“Are you okay with that?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Actually…” She held her breath, then bent and opened her backpack, pulling out a pencil. “Can I see those? I have a change to make.”
He peeked into her well-organized pack. “Wow. Impressive.”
“You like? A good friend taught me how to organize it.”
His eyes were quiet and assessing. “A good friend?”
“The best kind of friend. My everything friend.” She flipped through the pages to the end. “It occurred to me that I’ve always had a lot of temporary stuff in my life. I’m hoping to change that, and upgrade to a more permanent status.” She erased the “temporary” on her application, then leaned in and wrote permanent. She looked up. “If there’s still a place for me.”
“There will always be a place for you, at Wilder, and in my heart. Turn it over, Harley.”
She felt a little dizzy from his words, and the deep meaning behind them. “What?”
“The application. Turn it over.”
She flipped the pages over. He’d written her name at the top, and then a list of qualifications:
Pro—makes me hot
Pro—makes me smile
Pro—makes me hot
Pro—accepts me as is
Pro—makes me hot
Pro—makes me feel whole
Con—makes me hot
She burst out laughing. “Makes you hot is a con?”
“I couldn’t think of anything bad.”
“Liar.”
He smiled and ran his thumb over her jaw. “Okay, maybe I just like you how you are, faults and all.”
Her breath caught. “Even though I have a hard time putting how I feel into words?”
“You’ve shown me how you feel. In actions.”
Her throat caught. He got her, really got her. She closed her eyes and opened her heart, and for the first time in her life, took a real risk. “You once asked me what was going on between you and me. I never answered you.”
“I know. We’ve been waiting for you to decide.”
“I’ve been a little slow on the uptake,” she admitted. “I didn’t have the words then, but I have the words now.”
He reached for her hand and brought it to his mouth. “Do you?”
“I love you, TJ.” She was a little startled at how easily the words came. “I think I always have.”
He looked stunned, and she took a moment to realize that he hadn’t been sure exactly what she was offering him. And with that, she faced something else. All along she’d understood that she was out of her element, far from her comfort zone when it came to him, but the truth was, he was just as far out of his comfort zone, and just as off balance.
She’d rendered him speechless. Before the smug smile could spread across her face, he’d grabbed her in a crushing hug, burying his face in her neck. There was no sly teasing, no sexy innuendo, nothing but him holding her like he planned to never let her go. “I wasn’t happy in Alaska,” he whispered. “For the first time, I needed out of there.” He pulled back a step and slid his hands up to cup her face so she could see his tender smile. His voice, when it came, was low and gruff with emotion. “It wasn’t home.”
“You’ve been gone from Wishful for much longer before.”
“No. Well, yeah. But that’s not what I’m getting at. I missed you next to me.”
Undone, throat tight, heart pounding, it took her a moment to respond. “Home is being next to me?”
“Now you’re getting there.” His smile warmed her from the inside out. “Yeah, home is being next to you. And on top of you. And underneath,” he murmured. “And buried deep inside…”
With a laugh, she walked back into his arms. And found her own sense of home.
EPILOGUE
Four months later
Harley sat at one of the many decorated tables arranged across the lodge’s expansive back deck. Cam’s and Katie’s wedding reception was in full swing. Guests were dancing, eating, talking, laughing.
It was a beautiful January evening, a cool thirty-four degrees, but there were freestanding heaters at every corner, and no one felt the chill.
Least of all Cam and Katie, locked in each other’s arms in the center of the makeshift dance floor. Stone and Emma weren’t too far away, swaying to the music as well.
Harley sighed in pleasure, enjoying the sense of…peace. She and TJ had just come back from co-guiding a three-week bike trip in Costa Rica. She could still feel the warmth from the long days in the sun.
And the longer nights in TJ’s arms. Oh yeah, that was definitely her favorite part. The way he looked at her, held her, touched her.
As she smiled with the memories, he came back to the table. He’d ditched his tux jacket and tie, had untucked his white shirt, and looked good enough to finish unwrapping and eat for dessert. He held two flutes of champagne, smiling as he handed her one, his eyes filled with heat and affection.
