It Takes a Hero Page 17

  “That’s what I realized when I read your book. You weren’t sure about my candidate—but you know me. And you love me.”

  There seemed to be no reason to deny it now. Perry had figured it all out too well. “Yes,” she said simply.

  “And I love you, too. I have from the beginning, I think.”

  Her eyes instantly filled with tears. “Perry...”

  “I love you, Kristin”. He kissed her lingeringly. “Say you’ll marry me.”

  Fear clutched her chest, squeezing her heart. “I—I love you, too, Perry. But...I need a little more time, okay?”

  She could tell he wanted to argue. “Why?”

  “I’m really not the spontaneous type,” she admitted ruefully. “I need time to think about this. To digest the things we’ve said.” She needed time to decide if a marriage could possibly survive between a very public, very polished, very perfect politician and a somewhat reclusive writer who had no interest in politics and a tendency to drift into creative trances.

  Though it was obvious he didn’t want to concede, Perry nodded gravely. “You have all the time you need,” he assured her. “I’m not going anywhere. But, Kristin?”

  “Yes?”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “Don’t make me wait too long.”

  PERRY’s PROPOSAL EFFECTIVELY put an end to the vacation. He and Kristin both had to return to their responsibilities at their respective homes, and they couldn’t put it off any longer. Without another word about marriage—but after one last night of especially spectacular lovemaking—they left the island, keeping their regrets about doing so to themselves.

  Kristin managed not to shed a tear as the plane left the runway.

  A stack of mail and a dozen telephone messages were waiting for her when she returned home, exhausted from the long flights. She checked through them while Perry made a few calls of his own. When he finished, they looked at each other somberly.

  “I have to get back to Washington,” he said.

  “I have to get back to work,” she agreed.

  They both sighed.

  They had coffee and sandwiches before he left, but both were aware of passing time. Afterward, Kristin walked Perry to the door.

  He studied her face for a long moment And then he reached out to touch her cheek. “You look so serious,” he said with a faint smile. “You have ever since our talk on the beach.”

  She swallowed and nodded. “It was a, um, very serious talk.”

  “Yes.” His thumb traced her lower lip. “I don’t suppose you’ve come up with any answers.”

  “No. I just need a little more time,” she repeated lamely.

  “All the time you need,” he assured her. And then grinned. “But hurry.”

  She smiled a little in response to his quip, not taking her eyes off his face. He was such a beautiful man. Perfectly groomed, as usual. He still looked to her as if he could have stepped off the cover of one of her books. Though she had never considered herself so shallow as to be overly influenced by outward appearance, she couldn’t help remembering the way she’d reacted the first time she’d seen Perry. She had definitely been struck by his looks—as had nearly every other woman in the crowded hotel ballroom. But she’d found since then that there was so much more to him than his handsome face.

  And he wanted to marry her.

  His thumb moved across her lower lip again. “I love you, Kristin. But I have to go.”

  Her eyes burning, she nodded. “I know,” she whispered.

  “You’ll think about my proposal?”

  “I can’t imagine I’ll be thinking about much else,” she confessed ruefully.

  . He smiled. “Good.”

  And then he kissed her until she could hardly think at all.

  PERRY WAS HAVING ONE HELL of a day. It was a suffocatingly hot afternoon in Washington, and the office air conditioner had died unexpectedly that morning. Frantic calls to repair contractors had elicited only promises that someone would be there “soon“—which could mean anything from two hours to two weeks. Reporters had been calling all day, still wanting quotes from him about how deeply he had believed in Leo all along, and how disgusted he was with the opponent’s unconscionable efforts to destroy Leo’s political future.

  . He hadn’t talked to Kristin in days. Every time he’d called her, he’d gotten her answering machine. She hadn’t returned his messages. The few calls they’d had before she’d dropped out of sight had been vague and unsatisfying, leaving him no closer to knowing what her answer would be than he had been the night he proposed to her. If he hadn’t been so inundated with responsibilities that affected too many people other than himself, he would have dropped everything and gone after her.

  He missed her, he thought glumly, pushing his shirtsleeves up his arms in a vain attempt to cool off. It had been almost two weeks since their vacation in Hawaii, and he missed her so badly there was a constant ache inside him. , If there had been any doubt in his mind before that he loved her—which there hadn’t—it would have vanished during these past few days.

  Elspeth walked into the room with a stack of message slips. Though she was as poised and well-groomed as ever, there was a sheen of moisture on her fair skin, and a deep flush on her cheeks. She’d shed the jacket that matched her sleeveless sheath, but that was her only concession to the stifling heat in the offices, unlike Perry, who’d ditched his jacket and tie and opened the top two buttons of his shirt.

