When Janine next stirred, she was lying on her side, and Zach was cuddling her spoon fashion, his arm about her waist. At some point during the night, she’d slipped under the covers, but she had no recollection of doing so. A small satisfied smile touched the edges of her mouth. She rolled carefully onto her back so as not to disturb Zach, and wondered what she should do. When Zach woke and found her in bed with him, she was afraid he might regret what had happened, regret asking her to stay. He might feel embarrassed that he’d told her about his sister’s death and the guilt he still felt.

Closing her eyes, Janine debated with herself. If she left his bed and returned to her own room, he might think she was rejecting him, shocked by his heart-wrenching account of Beth Ann’s death.

“Janine?” He whispered her name, his voice husky with sleep.

Her eyes flew open. “I…we fell asleep. What time is it?”

“Early. The alarm won’t go off for another couple of hours.”

She nodded, hoping to disguise any hint of disappointment in her voice. He didn’t want her with him, she was sure of it. He was embarrassed to find her still in his bed. “I’ll leave now if you want.”

“No.”

The single word was filled with such longing that Janine thought she’d misunderstood him. She tipped her head back to meet his gaze. The light from the hall allowed her to see the passion smoldering in his dark eyes. Turning onto her side, Janine lovingly traced the lines of his face.

“I’m sorry about the way I behaved over…Marie,” she whispered. “I was jealous and I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help myself.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile. “I’ll forgive you if you’re willing to overlook the way I behaved when you got home last night.”

She answered him with a light kiss, and he hugged her to him. Janine surrendered to the sheer pleasure of being in Zach’s arms, savoring the rush of warm sensations that sprang to life inside her.

“I don’t know how to say all the words you deserve to hear, but I know one thing, Janine. I love you. It happened without my even being aware of it. One day I woke up and realized how important you’d become to me. It wasn’t the grand passion you wanted, and I’m sorry for that. The love I feel for you is the quiet steady kind. It’s buried deep in my heart, but trust me, it’s there. You’re the most important person in my life.”

“Oh, Zach, I love you so much.”

“You love me?”

“I have for weeks, even before we were married. That’s what bothered me so much when I learned about Marie. I wanted you to love me with the same intensity that you felt for her…that I feel for you.”

“It isn’t like that. It never was. Marie was as brave as she was beautiful, but what we shared was never meant to last. And she was smart enough to understand that. I fell in love with her, but she was too much of a professional to involve her heart. She was the kind of person who thrives on excitement and danger. It wasn’t until you and I met that I realized if I were ever to marry, it would be to someone like you.”