Belonging (33 page)

At the sound of her name, Patches began
wagging her tail. Matt laughed and got up. "I'll bet she does,
too." He scooped the pup up in one big hand, then glanced at Kim.
"Coming, Kim?"

Not only did Kim tag along on the trip
outside, but Casey, Nancy and Bill went, as well. Janice took Eric
up to bed, and there was a rather smug expression on her face when
she came back.

Angie shook her head. "All right, Janice
Crawford. I've seen that look before. What's on your mind?"

Janice grinned. "I was just thinking of that
night you went to the dinner at the Sheraton right after Matt was
hired."

"You gave me a big lecture on needing a man
in my life again," Angie recalled dryly. "And you said something
about going out and making something happen—snagging a rich
husband, I think it was."

"I really never thought that you would!"
Janice said with a laugh.

"But I haven't!" A smile began to blossom.
"At least not yet," she added. "And Matt isn't rich."

Janice waved a flamboyant hand. "One out of
two isn't bad." She eyed her friend slyly. "He has asked you to
marry him, hasn't he?"

She nodded.

"And this time you're going to accept, aren't
you?"

Angie shook her head. Janice knew her very
well— almost as well as Matt. "If he asks me again, I will," she
confided rather breathlessly.

At that moment Kim and Casey ran through the
door, the others trailing behind. "Mommy!" Casey shrieked. "Mommy,
look who we found!"

A ball of dirty, scraggly fur was dropped
into her lap. Startled, at first Angie thought they'd dragged in a
stray cat, but as she glanced down at the animal, she noticed a
familiar-looking streak of silver beneath the grime.

"Spooky! Spooky, how did you ever find your
way home!" The cat yowled indignantly as Angie hugged her tightly.
She wasted no time in wriggling free and jumping to the floor. For
all her dishevelment, the way she preened while walking across the
kitchen was no less than queenly.

When Patches ran after her, yipping
playfully, Angie glanced over at Matt, who had resumed his place
beside her. "We may have a slight problem here," she murmured. "I
don't know if Spooky will like sharing the house with a dog."

Matt laughed. "I wouldn't worry if I were
you." He nodded toward the two animals. Spooky had turned golden
eyes toward Patches, her tail waving lazily in the air. Then with a
bored yawn she padded from the room. Patches sat down on her
haunches and stared after her, but the next minute she was playing
happily under the table once more.

"One big happy family," Angie commented with
a secretive smile. "I hope you're right."

As if Matt sensed what was on her mind, he
said quietly, "I think it's time we headed home." His eyes dropped
to where Casey had crawled up on his lap, her lids drooping
wearily.

Once they were sitting in his car, he asked,
"You don't mind spending one more night at my place, do you? It's a
little late to get all your things together now, anyway."

Angie murmured her agreement, but she smiled
to herself in the darkness. Did she mind one more night with him?
Quite the contrary. She was counting on it- very definitely
counting on it!

Nor was she the only one with that thought
firmly in mind. Still, he knew that when they were finally alone,
they had some talking to do first.

He was sitting on the top step of the stairs
when she closed the bedroom door. He'd left her alone to put the
two girls to bed, knowing she needed some time with them to
reassure herself that they were safe and well.

"Everything okay?" he asked as she
approached.

Angie nodded and sat down beside him. "I'm
still finding it hard to believe this whole thing wasn't a
nightmare. When I think of what Todd did..." She shivered. "It's
scary to realize that I honestly thought him capable of harming Kim
and Casey. Never once did it occur to me he might be bluffing."

She was silent for a moment. "But then I'm
grateful he wasn't put to the test. I'm not sure I really want to
know just how far he would have gone to get what he wanted."

"At least it's all over now."

"Not quite," she reminded him. "The city
council still hasn't decided the fate of city hall."

Matt's eyes gleamed. "Don't you have any
faith in your powers of persuasion?"

Her heart began beating a little faster.
There was the faintest hint of suggestion in his voice. "Maybe what
I need is a trial run."

"Maybe." He smiled his approval. "Looking for
a guinea pig?"