  “These have to be returned immediately,” she said, setting two messages apart from the others. “The rest can be at your convenience.”

  He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He felt the damp strands stick to his fingers.

  Elspeth winced. “Perry—check your hand.”

  He looked down automatically, and groaned at what he saw. For some strange reason, his pen had started to leak. Black ink was all over his hand, his shirt...and now, presumably, his forehead. “Tell me it’s not all over my face.”

  Elspeth smiled sympathetically. “You’d better go wash up before making your calls.”

  “Damn it, what else can go wrong today?” he demanded, shoving impatiently away from his desk.

  “Please don’t ask that,” Elspeth begged with exaggerated nervousness. “I’m afraid to think what could happen.”

  “It couldn’t possibly get any worse than this,” he said, trying to respond with his usual humor. As he spoke, he swung a hand in emphasis—and promptly knocked over a tall stack of files that had been sitting on his desk. Papers flew everywhere.

  Elspeth started to laugh. “Honestly, Perry, what is with you today? I’ve never seen you like this. You’re a mess...in more ways than one.”

  “Tell me about it. All I need now is a herd of reporters at the door with cameras to show my humiliation to the entire country.”

  Still chuckling, Elspeth spread her arms. “I’ll hold them back even at risk to my own life,” she promised with mock solemnity.

  “Um...excuse me?”

  Both Perry and Elspeth froze when someone spoke hesitantly from the doorway.

  Dropping her arms, Elspeth turned. “Miss Cole,” she said in obvious surprise. “How nice to see you again,” she added quickly, calling immediately upon her usual impeccable manners.

  Perry didn’t know whether to groan or laugh when Kristin stepped into his office. Acutely aware of the scattered papers, his wrinkled, stained shirt, his damp hair and the ink on his forehead, he moved toward her. “Hello, Kristin. This is a pleasant surprise.”

  Her gaze swept the room, and then his appearance, before she lifted her eyes to his. “I wanted to see your workplace,” she commented. ”It, um, isn’t exactly what I’d expected.”

  Both Perry and Elspeth laughed in response to her dry tone.

  “No, I don’t imagine it is,” Perry replied.

  “It’s usually much worse than this,” Elspeth informed Kristin gravely. “This is a good day. Now, if you′ll excuse me, I think I′ll go stick my
head in the lunchroom refrigerator.”

  “Tell Marcus I’ll meet with him later, will you?” Perry called after her, without looking away from Kristin.

  “I’m sure he′ll understand.” Elspeth was smiling as she closed the door behind her.

  Perry couldn’t stop staring at Kristin. He was having trouble believing she was standing there in front of him, when it seemed like so very long since he’d seen her. She looked fresh and beautiful in a sleeveless, fitted, waist-length purple top over a matching short straight skirt, and black, chunky-heeled sandals. She’d swept her dark hair up off her neck, probably in deference to the heat, and tasteful diamond studs glinted from her ears. Her brown eyes swept over him again, making him painfully aware of his own uncharacteristically disheveled appearance.

  “Bad day?” she asked, a deliberately droll understatement.

  “It was—until you showed up,” he replied.

  Still in a teasing mood, Kristin circled him slowly. “And to think I was worried about being overly influenced by your pretty appearance,” she murmured.

  He felt heat stain his cheeks, even as he laughed. “Okay, I know I’m a mess. The air conditioner died and my pen exploded.”

  She stepped directly in front of him. “It doesn’t matter,” she assured him. “You’re still much prettier than any man has a right to be.”

  He laughed, his day much brighter now that she was in it. “Thank you...I think.”

  Her smile faded. “I’ve missed you, Perry.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he answered with a groan. “When I couldn’t reach you during the past few days, I thought—”

  “I had some serious thinking to do,” she interrupted. “I needed time and space to do it in.”

  Nerves tightened his stomach. “And what were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that I’m still not crazy about politics. While I’ll admit the process is more important than I’ve given it credit for, and that you’ve convinced me there are some very decent, dedicated politicians among the cons and crooks, I still don’t care for the scheming and maneuvering and calculated deliberations involved in even the most well-intentioned campaigns.”

  He nodded. “I can understand that. And while I will probably always be involved in campaigns that are particularly important to me, I’ve been giving strong consideration to taking one of the university positions I’ve been offered. I would be teaching a subject I enjoy, and it would mean much less time on the road.”

  Kristin nodded consideringly. “I like the sound of that—as long as it’s something you really want to do.”

