perfect, endless moment she felt truly okay. Her thoughts were clear and crisp. The sunlight-saturated air seemed to vibrate around her. The day was still new, limitless, and she gave in to the notion that she was going to be all right.
Movement in the corner of her eye.
She remained utterly still as a great blue heron stepped from the reeds, tall and elegant on his spindly legs. Another step. Miranda held her breath and brushed her fingertip over the shutter button. If he sensed her watching, he didn’t show it.
She waited for the shot. It was instinct now. Like a hunter. Another deep breath and a long respiratory pause as she stayed motionless.
Click.
He stepped closer and dipped his head down. Then he lifted his head and turned toward her, regarding her with a regal look. Posing?
His silhouette was black and perfect against the fiery sky. Miranda’s heart hammered.
Click. Click.
This was why she’d come here. This was why she put up with cold showers and