"I think I've already found one." Somehow she
managed to match his light, bantering tone. "Do you think I could
possibly persuade you what a fool I've been--especially concerning
matters of the heart?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and
propped a shoulder against the wall. He couldn't believe his ears.
His heart skipped a beat, but then it began to soar as the budding
hope within gained momentum. "I think it could be arranged," he
murmured.

At his playful tone Angie's eyes began to
gleam, as well. "You're very agreeable tonight, aren't you?"

"I should hope so." His voice dropped to a
conspiratorial whisper. "Actually, I'm hoping to snag myself a
wife. Know anyone who might be interested?"

For a moment Angie just stared at him, trying
to absorb the reality of what he was saying. She had hurt Matt,
hurt him deeply, struck a blow to his pride. In a way, she had
proved herself no better than Linda. Because of that there was a
part of her that was afraid he would be unable to forgive her.

Her fears, it seemed, were groundless. She
was scarcely able to believe she'd been given a second chance with
this man.

"What?" Matt cocked an eyebrow at her. "Not
so agreeable now that the shoe is on the other foot?"

A rush of blinding joy swept through her.
"Matt," she finally choked out. "Matt...." She was laughing, she
was crying.

She was in his arms, and nothing had ever
felt so right. All the pain, the doubt and uncertainty of the
preceding days disappeared like mist beneath the burning rays of a
blazing sun. The touch of his hand as he smoothed strands of hair
from her tear-dewed cheeks was so tender, so filled with love, that
she felt her eyes glaze over once more.

"Oh, Matt," she whispered. "How can you ever
forgive me?"

Matt shook his head. "It doesn't matter—" he
started to say.

"But it does." Looking at him, she saw all
that he was—an intensely masculine man whose warmth and sensitivity
equaled his strength. The man she loved.

"In the short time I've known you, you've
given me so much," she told him. She hesitated but an instant.
"Remember the time you said that someday soon the day would come
when there were no secrets between us?"

There was a time--was it only hours ago?—when
he had suspected he was very, very wrong. But he nodded, sensing
how important it was for Angie to say what she had to tell him.

"When Evan died, I was very bitter," she said
quietly. "I tried to remember the good times, but somehow all I
remembered was how terrible it was at the end." Hard as she tried,
she couldn't control the painful catch in her voice. "It was
easier after a while, but I know now that all along I've been
running. Running away from facing up to my feelings about Evan, and
then lately—" her eyes held his "—running from the way I felt about
you."

Matt understood her need to explain, the need
to let go once and for all. The need to make peace with herself
and with the dark shadow of Evan's memory.

"You're a strong woman, Angie," he told her
gently. "A survivor."

"I'd like to think so," she agreed with a
faint smile. "But it's taken me a long time to put aside the
bitterness and realize that Evan is a part of my past while you--"
she turned slightly and slipped her arms around his neck "--are my
future."

Matt didn't delay sampling the lips she
offered so temptingly. Still, he eyed her quizzically when at last
he raised his head. "What made you change your mind?" he asked.

"It wasn't what so much as who. You've had
allies in Georgia and Janice almost from the start." Her fingers
toyed with the dark hair just above his collar. "But it was Georgia
who really started the ball rolling. We had quite a conversation
several days ago."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "About me?"

"It didn't start out that way," she
confessed. "But that's how it ended up." She went on to tell him of
Sam's proposal, Georgia's uncertainty and how she had told Georgia
that, if all else failed, she should listen to her heart.

At that, Matt shook his head. "Don't tell me
she threw that little piece of advice right back at you."

Angie nodded.

"A woman of wisdom," he murmured, pleasantly
surprised. "I'll have to make sure I never tell her I first thought
of her as an old battle-ax."

A faint frown had appeared in Angie's eyes,
and he knew she was still thinking of Georgia and Sam. "They'll
work it out," he reassured her softly. "Which reminds me, you still
haven't told me whether or not you'll marry me."

She laughed, that unrestrained tinkling sound
he so loved to hear. "What do you think?"

Light as her tone was, there was a world of
emotion reflected in her eyes. Matt's arms tightened around her,
and for a moment he simply absorbed the wonder of her nearness, the
warmth of her body.

