Sweet Surrender (42 page)

"Don’t mean it!  Are you mad?"

"I infuriate and exasperate you.  It’s every trait you loathe in a female, so why would you seek those qualities in a wife?  I’d drive you insane with my nonsense."

"Well, I’ve determined that I might relish a bit of insanity.  Up until recently, my life has been entirely too boring."

"You’re prepared for the chaos I would provide?"

"You’d provide chaos?" he sarcastically mused.  "I didn’t realize!"

"You claim to want me now, today.  What about next week or next month or next year?"

"I’ll never stop loving you."

"How can I be sure?  I’ve always been alone, Jackson.  I’ve always had to work and struggle."

"I know."

"If I say
yes,
if I cast my lot with you, but later, you wish I hadn’t or you change your mind, I couldn’t survive it."

"You silly girl," he gently chided.  "I won’t ever change my mind."

He went to her and pulled her close.

"Take a chance on me, Grace.  You’ll never be sorry."

She searched his eyes, trying to read what was written there, and he let his affection shine through. 

"What about your mother and Susan?"

"What about them?"

"I’m still scared of them."   

"There’s no need to be.  I’ve already sent them away, and I promise they will never harm you again.  Not so long as I have breath in my body."

"If I wed you, they’ll be enraged.  They’ll constantly plot against me."

"They’ll never succeed in any mischief.  Don’t fret about them."

"What about Michael?"

"He’ll be earl.  He’s the firstborn son.  I’ll right the wrong that was done to him.  It may take some time, but I will fix the situation.  You have my word on it."

"It will cause such a mess."

He shrugged and chuckled.  "Why would I care about a little mess?"

"What about my sister and Duncan?  They’re penniless."

"I’ll probably give them a small property as a wedding gift, so they’ll have an income."

She scowled, still perplexed.  "You would do that?  Why?"

"Would it make you happy if I help your sister?"

"Yes."

"Then that’s why.  I’d do it because it would make you happy."  She was trembling again, and he slipped his hand into hers.  "You’ll have a home, Grace.  You’ll have a place where you’re loved and cherished, where you’ll always belong.  And you’ll have me by your side.  Each and every day, you’ll have
me
for your very own."

"I’d have you…"  The notion riveted her.

He was on tenterhooks, her affirmative answer about to arrive, when someone pounded on the door.  His moment with her was ruined.

"Jackson!  Jackson, are you in there?  Let me in."

"Is that Duncan?" she asked as she drew away.

"Yes."

"You’d better see what he wants.  I hope there’s no new trouble."

He sighed as a parade of people marched in:  Duncan, Eleanor, Michael, Percival.  They huddled in a group, glaring at Jackson.

"What?" Jackson demanded of Duncan.

"The boys told me you were browbeating Grace."

"I’m not browbeating her," Jackson huffed.  "I’m proposing marriage."

"You’re…proposing?"

"Yes."

"You’re eager to get yourself leg shackled?"

"Yes."

"You’re ready to abandon your wild bachelor habits?"

"Yes."

"You’re prepared to be bound to one woman for the rest of eternity?"

"Yes, absolutely."

Duncan glowered at Grace.  "Please tell me you had the good sense to say
yes.
"

"I’m thinking, I’m thinking," Grace muttered.

"Think a little faster," Duncan scolded.

"She doesn’t believe I’m much of a catch," Jackson said. 

"I didn’t say that!" Grace fumed.

"You didn’t have to!"

"I suppose I might have felt that way in the past."

"But a man can change, can’t he?" Jackson inquired.  "A man can become the person he’s destined to be?"

Grace was undeterred.  "I imagine that could happen—once in a blue moon."

Her sister piped in with, "Of course, a man can change.  Look at Duncan."

Jackson waved a dismissive hand.  "I wouldn’t use Duncan as an example."

"But he’s the man of my dreams."  Eleanor peered over at Grace.  "How about you, Grace?  Is Jackson the man of your dreams?"

Grace stared and stared at Jackson, and finally, she smiled.

"He might be, Eleanor.  He just might be."

Jackson smiled, too.  "What are you saying, Grace?  Are you saying
yes
?"

Slowly, she nodded.  "I am, Jackson.  I’m saying
yes
."

"Do you mean it?"

"It seems I do."

"Because with me, it’s forever.  It’s till my dying day."

"It’s till my dying day, too.  So you better make it worth my while."

"Trust me, Grace, I will make it worth your while.  Each and every second."

"Will I always be happy?"

He scoffed.  "With me as your husband, how could you ever be anything else?"

THE END

SWEET SEDUCTION

MUD CREEK

MARRY ME

LOVE ME

KISS ME

SEDUCE ME

KNIGHT OF SEDUCTION

NICHOLAS

DREAMS OF DESIRE

TASTE OF TEMPTATION

PROMISE OF PLEASURE

LOVE’S PROMISE

LOVE’S PRICE

LOVE’S PERIL

SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL

DOUBLE FANTASY

FORBIDDEN FANTASY

SECRET FANTASY

TOO WICKED TO WED

TOO TEMPTING TO TOUCH

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

THE WEDDING NIGHT

FURTHER THAN PASSION

DEEPER THAN DESIRE

MORE THAN SEDUCTION

COMPLETE ABANDON

ABSOLUTE PLEASURE

TOTAL SURRENDER

LOVE LESSONS

MOUNTAIN DREAMS

MY TRUE LOVE

MY ONLY LOVE

MEG’S SECRET ADMIRER

WAY OF THE HEART

Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author

CHERYL HOLT

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She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer
.
She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories
.
 

Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards
.
She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times
BOOK Reviews.

She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans
.
Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.