  “I think it is.” He moved toward her, but she held up a hand to hold him off.

  “That isn’t all I’ve been thinking about.”

  He paused. “What else?”

  “I’m not an easy person to live with, Perry. No matter how much I would like to be at times, I’m really not spontaneous. I like to make lists. I like to check things off as I accomplish them. I like planning ahead. And then sometimes all my plans come undone when I get distracted with my writing and lose track of time. Sometimes I go for days without surfacing for air. People talk to me and I don’t even hear them. It has been known to drive people crazy. Even people who love me.”

  “But not people who truly understand you,” he answered gently, knowing she was referring to former lovers who hadn’t. “I’ve read your books, Kristin. All of them. They’re very good. And they didn’t get that way without hard work and intense concentration. To try to interfere with that would be to try to change who you are. And why would anyone who loves you want to change you?”

  “I have a few problems with trust,” she continued. “And with self-confidence.”

  He nodded again. “I have a few problems of my own. But I can’t imagine there’s anything the two of us couldn’t overcome, if we made an effort. I’m willing to make that effort.”

  “So am I,” she whispered. “I love you, Perry. I want to marry you...if the offer is still open.”

  “The offer will be open for the rest of my life,” he said simply, his heart and his hopes soaring. ”I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone before. Body and soul, I’ve belonged to you since you ‘bought’ me—and I always will.”

  “No refunds,” she whispered, her eyes bright.

  “No returns,” he added, reaching for her. “I love you, Kristin. Marry me.”

  “Yes,” she said, going into his arms and lifting her face to his. “Yes.”

  He kissed her until they were both on the verge of passing out from lack of oxygen. And then he kissed her again. He couldn’t seem to stop. It astonished him how quickly his day had been transformed from the worst in his life to the most blissfully happy.

  A long time later, he drew back reluctantly to look at her. And then he couldn’t help laughing.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?” she asked, her voice still breathless.

  Several strands had escaped from her formerly neatly upswept hair, and now they clung damply to her neck and face. There were smudges of black ink from his hand at the waist and hip of her formerly crisp purple outfit, and another streak of ink on her cheek. Her lipstick had been kissed away—and was probably now decorating his face—and her face was flushed. She looked absolutely beautiful, he thought, falling in love with her all over again.

  “Marry me soon,” he demanded, impatient for their life together to begin.

  She nodded. “I’ll try to make short lists,” she promised.

  He laughed and pulled her to him again, no longer caring whether either of them left this office in reputable condition. “You do that,” he murmured, and covered her mouth with his again.

  Epilogue

  THEY WERE MARRIED in the fall, at the little church in Cutter’s Point where Kristin had been baptized as a child. The wedding was followed by a small reception at the nearby country club. The guest list had been limited to family and close friends, rather than the mobs of acquaintances they could have invited had they chosen to indulge in a splashy spectacle instead of a quiet, intimate celebration of their union.

  They would be honeymooning in the Caribbean. Perry couldn’t wait to get started. As soon as courtesy allowed, he touched Kristin’s arm. “Ready to go?” he asked, barely reining in his impatience.

  She smiled, looking almost as eager as he was. “Yes. I’m ready.”

  Sophie bustled up to them, in her element as the center of attention at her daughter’s wedding reception. “Darlings,” she said, including them both in a group hug. “I’m so very happy for you.”

  She gave each of them a smacking kiss, leaving blotches of red lipstick on both their cheeks. “Now, go get started on your honeymoon,” she ordered, smiling brightly at Perry.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed fervently. He slid an arm around Kristin’s waist and escorted her to the door, weaving their way through the small crowd of smiling well-wishers. Kristin’s maid of honor was waiting with Kristin’s purse. Kristin thanked her and tucked the leather bag under her arm.

  Perry frowned. “Wait a minute,” he said.

  Poised on the threshold, Kristin looked up in question. “Did you forget something?”

  Grinning, he took her purse from beneath her arm, opened it and took out her notebook. And then he turned to Sophie. “Hang on to this for a couple of weeks, will you?” he asked gravely. “When it comes to my honeymoon, there are some things I’d rather not see in a romance novel later.”

  Sophie laughed delightedly. “My daughter has definitely made the right choice,” she said, tucking the notebook safely into her own bag.

  Kristin was smiling when Perry turned back to her. “You’ll find that I have a very good memory,” she warned him.

  He looped his arm through hers. “I’ll just have to learn to live with it.”

  Side by side, they walked out the door to begin their own happily-ever-after future.

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-5749-8

  IT TAKES A HERO />
  Copyright © 1999 by Gina Wilkins.

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