"I think—" he planted nibbling little kisses
along her jawline "—I may have to rely on my own powers of
persuasion." His mouth finally reached hers.

She smiled against the deepening pressure of
his lips. "I think they're working already," she murmured.

Matt's laugh was shaky. "Let's hope so." He
raised his head, and their eyes melded. "Do you love me,
Angie?"

His voice fell into a hushed void. When she
finally spoke, she repeated the question almost whimsically. "Do I
love you?" Her hands dropped to rest lightly on his shoulders.

"Because of you, I've learned a lot about
myself," she told him very softly. "I need a man who feels the same
way I do. A man who isn't afraid to let me know he's as vulnerable
as I am. A man who loves the same way I do." She paused for the
space of a heartbeat. "I need you, Matt. I want to share your life,
have your children. And...and I love you more than I ever thought
possible."

The world spun crazily. Matt's heart soared
skyward. Then he pulled her to him fiercely.

She could only cling to him, caught up in the
same battle to control the overwhelming intensity of emotion that
consumed them both.

"Oh, Angie." Her name emerged as an uneven
groan. "I think I knew it even before you did. But just so I know
for sure—" he lifted his head tp look at her but didn't lessen his
desperate embrace "—tell me once more."

Angie felt her heart burst with joy. Knowing
that his pride had never meant less to him, aware that he didn't
give a damn that she saw his tears, only made her love him all the
more.

Her heart was so full she could hardly speak.
Cradling his lean face in her hands, she somehow managed to force
the sound past the lump in her throat. "I love you," she said in a
voice that shook with emotion. "I love you."

Through laughter and tears, through hope and
joy, over and over she told him of her love for him. She didn't
stop until Matt captured her mouth firmly beneath his, trapping
the sound in the back of his throat.

It was everything a kiss should be—tender,
urgent, possessive and warm. Angie didn't realize Matt had carried
her into the bedroom until she felt the mattress beneath her.
Matt's body followed her down, and with an infinitely adoring
touch, he began to undress her.

When she did the same for him, Matt felt his
bloodstream explode. His pulse came quickly as her hands pushed
him to his back, the touch gentle but firm with intent.

The golden web of her hair teased his skin
before twin peaks of fire angled across his chest. Her lips hovered
just above his as one slim thigh nested gently between his.

Matt tangled his fingers in her hair. "Are
you trying to drive me crazy?" he asked teasingly, his eyes
feasting on the soft curve of her mouth.

Her smile was bold and sensuous, faintly
mysterious—the smile of a woman who knew all too well the effect
she had on him. "Is it working?" she countered, raking a hand
through the dark curls on his chest.

"Like a charm," he responded sultrily.

The next second Angie found their positions
reversed. She was so startled that she stared up at him wide-eyed.
Matt laughed at her surprise. Then his eyes dipped to her mouth and
lingered there.

"I love you," he said, his tone very quiet.
His mood had swung from teasing to one of the utmost
seriousness.

Suddenly the world seemed to narrow into a
dark velvet void where only the two of them existed. "And I love
you," she whispered.

His mouth lowered as she raised hers. The
contact was unhurried, tender but quickly became a fire flowing
between them. The breath rushed forth from her lips to his, and his
to hers. Desire, hot and urgent, tightened Matt's body with a full
and aching need.

Angie felt the unhurried glide of his tongue
tracing her lips before delving within, and she responded with a
wanton artistry that delighted them both.

"Oh, Matt," she breathed, trailing her
fingers along the steely hardness of his back. "You make me feel
so..."

"What?" His voice was thick. He lifted his
head and stared down at her, his eyes silver bright.

"I don't know." She gasped as a pleasantly
rough fingertip brushed across the beaded tip of her breast.

When she was finally able to speak, she
murmured, "You make me feel... whole."

His fingers stilled in their quest. The room
grew suddenly hushed as he lifted a hand to trail gently across her
cheek. "It's funny you should say that because that's how I've
felt with you almost from the start." His expression was more
tender than she'd ever seen it. "For the first time in my life, I
feel as if I really belong."