Chapter 38
When Daniela arrived at the office bright and early on Tuesday morning, Noah stood at the reception desk going over paperwork with Janie. He broke off when he saw Daniela, his expression softening at once.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said as she approached. Dark, assessing eyes roamed across her face. “Welcome back. How was Greece?”
“It was nice,” she said honestly. “I actually had fun. You know how Kennedi is. No one’s allowed to mope in her presence.”
“Very true.” Noah chuckled. “I’m glad you had a good time. You were long overdue.”
Daniela smiled up at him, remembering what Janie had told her about his intention to speak to Caleb on her behalf.
It shouldn’t have surprised her. Noah had always been her protector, so she knew how difficult it must be for him to sit helplessly on the sidelines and watch her suffer through a broken heart.
Lifting her hand, she gently touched his face. “It’s okay, Noah. You’re going to have to let me grow up eventually.”
He scowled. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
She grinned, knowing he would never change. Loving him for it, anyway.
“You look fabulous,” Janie told her with a huge grin. “Your skin has a sun-kissed glow, and the barely there makeup is a very nice touch.”
Daniela chuckled. “Is that your subtle way of thanking me for putting a little more effort into my appearance this morning?”
“I would never,” Janie said, all wide-eyed innocence.
“Yeah, right.” Daniela grinned. “I brought back souvenirs for everyone, including the kids. But I forgot them at home. Remind me to bring them tomorrow. Oh, and—” She broke off as the desk phone trilled.
“We’ll catch up over lunch,” Janie said, reaching for the phone. “I want to hear all about your trip.”
“Gotcha.” Daniela left the reception area and walked down the hall to her office, where she immersed herself in a mountain of paperwork.
Two hours later, she was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t look up when Janie appeared in her doorway.
She had to clear her throat to get Daniela’s attention, and there was an odd note of excitement in her voice when she announced, “You have a visitor, Daniela.”
Daniela glanced up—and froze. There, standing behind Janie in an impeccably tailored navy blue suit, was Caleb.
Heart pounding wildly, Daniela just sat there, afraid to speak, afraid to move, gazing at the unbearably handsome face that had haunted her dreams and tormented her every waking thought for the past sixty-seven days and counting.
She wondered if he was a figment of her imagination. Had her grief over losing him finally sent her over the edge, where she was now hallucinating and conjuring visions of him?
Janie cleared her throat again, louder this time, and the sound was as jarring as if she’d snapped her fingers under Daniela’s nose. “Daniela,” she said in the same pleasant, courteous tone she used to announce the arrival of their clients, “I believe you already know Mr. Thorne.”
“Of course,” Daniela murmured, getting slowly to her feet on legs that felt like overcooked pasta. “Thank you for showing him back,” she said to Janie, signaling that she could now leave.
But Janie lingered, her dazzled gaze glued to Caleb. “Would you care for some coffee, Mr. Thorne?”
Caleb’s dark gaze stayed on Daniela’s face as he stepped into the cramped office. “No, thank you.”
As Janie departed, she gave Daniela a huge grin and an enthusiastic thumbs-up, both of which were lost on Daniela, who couldn’t take her eyes off Caleb.
Once they were alone, she didn’t know what to say, or how to even start. Whenever she’d imagined this moment, she’d always said…nothing. Because she’d never imagined that this moment could ever come true.
She opened her mouth. “Caleb—”
One thick brow sketched upward. “Do you always greet your clients by first name?” he inquired in the deep, compelling voice she’d missed so much.
Her nervousness turned to puzzlement. “No, but…you’re not a client, Caleb.”
“Don’t be too sure about that.”
Her heart sank. “You—you’re here to use our services?” Of course he wasn’t here seeking a reconciliation. It had been too good to be true.
Without awaiting an invitation, Caleb sat down in one of her visitor chairs. “I need you to help me locate someone,” he told her briskly.
Daniela sat down slowly, disappointment making her throat ache. “Caleb, I really don’t think I’m the best person to help you.”
“Why not? You are licensed, aren’t you?”
“Of course. But I can’t…I mean, this is too awkward for me. Maybe one of my brothers can—”
“I don’t want one of your brothers, Miss Roarke,” he interrupted, his gaze intent on her face. “I want you.”
Daniela’s belly quivered at the husky timbre of his voice when he spoke those last three words.
“All right,” she said shakily. She searched for a pen and a notepad beneath the clutter on her desk.
As she did, she noticed Kenneth and Noah passing by her office and glancing inside with unabashed interest. When they doubled back and walked past again less than five seconds later, she smothered an exasperated sigh and got up to close the door.
“Sorry about that,” she muttered to Caleb, returning to her chair. “I can’t get any privacy around here.”
She thought she saw a flicker of amusement in Caleb’s dark eyes, but when he spoke, he was all business. “I’m on a tight schedule, Miss Roarke,” he said, glancing pointedly at the platinum watch peeking from beneath the snowy cuff of his shirt.
“Of course.” Daniela found what she was looking for. With her pen poised above the notepad, she looked at Caleb and promptly lost her train of thought. “I’ve never seen you in a suit before,” she said, her voice soft with wonder. “You look absolutely amazing.”
His mouth twitched. “Miss Roarke—”
“I know, I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I’m supposed to be treating you like a real client.” Clearing her throat, she continued in a brisk, professional tone, “This person you’re looking for. How long have they been missing? And is the person male or female?”
“Female,” Caleb answered. “And she’s been missing for thirty-five years.”
“What?” Startled, Daniela stared at him. “Thirty-five years? That’s a long time!”
“I know,” Caleb agreed softly.
Daniela’s eyes narrowed on his face. “That’s a bit unusual.”
