Leaping Hearts(67)

He shook his head with regret. “When you wouldn’t go to the doctor, I lost it. I wanted to throttle you for not taking care of yourself, for making me feel so afraid. There was the woman I loved, nearly fainting from—”

“Wait a minute. What did you say?”

“I felt like I was in a nightmare—”

“No, no. After that.”

“I was feeling out of control.”

“A little further.”

“The woman I love—” Devlin halted, cocking his head to one side.

A.J. felt a glow all over her body.

“The woman I love.” He spoke the words slowly. “I said that. I really said that.”

“You seem surprised.” Her smile grew more radiant.

He laughed. “Only because it feels so natural. Considering how long it’s been since I said it, I would’ve assumed I’d be more rusty. Well, that and the fact that the last time I was talking to a horse.”

When he reached for her, she went into his arms.

“I really do love you,” he said urgently. “You’re everything to me. Whenever I look into your eyes, I can’t explain what happens. I just feel new.”

They were the words she’d wanted to hear from him, grounding and earth-shattering at the same time. And she knew that she loved him back. Fiercely.

Dropping his head down to hers, he murmured, “Can you forgive me?”

“Yes,” she said against his lips. “I think I can.”

Their mouths fused with a special softness, as if they were kissing for the first time, and she felt his fingers brush against the side of her neck tenderly. In that moment, she couldn’t remember the pain she’d been feeling or the separation that had torn them apart.

When they pulled back, she was smiling.

“If I thought it was going to get me this far, I would have fallen off that stallion on day one.”

The wind brushed against them.

“We need to get you out of the cold,” he said.

“And out of this dress.”

“Now, that’s a fine idea. Come home with me.”

“I want to.” She arched her breasts against his chest. “You have no idea how much I want to.”

“So get into my chariot, sweet princess.”

“I can’t.” She sighed. “After my father’s birthday parties, he and I go into his study and light a candle for my mother. It’s their anniversary. They were married thirty-four years ago tonight.”

Devlin swallowed his frustration. “You can’t miss that.”

“I’ll come tomorrow morning.”

“For breakfast.”

“Maybe a little earlier.”

“Promise?”

His tongue slid into her mouth and she grabbed on to his shoulders. As his hands traveled down from her waist to cup her buttocks, he drew her against his lower body. When they finally parted, his eyes glittered in the moonlight.

“I better go,” he drawled, “before I can’t leave.”

“I wish I were going with you.”

“If you were, I’d cancel my date tonight.”

“You have a date?”

“With a cold shower. As soon as I walk in the door.” He nodded to the truck. “You want a ride back to the house?”

“No, I think I’ll walk.” A.J. wanted a moment alone to savor what had happened before rejoining the noise and crush of the party.

Opening the door, he got into the cab, a gentleman in a farmer’s truck. She liked the image.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” She started to take off his jacket.

“No, keep it. It’s a long walk back.” From out of the open window, Devlin was smiling at her with a wistfulness she didn’t normally associate with him. “Come here.”

She stepped in close. Gently, he took her face into his hands.

“Good night, my love.” The words were soft against her lips. And then he was gone.

The next morning dawned cold, just a degree or two above frost. Before anyone else was even stirring, A.J. got out of bed, showered and packed. In a rush, her bag slapping against the corners of antique sideboards, tables and chairs as she hustled through the rooms of the mansion, she was halfway to the back door when she remembered Devlin’s tuxedo jacket. Dropping her things, she doubled back, retrieved the coat and ran free of the house without getting caught.

Behind the wheel of the Mercedes, speeding to the farmhouse, she was wide-awake, despite having had little sleep the night before. After Devlin had left, she’d drifted up to the mansion on a cloud of bliss, entering the party with a secret smile only her father recognized as evidence of the reconciliation. When the celebration finally let up, she and Garrett went into his study and lit a single white candle, which they placed on the mantelpiece, below the portrait of A.J.’s mother.

“You’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t you?” he said softly as they stared into the glow.

There was a pause and A.J. replied, “It’s time for me to start training again. My arm’s almost healed. But how did you know?”

“You’re radiant and I know you disappeared for a while with…Are you going back to him?”

She didn’t want to reveal too much but she wasn’t going to lie. “We did get a chance to talk.”