There were no more long treks on the schedule. If any booked, Harley and TJ would probably take them, but for the time being they were back in Wishful. She’d moved into his cabin. During the days, he was working the shorter adventures with his brothers, and she joined in when needed. She was also working for the local forest service on a part-time basis as their wildlife biologist liaison.
But the favorite part of her life was sleeping next to TJ every night. They’d not talked about the next step, but her heart was so full she knew it would all come.
“Here. Hold this.”
Harley blinked as Annie gently shoved a pink bundle in her arms.
Not-Abigail.
Who’d turned out to be Abigail after all. Eight pounds of pure, beautiful, tyrannical joy. She was a real Wilder-in-training, too. At two weeks old, she had every single person in her orbit wrapped around her cute little pinky finger.
Harley was terrified of her. “Annie, I—”
Annie was gone, on the dance floor with Nick.
Oh, God. Harley stared down in terror at the infant, who yawned and stared back, smacking her perfect little heart-shaped mouth before letting out a shuddery sigh of contentment.
Or gas.
And Harley’s heart, frozen in terror only a moment before, did the oddest thing. It completely softened, and she turned to look at TJ in marvel. She actually…wanted one. Not that she’d say that out loud, never, but—
“You want one,” he whispered.
“God. I think I do.”
TJ laughed softly and slipped an arm around Harley, reading her mind as easily as he always read her body. “Okay,” he murmured, letting his mouth brush her ear. “But first things first.”
Her breath caught. “Like?”
“A wedding.”
Her heart swelled until she could hardly breathe. “Really?”
“Really.” He pulled her in a little closer, and with his other hand, gently stroked a finger over Abigail’s soft cheek. “And then all the practicing required for one of these. Lots of practicing, Harley.”
She laughed, her heart so full it actually hurt. “We’ve been doing that, every night for months.”
“You can never practice enough.”
She actually glanced back at the lodge, thinking of the closet.
TJ grinned. “I love how you think, Future Mrs. Wilder.”
She grinned back, then squealed in shock as Annie took Abigail back and yelled in happy surprise, “Future Mrs. Wilder?”—repeating TJ’s words. “Did you just get engaged?”
In no time, the whole family moved close to hear more, and it was an entire case of champagne later before TJ got Harley in the closet to begin their practicing.
If you liked this book, try
LOVE, UNEXPECTEDLY
by Susan Fox…
“Merilee said I could bring a date to the wedding, then got in this dig about whether I was seeing anyone, or between losers. I’d really hate to show up alone.”
He’d learned not to t
rust that gleam in her eyes, but couldn’t figure out where she was heading. “You only just broke up with NASCAR Guy.” Usually it took her two or three months before she fell for a new man. In the in-between time she hung out more with him, as she’d been doing recently.
Her lips curved. “I love how you say ‘NASCAR Guy’ in that posh Brit accent. Yeah, we split two weeks ago. But I think I may have found a great guy to take to the wedding.”
Damn. His heart sank. “You’ve already met someone new? And you’re going to take him as your date?”
“If he’ll go.” The gleam was downright wicked now. “What do you think?”
He figured a man would be crazy not to take any opportunity to spend time with her. But…“If you’ve only started dating, taking him to a wedding could seem like pressure. And what if you caught the bouquet?” If Nav was with her and she caught the damned thing, he’d tackle the minister before he could get away, and tie the knot then and there.
Not that Kat would let him. She’d say he’d gone out of his freaking mind.
“Oh, I don’t think this guy would get the wrong idea.” There was a laugh in her voice.
“No?”
She sprang off the washer, stepped toward him, and gripped the front of his rugby jersey with both hands, the brush of her knuckles through the worn blue-and-white-striped cotton making his heart race and his groin tighten. “What do you say, Nav?”
“Uh, to what?”
“To being my date for the wedding.”
Hot blood surged through his veins. She was asking him to travel across the country and escort her to her sister’s wedding?
Had she finally opened her eyes, opened her heart, and really seen him? Seen that he, Naveen Bharani, was the perfect man for her? The one who knew her perhaps better than she knew herself. Who loved her as much for her vulnerabilities and flaws as for her competence and strength, her generosity and sense of fun, those sparkling eyes, and the way her sexy curves filled out her Saturday-morning sweats.
“Me?” He lifted his hands and covered hers. “You want me to go?”
