LITMIR.BIZ

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and the tingling warmth generated by the contact of their palms made her very much aware that marriage had a physical as well as an emotional commitment.

      Her cheeks heated. “Just one more question,” she said, determined to make things clear right from the beginning. “Where do you plan on sleeping while you’re here?”

      “On the couch, Mrs. McClure. Sex is the last thing on my mind, but we might have to get Tom’s legal opinion on whether or not the marriage needs to be consummated.”

      Hope blushed from her toes to her scalp at the idea of asking her brother-in-law such a question.

      “Or maybe not.” His fingers tightened a notch around hers, protective and familiar. “Does this mean you’ll marry me?”

      She tilted her head back to look up at him and gave him a tremulous smile. “Yes.”

      The glow that warmed his eyes created a stirring of response in her belly. Reminded her of a week long ago when being Quinn McClure’s fiancée had brought her such happiness and eventually pain.

      “Thank you. You won’t have to worry about money. I’ve got savings, investments, a condo and a business I own half of. Not to mention life insurance and the trust fund Quent and Carrie set up for the kids. It should be enough.”

      “I’m not worried. I can manage on my own if need be.”

      She saw the tension loosen in the planes of his face. “Carrie would have approved of you. Quent always did.”

      Her voice caught in her throat. “I’ll love the children like they’re my own flesh and blood.”

      “I know you will.”

      “Quinn?”

      “Yes?”

      “I’m afraid.”

      “I know. Me, too.” His arms came around her then, the solid feel of his hard body bittersweet. But Hope nestled her cheek against his breastbone where she could hear the reassuring pound of his heartbeat and hung on tightly. For better or worse. Till death they would part.

      SHE’D SAID YES. Relief settled through Quinn as they carried Melanie and Kyle upstairs to the bedrooms that Hope used for the children who occasionally required night care or spent a few days with her when their parents were away on business trips.

      Kyle held fast in his arms, Quinn had feelings he’d never expected to have tumble through him as he watched Hope expertly tuck Melanie into a picket-fence bed in a yellow bedroom where butterflies fluttered from one tulip bloom to another on the walls. Observing Hope with Melanie was like being given a glimpse of what could have been. Mel didn’t awaken or utter a peep as Hope moved quietly in the room, closing the blinds, switching on a night light on the dresser. Then she rummaged through Melanie’s bag.

      “Is this all you brought?” she whispered, gesturing at the bag.

      Quinn nodded. He only had a small bag for each child. “The kids were whisked out of the house pretty fast. Someone else packed their things. I didn’t want to risk returning in case it was under surveillance,” he explained quietly as he cradled Kyle’s head against his chest. He hoped the toddler would doze off in his arms.

      “It doesn’t matter. We can buy more clothes and I’ve got toys and books galore.” She gave him a reassuring smile and pulled from the bag a floppyeared bunny, its brown fur noticeably worn, that she tucked into bed with Melanie.

      When she moved to put Mel’s clothes in a drawer, Quinn stopped her. “It would be better if you didn’t. We may have to leave in a hurry.”

      Hope looked stricken as the meaning of his words seemed to seep into her. Abandoning the bag, she hovered over the slumbering child and ever-so-gently cupped one of Mel’s curls. “Good night, little lamb.”

      Quinn turned away. At least something good would come of all this. Hope would have the children she deserved, if not the husband. Quinn had no delusions about what kind of father he’d be, given the chance.

      Kyle twisted his head to look up at him, his eyes round and hopeful. “Daddy?”

      Quinn gritted his teeth and shook his head. Kyle’s brow wrinkled in confusion. Hope closed the door to Mel’s room and brushed past him, smelling sweet and feminine.

      “I put Kyle’s things in the cloud bedroom. I thought he’d like the kites.” Quinn followed her into a blue bedroom sponge-painted with fluffy clouds and brightly colored kites.

      But putting Kyle to bed wasn’t as simple as dealing with Mel. After they’d changed him and put him in the crib, he rose to his feet and rattled the bars. “Ma-ma!” Tears glided down his cheeks in rivulets.

      Quinn battled his own frayed nerves as he tried to soothe him. Kyle was so agitated his body generated heat like a miniature furnace. “Hey, it’s okay, buddy. Lie down. It’s time to go to sleep.”

      “No. I want Mama.” Kyle shook his head miserably.

      Quinn felt just as miserable. “He was like this last night, too. He cried for almost two hours before he fell asleep.”

      “That’s understandable. He’s too young to comprehend that his parents are gone. He’s going to need a lot of reassurance and we’ll try to stick to his normal bedtime routine as much as possible.”

      Being forced to confess that he didn’t know Kyle’s bedtime routine only made Quinn feel worse. How often had he visited his brother since Kyle’s birth? A handful of times?

      Hope gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, Quinn. We can ask Melanie tomorrow. She’ll be able to tell us. Usually it’s a combination of a snack, a bath, a story or songs, a snuggle, that kind of thing. Sometimes they sleep with a special toy or a blanket. Children get very attached to their rituals and need them to settle down. Does Kyle have any special toys or a blanket he sleeps with? I didn’t find anything in his bag.”

      Quinn searched his memory as Hope rubbed Kyle’s sturdy back. Strange how such an insignificant thing seemed of such importance when their lives were on the line. “I’m not sure. At one point he had a stuffed monkey he called Bobo or Babbu or something like that, but I don’t know if he still has it.”

      Kyle drew a ragged, gulping breath.

      “It’s okay, we’ll improvise.”

      Quinn watched in gratitude as Hope opened the closet, revealing two rows of stuffed animals. Her face was animated as she told Kyle his crib was a zoo cage and that he could tend three animals in his cage for the night. Kyle’s damp blue eyes widened at the selection.

      Hope’s light-hearted, sunny laugh when Kyle rejected a white snow monkey in favor of a pink pig made Quinn feel less as though the world was closing in around him. When Hope told Kyle to settle his animals down for the night and to be very careful not to step on them, the toddler happily lay down and arranged his animals around him. Hope covered them with a blanket.

      “Quinn and I will be back in a few minutes, Kyle. Show your animals how to close their eyes.”

      At Hope’s signal, Quinn tiptoed out of the room with her and held his breath, waiting for Kyle’s howl of protest at being left alone to begin. It didn’t.

      Hope brushed her hands over her hips, a faint rosy hue highlighting her pale complexion. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to change out of these clothes. There’s a fourth bedroom at the end of the hall for you—just make yourself at home. Maybe we can meet downstairs in a few minutes. I imagine there are some things we need to discuss.”

      Her apparent nervousness matched his own. “Sure. I’ll stow my gear in the room, but I’ll be sleeping downstairs as a first line of defense in case we have an intruder. I’ll have an alarm system for the house installed tomorrow.”

      She opened her mouth as if to argue, but only a long sigh escaped. “Do whatever you think best.” Then she turned and walked away.

      While

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