Less-than-Innocent Invitation (13 page)

“What happened? Was there an accident?” Logan searched Melissa's expression as she stopped in front of him. Her eyes were red and swollen.

Melissa's auburn hair swayed as she shook her head. “No.”

“What are you doing here? Did you and Rick have a fight?” What had taken place between her and Rick that she'd had to walk back to the ranch? She didn't look as if she'd been hurt, but there was a trace of wariness in her eyes.

“No, Rick is…in his truck. I came back because I needed to ask you something,” she said softly.

At the raw emotion in her voice, he tensed. Did she have any idea of what she was doing to him? It had been hell letting her go. Though he'd known it was the right thing to do for her, the pain of watching her leave had crushed him. “Do you need a ride or something?” He steeled himself against doing something foolish, such as reaching out for her. If he did, this time he wouldn't be able to let her go.

A small smiled formed on her lips, warming her eyes. “No. At least I don't think so.”

Confused, Logan's brows dipped. “What then?”

She stepped closer to him, and took a deep breath as she stared into his eyes. “Logan, a long time ago you asked me to marry you. At the time, I loved you so much. But I made a terrible mistake when I didn't trust you. I'm not going to make that mistake again.” She released the breath on an unsteady sigh.

“Being with you these past weeks has been wonderful. No, more than wonderful. It's been amazing. Logan…I'm so in love with you that I hurt here.” She placed her hand over her heart. When he started to speak, she touched her finger to his lips. “Let me finish,” she said, letting her hand fall.

“Logan, will you marry me?”

Logan's breath got trapped in his lungs. “What?”

Melissa smiled. “That's not the answer I was expecting. A simple yes was what I was hoping for, unless—”

“Yes,” he growled, then hauled her against him. His mouth crashed down on hers in a long, drugging kiss. Fire consumed him as their mouths mated in a heat-induced frenzy. Keeping her in his embrace, he lifted his lips and gazed into her eyes. “God, I've missed you.”

She chuckled. “I've only been gone fifteen minutes.”

“It's been fifteen minutes of pure hell,” he confessed, holding her in his arms. “I love you, Melissa. You'd better be damned sure you love me because I'm never going to let you go. You're part of me.”

“That's a relief because, for a moment, you had me worried.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“
I
had
you
worried? When I saw you, my heart was in my throat.” He stroked her hair. “I can't believe you're here. I love you so much, sweetheart. I wanted you to stay, prayed that you would.”

She touched his face. “Really?”

“More than you'll ever know. I don't think I ever stopped loving you,” he said. “When I saw you at the anniversary ball, I couldn't believe it. I knew then that I couldn't let you leave without touching you.”

“You were so angry. When you offered us a place to stay, I didn't know what to think,” she admitted.

“It was the only way I could keep you here.”

“I was upset with you at the time, but that was because I didn't want you to know that I still loved you.” At the time she hadn't admitted as much to herself. “I'm glad you were so persistent. I'm sorry that we lost so many years, but we have forever to make up for it.” She kissed him.

“You're right.” His eyes darkened.

“What matters now is we're together.”

“Forever.” His fingers wrapped around her neck. “It hurt so much to let you go.” He had survived her leaving him years ago, but this time he'd known he would never recover.

“Why did you?” Melissa asked, gazing into his eyes. Though convinced he loved her, she needed to hear his reason.

“Watching you these past few weeks, I realized how talented you are. I know how much your career means to you. I didn't want to take that away from you.”

“Logan—”

He kissed away her words, preventing her from finishing. “No, listen,” he insisted, his lips hovering above hers. “We both know we can't go back all those years. You've worked hard to build your career. I told you how proud I am of you and everything you've accomplished. I meant it. Together we'll find a way to make this work.”

Melissa didn't think it was possible to admire Logan more than she did at that moment. “I enjoy what I do, but it doesn't define who I am. I'm not taking the promotion.”

He shook his head. “The promotion in Houston is what you've worked for. I can't let you give that up.”

“I don't want to live in Houston, Logan. I want to live here on the Wild Spur, with you.”

“Melissa—”

“I think Joe Fisher may have an opening at WRYL. He gave me his card and asked me to call him if I was interested in working here.”

His face burst into a smile. “Really? You'd want to work here?”

Her eyes softened as she nodded. “I want to be an anchor and I can be that wherever you are. I know how much you love this ranch. I'd never ask you to give it up. I want a chance for us to enjoy each other, to discover all the wonderful things in life that we were never able to. Until now.” She pressed her hand to his chest, felt the beat of his heart. “I want to take pleasure in the freedom of touching you. I want to make love whenever we feel like it. And if you're willing, I want to have your children and raise them right here.”

“You want to have children?” The thought of her carrying his child made his knees weak.

“Yes, please,” she whispered, loving him. “I love you, Logan. I always will.”

Logan swept her up in his arms and started for the house. He'd never dreamed that when he'd seen Melissa at the Royal anniversary celebration, he'd be lucky enough to win her love again. With their past behind them, he intended to spend the rest of his life making her happy.

She laughed. “Logan, what are you doing?”

“If we're going to start on those children, then we'd better get married soon.”

Melissa squealed as he carried her inside to his room. “Really?” she asked, her eyes lighting with joy.

“Sweetheart, I love you. And I've waited more than ten years to make you my wife. I'm not waiting a day longer than necessary to start a family.”

Starting right now,
he thought, as he began unbuttoning her blouse. “Now, what was that you said about making love whenever we feel like it?”