She nodded vigorously. “You’re an up-and-coming photographer. Smart, creative.” Face close to his, she added, eyes twinkling, “Hot, too. Your taste in clothes sucks, but if you’d let me work on you, you’d look good. And you’re nice. Kind, generous, sweet.”
Yes, he was all of those things, except sweet—another wimp word, like doll. But he was confused. She thought he was hot, which was definitely good. But something was missing. She wasn’t gushing about how amazing he was and how crazy she was about him, the way she always did when she fell for a man. Her beautiful eyes were sharp and focused, not dreamy. Not filled with passion or new love. So…what was she saying?
He tightened his hands on hers. “Kat, I—”
“Will you do it? My family might even approve of you.”
Suspicion tightened his throat. He forced words out. “So I’d be your token good guy, to prove you don’t always date assholes.”
“Ouch. But yes, that’s the idea. I know it’s a lot to ask, but please? Will you do it?”
He lifted his hands from hers and dropped them to his sides, bitter disappointment tightening them into fists.
Oblivious, she clenched his jersey tighter, eyes pleading with him. “It’s only one weekend, and I’ll pay your airfare and—”
“Oh, no, you won’t.” He twisted away abruptly, and her hands lost their grip on his shirt. Damn, there was only so much battering a guy’s ego could take. “If I go, I’ll pay my own way.” The words grated out. He turned away and busied himself heaving laundry from his washer to a dryer, trying to calm down and think. What should he do?
Practicalities first. If he agreed, would it affect the exhibit? No, all she was asking for was a day or two. He could escort her, make nice with her family, play the role she’d assigned him. He’d get brownie points with Kat.
“Nav, I couldn’t let you pay for the ticket. Not when you’d be doing me such a huge favor. So, will you? You’re at least thinking about it?”
Of course he’d already accumulated a thousand brownie points, and where had that got him? Talking about roles, she’d cast him as the good bud two years ago and didn’t show any signs of ever promoting him to leading man.
He was caught in freaking limbo.
The thing was, he was tired of being single. He wanted to share his life—to get married and start a family. Though he and his parents loved each other, his relationship with them had always been uneasy. As a kid, he’d wondered if he was adopted, he and his parents seemed such a mismatch.
He knew “family” should mean something different: a sense of warmth, belonging, acceptance, support. That’s what he wanted to create with his wife and children.
His mum was on his case about an arranged marriage, sending him a photo and bio at least once a month, hoping to hook him. But Nav wanted a love match. He’d had an active dating life for more than ten years but, no matter how great the women were, none had ever made him feel the way he did for Kat. Damn her.
He bent to drag more clothes from the washer and, as he straightened, glanced at her. Had she been checking out his ass?
Cheeks coloring, she shifted her gaze to his face. “Please, Nav? Pretty please?” Her brows pulled together. “You can’t imagine how much I hate the teasing.” Her voice dropped. “The poor Kat can’t find a man pity.”
He understood how tough this wedding would be for her. Kat had tried so hard to find love, wanted it so badly, and always failed. Now she had to help her little sister plan her wedding and be happy for her, even though Kat’s heart ached with envy. Having a good friend by her side, pretending to her family that she’d found a nice guy, would make things easier for her.
Yes, he was pissed that she wanted only friendship from him, but that was his problem. He shouldn’t take his frustration and hurt out on her.
He clicked the dryer on and turned to face her. “When do you need to know?”
“No great rush, I guess. It’s two weeks off. Like I said, I’ll probably leave Monday. I’ll take the train to Toronto, then on to Vancouver.”
“It’s a long trip.”
“Yeah.” Her face brightened. “It really is fun. I’ve done it every year or so since I moved here when I was eighteen. It’s like being on holiday with fascinating people. A train’s a special world. Normal rules don’t apply.”
He always traveled by air, but he’d watched old movies with Kat. North by Northwest. Silver Streak. Trains were sexy.
Damn. He could see it now. Kat would meet some guy, fall for him, have hot sex, end up taking him rather than Nav to the wedding.
Unless…
An idea—brilliant? insane?—struck him. What if he was the guy on the train?
What if he showed up out of the blue, took her by surprise? An initial shock, then days together in that special, sexy world where