Authors: Darlene Gardner
"You’re leaving," Gray said, filtering everything she said down to the cruel truth.
It felt as though somebody had inserted a knife into his gut and twisted, and he finally understood something his father had tried to explain countless times over the past years.
A man couldn’t decide to fall in love depending on whether or not love fit his lifestyle. When love struck, it was all the more precious because it didn’t come with a guarantee. Two people never knew how long they’d have together.
Gray recalled something else his father had said. Even if the time with the woman you love is measured in minutes, it’s time well worth having.
"You’re leaving," he repeated.
"Yes," she said, nodding, "I’m leaving."
He shook his head, grasped her hand, fanned his fingers and cupped her cheek. "I don’t want you to leave."
"Gray," she began, "you’re not thinking clearly. You—"
"Curtis said he offered you a job," he interrupted. "He said you have the makings of a terrific reporter."
"I take it Curtis didn’t tell you I declined his offer?"
"Why? Being a reporter is what you’ve always wanted to do, Cara." He squeezed her hand. His eyes ran over her face, desperately searching for a sign that she wanted to stay when a terrible thought struck him. "Is it Richard? Are you going back to him?"
"Or course not," Cara said. "I told him a few days ago I could never marry him."
His relief was short-lived, because something else prevented her from staying. "Then is it Secret Sound? Are there too many bad memories for you to live here?"
"It’s not that." She wrenched her hand from his and walked into the living room. "It’s just that I have to go."
"Why?" he implored, following her. "Why do you have to go?"
She met his gaze and incredibly her eyes were shrouded in pain. "I’ll tell you why," she said, and her voice broke. "I refuse to live out my life in a town hopelessly in love with a man who has vowed never to love me back."
Instead of retreating, as she’d thought he would, he advanced. The smile that spread across his face transcended all the sadness. She backed up, aware that she wouldn’t be able to resist him even if all he offered was the casual affair that she’d scorned just days ago.
She had to stop backing up when her legs bumped up against the back of the sofa. He caught her easily, encircling her waist with his arms.
"I’ve broken my vow," he said against her mouth, nipping her lower lip, "because I love you right back."
"You do?" she asked breathlessly, hardly able to digest his words.
"I do," he confirmed, gathering her close. "Not so long ago, you told me I was pushy. If you leave, you’ll find out exactly how pushy I can be. I’ll drive right on up to Sumter and bring you back."
His voice turned raspy. "But I’d much rather you don’t leave at all. Say you’ll stay here with me, Cara. I couldn’t stand it if you left."
Emotion choked her so hard she couldn't do more than nod. Gray’s mouth claimed hers, joining their lips, joining their hearts, joining their lives.
Much later, when they finally broke for air, Gray rested his forehead weakly against hers. He must have caught sight of the photos from Cara’s long-ago family vacation out of the corner of his eye, because he picked one up.
"Hey," he asked, "where’d you get a picture of me?"
He held up a photo of two small children, their hands locked and their faces wreathed in smiles. The lights of the midway sparkled behind them. The little girl in the picture was Cara. The boy, Cara could see now, was a very young version of Gray.
She laughed, a delightful, joyous laugh, because she’d uncovered the last of the town’s secrets.
"That little girl is me," she said, smiling up at him. Now she understood why Gray had seemed so familiar and why she’d always loved carnivals. "My parents must have taken me to the town’s annual carnival while we were visiting."
"And I must have been there at the same time," Gray finished, "more than willing to ride the rides with a pretty little girl."
She laughed again, reaching up for another kiss from the man who, in a way, she’d loved since she was four years old.
Other eBooks by Darlene Gardner
The Misconception (A Romantic Comedy)
Snoops in the City (A Romantic Comedy)
Bait and Switch (A Romantic Comedy)
About the Author
While working as a newspaper sportswriter, Darlene Gardner realized she'd rather make up quotes than rely on an athlete to say something interesting. So she quit her job and concentrated on a fiction career that has turned out pretty well. She's the author of more than thirty contemporary novels from single-title romantic comedies to emotionally charged family dramas.