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  They lay in silence for a few minutes and then Trent spoke again, his tone suspiciously casual. “We could save a little money if we moved in together and maintained one household instead of two.”

  Her pulse began to race again. “I suppose we could.”

  “And if we’re going to do that, we might as well make it legal.”

  “Trent, are you asking me to marry you?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I guess I am. I’m probably not doing it right—I’m not very good at that sort of thing. But I love you, and I want us to start our new lives together. I want what Tara and Trevor have found, and I want it with you. If you need more time, it’s okay. I just thought you should know it’s what I have in mind, so you can be thinking about it.”

  It wasn’t the most romantic proposal she’d ever heard—Trent wasn’t the traditionally romantic type. But Annie couldn’t imagine it being any more perfect. “I don’t have to think about it, Trent. I would love to marry you. There’s no one I’d rather start my new life with.”

  He was beginning to smile now. “Flaws and all?”

  She kissed him again. “Flaws and all.”

  “You’ll never be sorry, Annie. I’ll make sure of that.”

  “Oh, Trent. That’s so very—”

  He pulled her mouth to his quickly, before she could say the word again. But she still thought he was sweet, she thought, sinking happily into his kiss.

  Epilogue

  THE LIGHTS OF HONORIA, Georgia were reflected in the rearview mirror of his rental car as Mac Cordero left town. He wasn’t in the best of moods. He’d made no headway in solving the riddle that had brought him here in the first place. To make it worse, that cleaning woman—Annie Stewart—had twice spotted him watching the McBrides, causing Trent to overreact with some ridiculous idea that he was a stalker or something. Swapping rental cars had allayed Annie’s fears, but Mac wasn’t sure he had convinced Trent.

  He would worry about that complication when he returned at the beginning of June, he decided, pushing the image of Trent’s suspicious blue eyes out of his mind. And the next time he came to Honoria, he wouldn’t be leaving until he’d accomplished his mission.

  The McBride family owed him. Their secrets were about to be revealed.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-7102-2

  SECRETLY YOURS

  Copyright © 2000 by Gina Wilkins.

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  *The Wild McBrides