“Not really. It happens more often than you think.”
“Well, yes, I have had clients whose loved ones have gone missing for many years. Thirty-five is a bit…extreme. Anyway, give me a physical description, and be as detailed as possible.”
“Let’s see…She’s about five-seven, though she looks like she could be a bit taller depending on the shoes she’s wearing. I seem to remember her having something of a shoe fetish.”
Daniela chuckled, taking notes. “Sounds like a woman after my own heart.”
“Oh, I think you would have liked her. She had a great sense of humor and the most incredible laugh you’d ever want to hear.
And she had these little quirks. Well, I guess you wouldn’t really call them ‘quirks.’ I saw them as quirks because they’re what made her really stand out to me, things that made her so damn sweet and memorable.
” He paused. “Like eating ice cream with her coffee, instead of just ordering coffee ice cream.”
Daniela kept taking notes, but the tears suddenly blurring her vision made it difficult to see what she was writing.
“She has a thing for fast cars and motorcycles,” Caleb continued. “She loves watching romantic comedies and golden sunsets, and she can slow dance even when there’s no music playing. I loved that about her.”
Tears spilled from Daniela’s eyes and splashed onto the notepad, smearing ink. She lifted her head and saw Caleb gazing at her with such tender adoration that her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.
“You see, the woman I’m looking for had been missing all my life,” he said huskily. “And once I finally found her, I lost her again. I need you to help me get her back, Daniela. Will you do that for me?”
Daniela nodded, tears of inexpressible joy flowing freely down her face.
Caleb got up slowly, and before she knew it she was on her feet, rounding the desk and rushing into the open arms that awaited her.
They closed around her with breathtaking force, holding her fiercely against him.
Daniela clung to him just as tightly, fearing he would disappear if she let go.
“I missed you so much,” she whispered fervently. “I’m so sorry for what I did, Caleb. So sorry I hurt—”
Cradling her tear-soaked face in his hands, Caleb bent his head and crushed his mouth to hers, swallowing the rest of her apology in a searing kiss that she returned with equal desperation.
“I love you,” Caleb uttered fiercely against her mouth. “I don’t care about anything else. Just don’t ever leave me again.”
Her heart soared at his words. “I won’t,” she promised, so deliriously happy she didn’t bother reminding him that he was the one who’d left her. “I’m so happy I won’t miss your birthday, our first Thanksgiving, our first…oh God. I love you, Caleb. Love you so much.”
He drew back, still cupping her face in his hands. “Do you love me enough to make it legal?”
Daniela stared up at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Are you…are you proposing to me?”
His loving gaze swept her face. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he said huskily. “Will you marry me, Daniela?”
Overcome with emotion, Daniela threw her arms around his neck, kissing him with all the love and emotion that had been bottled up inside her for far too long. It wasn’t until she felt Caleb smile against her mouth that she realized she hadn’t given him an answer yet.
Keeping her arms looped around his neck, because she couldn’t bear the thought of not touching him in some way, she pulled back slightly and looked up at him. “I can’t think of anything that would bring me more pleasure than becoming your wife,” she said in an achingly tender voice.
Grinning with elation, he lifted her into his arms and swung her around, making her squeal in delight.
Instead of setting her back down on her feet, he planted her on the desk and stepped between her legs.
Holding her gaze, he brought her hand to his lips and slowly, deliberately, kissed each fingertip.
Her lashes fluttered as heat skirted along her nerve endings and pooled in her belly.
She wanted him. She’d gone without him long enough.
He leaned forward, his eyes darkening, causing the blood to race through her veins. “Do you remember our first kiss?” he whispered against her mouth.
Daniela smiled at the delicious memory. “As I recall, it was in a closet not much bigger than this room.”
He chuckled low in his throat, nibbling her bottom lip. “That’s when I knew I was a goner. You’re the only woman who’s ever made me lose control like that.”
Smiling with pleasure, Daniela slid her hands up his hard, muscled chest and reached to unbutton his shirt, desperate for the feel of his naked skin. “By the way, what’s with the suit?”
“Faculty seminar downtown,” he muttered distractedly as he tugged her blouse free of the waistband of her skirt. “Enforced dress code.”
Daniela giggled. “And you actually complied?”
“I haven’t been myself lately.” He pulled pins from her upsweep until her hair tumbled down to her shoulders.
With a masculine sound of approval, he sank his hands into the thick mass and slanted his mouth over hers in heated demand.
They couldn’t get enough of each other, couldn’t get close enough.
A sudden thought penetrated the steamy fog of desire clouding Daniela’s brain. Caleb groaned softly in protest as she drew back and gave him a worried look. “What about your father, Caleb? Doesn’t he hate me?”
Caleb’s mouth curved in a wry smile. “My father believes you’re his only hope of ever getting any grandchildren. Believe me when I tell you he doesn’t hate you.”
Daniela grinned. “In that case, I’d better give him plenty of grandchildren. The more the better.”
Caleb chuckled, a wicked sound that curled her toes. “In that case,” he drawled, making love to the pulse beating wildly at the base of her throat, “we’d better get started right away.”
As their hungry mouths fused together, Daniela thought fleetingly of locking the door so that no one could walk in on them by accident. But then she remembered the scene she’d stumbled upon between Kenneth and Janie, and she decided a little payback wasn’t such a bad thing.
Caleb lifted his head and looked down at her, all the love in his heart evident in his smoldering gaze. “This is forever,” he told her in a deep, intoxicating voice filled with lasting promise.
Daniela gazed up at him. “I’m looking forward to it,” she whispered, then closed her eyes as his warm lips reclaimed hers in a kiss that showed her just how exquisite forever could be.