Secret Guardian (19 page)

“Ann?” He leaned back and looked down into her face.

“Oh, no. Not until we get inside.” She pulled back further, smiling at him. Did she know what he was going to ask? How did she know?

He nodded his head and followed her onto the plane.

When they were finally in the air, he looked over at her and decided it was now or never.

“I know what you’re going to ask, but I want to say something first,” she interrupted.

“Fair enough.” A million excuses she might give him for saying no ran through his head.

“Ethan, I’ve known you for over two months and in that time we’ve been shot at, blown up, chased through a jungle, and so much more. But I’d like to think that in that time we’ve become closer than two other normal people would have ever gotten. Our relationship may have started with a lie, but I hope it will never end. So, whatever it is you have to say, just know that you will always have my heart.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her nose. “Ann, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?”

She smiled. “Yes, of course I will.” She reached up and kissed him deeply.

“Now, will you tell me where it is that we are going?”

She laughed, “No, just because you are retiring and getting married, doesn’t mean you don’t still need a little excitement left in your life.”

Epilogue

Ethan sat on the beach and watched his wife run out of the surf, heading for him. Her dark hair was a little shorter in a bob around her face, but he still enjoyed the rich color. As did he enjoy her new curves that showed nicely in the bright white bikini she wore.

Her wet, toned body could still excite him, even when she was eight months pregnant. It had been almost a year since his incident and he was still enjoying his retirement and marriage. Life with Ann was anything but boring.

They’d jetted off to his home in southern France so he could recover. They had stayed almost two months and while they were there they visited Ric’s sister, Katie, and her husband, Jason. They’d also visited Katie’s brother Dante and his wife, Airlea, in Italy. But mostly they just relaxed and enjoyed each other.

Then they had come back home and had the lavish wedding of her dreams where his family and hers came together in Austin to celebrate. Of course the ceremony included a bunch of his old buddies who had been very rowdy. Then they had flown to Peru to spend their honeymoon there.

And now Ann was planning on retiring herself, after the baby was born. They had plans to move to Washington to live in the house he’d built. He knew they’d still travel since they both enjoyed it so much, but maybe after the baby came, they would settle down even more.

He still had calls for jobs every now and then; he’d even gotten a few repeat customers begging for his personal help. So far his team was doing a great job of dealing with anything that came up. He’d even hired a few other guys to deal with all the jobs that had come up after he’d saved the senator.

Ann had been a huge help in getting his business switched over to actually being a business. Sometimes he thought that she enjoyed helping him out more than being a journalist. She talked about running the business full time afterwards.

“What are you thinking about?” She sat next to him in the sand. It took some doing, and some help from him, but finally she settled next to him.

He smiled and pulled her close. “You. Us.”

He ran his hand over his son, inside her belly. He looked forward to his next big adventure. Becoming a father.

Secret Passion

Sandi has escaped her old life; she’s shed her hijab and her family obligations to start a new one, alone. It’s been five years since she first stepped foot in America to save her life. She’s earned enough money to live comfortably, thanks to her artwork. But, just when she finally feels like she can start to relax and not jump at shadows, she believes her family is hot on her heels. Now she must trust the man who saved her years ago and ask him to do it once again.

Mitch risked it all to bring the young girl to America years ago. And when she shows up at his door in the middle of the night, grown up and no longer shrouded in her dark coverings, he’ll do everything he can to help her out. But dodging her family has gotten a lot harder this time and they might survive the revenge attempt, if he can keep his hands off her.

About the Author

Jill Sanders survived 80′s pop music, and life as an identical twin in a chaotic family of nine. A feat by any standard! She was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, relocating to Colorado for college and a successful IT career at IBM in Boulder.

Narrowly escaping before all creativity was squashed, she jumped at the chance to trade the mundane world of computers for the sexy, exciting world of her own imagination. She now lives in charming rural Texas writing wonderful novels such as the Pride series.

Her debut novel, Finding Pride, was shortlisted in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards 2013, and has since climbed to #1 on Amazon Bestsellers – Contemporary Romance & Romantic Suspense. Each Pride Series novel has spent time on bestseller lists for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple. Watch out New York Times, here she comes!