Maid for Love (A Romantic Comedy) (11 page)

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Authors: Caroline Mickelson

BOOK: Maid for Love (A Romantic Comedy)

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Which was more than she could say for herself.

Zoe slipped quietly out of the back door and into the dark night. A profound sense of loss weighed on her like a dropped anchor. She followed the moon-lit path down toward the water, stopping only to kick off her sandals. The wind had picked up but she was oblivious to the cold as she drew closer to the water. The salty moisture of the Atlantic matched the tears that silently slipped down her cheeks.

She'd been an utter fool to have ever for a moment thought she needed to protect her heart from Michael. Her very refusal to trust him had been the ultimate insult to his integrity, and her actions over the last week had added insult to injury. She stopped at the water's edge, not caring that the incoming waves splashed cold water around her ankles. She reached up and wiped away her tears. The sense of emptiness inside of her was something she was going to have to get used to in the days ahead.

Not caring that it was late and cold, she began to walk along the shore. When she'd gone about a hundred feet, she paused, thinking that she'd heard her name being called. But it couldn't be, it had to be a combination of the wind and her imagination. Her mother would never be able to shout loud enough to make herself heard over the coastal wind.

"Zoe."

She froze.

"Zoe, wait."

This time she knew she'd really heard Michael. His voice reached her just before he came into sight.

"Zoe, for the love of heaven, what are you doing?" Michael stopped in front of her. "You're not going anywhere." He shrugged off his jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders, and drew her close against his chest. "Not without me."

"Michael." The warmth of his jacket was nothing compared to the warmth she felt from being held in his arms. She leaned back just enough so that she could see his face. "I don't-" but he effectively silenced her by leaning down and kissing her tenderly.

When at last he pulled back, Zoe was grateful for the support of his arms around her. "I want you to know-"

But he cut her off again, this time by taking her face gently between his hands. "Zoe, please, let me say what's in my heart and then I promise to hear you out. Okay?"

She nodded.

"I don't care about your gift...I mean, I'm not spooked or upset like you thought I'd be. Marlene told me that you felt like you had to make a choice. You don't. I would never ask you to do that. I love you the way you are, I love everything about you."

Zoe felt her knees go weak, partially with relief but just as much with desire. "You weren't freaked out by what you saw me do?"

He smiled. "Maybe a little, but only because I've never seen anything like it. But I know everything is going to be fine, Zoe. I trust you."

Those last three words were the greatest gift she'd ever received. She reached up and kissed Michael. He was her everything. "Thank you. So you don't mind if I continue running Maid for Love?"

He shook his head. "I don't, on one condition. That you remember first and foremost that the magic is not what you can do, Zoe, but who you are."

But Zoe knew better. The real magic was the way Michael loved her. And she was going to love him back just as fiercely for just as long as he'd let her.

Michael swept her up in his arms. "Let's go. Your mother and the kids are waiting to witness you accept my proposal."

"They don't remember anything?"

He shook his head. "No, they said dinner was nice but it's a blur. They're blaming the bread basket for a carb fog."

Zoe laughed, more than a little grateful she'd been successful at smoothing things over with Kathryn and Josh. She knew her mother was going to be thrilled by the developments. Poor Michael, he had no idea what he was in for in the mother-in-law department. "Kiss me again?" she asked.

"Not a chance, not now anyways," he laughed. "We've got family waiting for us. But later I promise to make sure you're completely satisfied. For now, why don't you practice saying 'yes' so it trips off your tongue when I propose?"

But Zoe thought a kiss was a much better idea. She reached her arms around Michael's neck and laced her fingers behind his neck before leaning in for a kiss. Her mother and the kids could wait. She and Michael didn't need to hurry back to the beach house or anywhere else for that matter. There was no rush.

They had forever.