Rescue My Heart (25 page)

Hack stepped closer and took her in
his arms. “What happened?”

“
Alfred died,” she choked
out.

“
Oh, my, God, baby. I’m so
sorry.” She melted against him, resting her face on his fleece
jacket. The scent of him mixed with a little sweat soothed almost
as much as his strong arms holding her did. She leaned into him. He
stroked her hair and held her close in a tight grip while she
cried. “I know how you felt about him,” he said.

She nodded. “He was
special.” She wiped her eyes with her fingers. Baxter began to
whine and tug. Rory dropped the leash and the little pug wandered
away to sniff a tree. She pulled away to search for a tissue in her
purse. “Another nail in the coffin of my holiday spirit,” she
moaned.

“
At least he had a good
home with you, and then with Helen.”

“
I suppose.”

“
He could have died in the
shelter, alone.” Hack reached into his pocket and produced a
handkerchief.

“
What a horrible thought!”
She shuddered, taking the cloth he offered. “He was a lovely pug.”
Rory bent down and petted Baxter, who licked her. Hack picked up
the leash, took her hand, and urged them on to the Boat
House.

“
I think you need food.”
He sat Rory down on the cold, metal chair and purchased coffee for
him and tea for her, plus two chocolate chip scones.

“
You’re not mad that I
lied to you?” Hack broke off a piece of his pastry.

“
That all seems like so
long ago. It’s not great, but I understand why.”

“
Thank God. I thought you
might stop speaking to me.”

“
Can’t
do that, Hack.”
Don’t tell him you’re
madly in love with him.

“
I was your Secret Santa,
last year, and this year.” He sipped his coffee, his gaze on
her.

“
Last year? You gave me
the brass pug?” He nodded. “I gave it back to you. Did you get it?”
she asked.

“
I did. That’s how I knew
you might like me…giving me something you valued so
much.”

She looked at her hands, sensing
warmth in her cheeks.

“
I’m so sorry about that
message and all. I should’ve thought about how it’d look. You
didn’t know it was me, so of course you’d be skeptical.”

“
You’re
the perv that sent me that
‘meet me at Starbucks’ message?”

“
Yeah. Sorry.”

“
I reamed Pastor McHugh
for that one. Geez, you scared the crap out of me.”

“
I needed to talk to
you.”

“
Next time, be more
direct.” She sipped her tea.

“
I will. That wasn’t the
present I bought for you, though.”

“
Good, because I was
feeling pretty cheated. I was looking forward to it. Thought maybe
I’d have the same Secret Santa who’d do something special, like
last year. It was you all the time?”

“
Shirley hooked me up with
Secret Santa.”

“
Shirley?” She broke off a
piece of scone.

“
I think she was trying to
make a match.” Hack sat back in his chair.

“
Until the bicycle
incident. Oh, my, she must have been upset.” Rory
laughed.

“
Your Secret Santa does
have a special present for you this year.” Hack turned the leash
over to Rory and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small box
and went down on one knee. Rory clapped her hands over her mouth.
“Rory, you bring adventure to my life and make me feel alive. I
love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”

He opened the box to display the
stunning ring with three diamonds. “The minute I saw this in the
window, it screamed your name.”

Rory was
speechless. Emotion tightened her chest, forming a lump in her
throat. Tears threatened.
I can’t believe
it. Pinch me, I’m dreaming.

“
Well? It’s cold and wet
down here,” Hack said, his eyes hopeful.

“
Yes. Yes, I will.” He
bounced up, grabbed her, slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed
her passionately.

“
I’ve wanted you for so
long,” he muttered into her hair.

“
Me, too. Me, too.” She
closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. Rory didn’t remember
finishing her tea or scone, but when they got up to leave, her
plate and cup were empty. The temperature was dropping. “I’m
freezing. Let’s go back to my place.”

“
But you’ve never seen my
apartment.”

“
I’m sure I’ll be jealous
as hell.”

“
Once
we’re married, you’ll move in with me, right?” Rory gazed into his
eyes.
Marriage. Living together
full-time.
Her mind whirled with all the
changes that would mean. “I can still do pug rescue after we’re
married, right?”

“
Of course. I’ll help
you.”

She took his hand. “My place for
now?”

“
Sure.”

Rory’s emotions seesawed between
sadness about Alfred and happiness at her engagement. “This is
real, right?”

“
Hell, I don’t buy
diamonds for every girl. I’m going to hold you to it,” Hack said,
barely able to keep a straight face.

“
What about your
mom?”

“
We’ll deal with that
later. I have to reclaim my own life. I couldn’t bear to lose you.
Seeing you with Bruce practically killed me.”

“
Where did you see me with
Bruce?”

“
I was going to ask you
sooner. I was on my way to give Bruce some competition when I saw
you all dressed up. God, you were gorgeous. You went off with him.
You looked happy. I kinda gave up at that point.”

The cool breeze gradually became a
chill wind, and the blue sky disappeared behind heavy, gray clouds.
The lovers huddled closer. It wasn’t long before they were climbing
Rory’s front steps. Once inside the vestibule, she headed toward
the stairs.

“
Aren’t you going to check
the mail?”

“
Oh, yeah. Not a postal
holiday today. I never get anything.” She started to
climb.

“
Looks like there’s
something in there.”

Rory stopped and turned. Sure enough,
she saw an envelope through the slits of her mailbox. She stuck the
small key in the lock and turned. After plucking the letter from
the narrow space, she tucked it under her arm. Baxter had run ahead
and stood on the landing above, barking. “Let’s go.”

When they reached the
door, Rory stopped a moment to admire her ring. She glanced at Hack
and smiled. Once inside, they rubbed their hands together. Rory put
the mail down on the table and removed Baxter’s harness. Hack
wandered over and picked up the envelope.

“
Checking up on me
already? Reading my mail?”

“
Making sure it’s not from
a lover you’ve got tucked away somewhere, like Katmandu.” He
chuckled, turning it over in his hand. “Hey, this is from a
publisher. Moonlight Books.” He handed it to her.

“
A publisher?” Her
interest was piqued. She ripped it open.

We are delighted to offer
you…

She didn’t read the rest fully before
she let out a short scream.

Hack jumped, startled.
“What?”

“
Moonlight Books has offered me a contract for
For the Love of Baxter!
They want to publish my book. I can’t believe it.” She danced
around the table before sinking down on the sofa. Her hand shook as
she handed the piece of paper to Hack.

He read it and a big grin spread
across his face. “I told you you were a good writer. And that you
should do romance.”

“
You were right. This is
amazing.”

“
Maybe you can become a
writer full-time and give up dog walking.” He joined
her.

“
Give up dog
walking?”

“
Yeah. Substitute wifing
and mothering instead.”

Rory had worked all her adult life.
She had never thought beyond the joy of being married to Hack,
being with him all the time, to the fact that she could spend her
days writing.

“
Really?”

“
I make enough to support
us. You can write, or do pug rescue, both or nothing. It’ll be up
to you, honey.”

If this is a dream, don’t
wake me up.

“
Let’s order in,” Hack
suggested.

Rory
pulled out the menu for The Cottage, the Chinese restaurant on the
corner. While Hack was placing their order, she went to the window
to replenish the food in the bird feeder. The holiday lights
shone.
Oh By Gosh, By Golly
played in her head. She gazed down at her ring,
shining brighter than anything outside.
And a book contract. Christmas couldn’t get any
merrier.

A light snow had begun to fall. She
closed the window and padded over to Hack. He pulled her to
him.

“
I love you. I admit I
didn’t want to, tried not to. But I couldn’t help it,” she
said.

“
The old Roberts charm,”
he chuckled.

“
It killed me that you
were engaged to that tooth…Felicia.”

“
All I wanted was to be
with you.” Hack lowered his mouth to hers, but the kiss was
interrupted by the food delivery. Hack and Rory huddled together,
eating and talking, while Baxter snored in his bed.

“
Does he sleep with
you?”

“
Yes. I hope you won’t
mind.”

“
He snores too,
right?”

“
You can hear him
now.”

“
It’s okay as long as you
don’t mind my iguana, guinea pigs, and gerbils.”

“
You have all
those?”

“
Yeah, all the ones that
don’t need to be walked.” He laughed. “Quite a menagerie we’ll
have.”

“
Still need to have room
for children, right?” she asked.

“
Of course. Little Rorys
running around. Damn, life’ll never be dull.”

Rory cleared away the dishes. As she
stood at the sink, Hack picked up a dish towel. He dried the dishes
while nibbling on her neck. She dropped a glass. It
broke.

“
Hack!”

“
Sorry, sorry. I’ll clean
it up.” He quickly scooped up the pieces and threw them in the
trash. Then, he turned off the faucet. “Enough. I need you,
wife-to-be.” He tightened his arms around her and pulled her in for
a hungry kiss. Rory opened her heart to him.

Hack slipped his fingers under her
sweatshirt, gliding them over her smooth, soft skin. She sighed as
his fingers snapped open her bra. He yanked his T-shirt off then
her top. His eyes feasted on her breasts before he touched
her.

“
These are such a perfect
fit.” She moaned and stepped closer, running her hands up his
sides. His touch sent a wave of desire to her core, creating an
ache, an itch, that needed to be scratched. As his thumbs circled
her nipples, she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his
pants.

“
Eager?” he
asked.

“
Horny,” she
replied.

Hack laughed and pushed his pants and
boxers down in one swift motion. Then, he worked on her jeans,
sliding them down, revealing a pair of sexy, pink lace bikinis. He
gazed at her body. “Wow. You’re hot.”

“
I’m hot for you.” She
pushed her panties down and stepped out of them. Hack wheeled the
coffee table to the side and quickly pulled out the bed. “We could
have used the sofa.”

“
I need space. Gotta do
this properly. Not like the first time.”

“
What was wrong with
that?”

“
Not a damn thing, but it
was kinda rushed and cramped.”

“
You didn’t seem to
mind.”

“
Making love to you in a
closet would still be wonderful. But we don’t need to do that this
time, right?”

“
Go ahead.” She waved him
on.

He ripped the bed clothes down and
sat, patting the space next to him. Rory joined him. She straddled
his lap, balanced on her calves. He cupped his hands around her
rear end and swung his legs up on the bed. Rory reached over to
snatch two pillows from the floor. Hack propped them behind his
head.

“
Perfect,” he said, his
hands on her back, drawing her forward into his embrace. His mouth
captured hers. Instead of using brute force, his lips coaxed hers
open, and his tongue caressed her, teasing her, seducing her. She
melted, leaning into his chest. His muscle and chest hair tickled
her breasts and rubbed against her hard nipples, exciting
her.

When she rose up on her knees, Hack
inched his fingers around her curves and into her warmth then
removed one hand to massage her breast.

“
Ahhh,” she murmured as he
played with her, stroking and exploring.

Rory flattened her hands on his abs
and slid them up, pressing her fingertips lightly into his flesh.
He closed his eyes. She bent her head to lick the hollow of his
throat and up lightly over his Adam’s apple.