The Perfect Match: First Comes Marriage / Yours and Mine

“And you told him a trip to Scotland?” Zach’s eyes sparkled with the question.

“Of course not. I told him a woman needed romance.”

Zach leaned forward. “I hate to appear dense, but I seem to have missed something.”

Pretending to be annoyed with him, Janine explained, “Well, Gramps asked me to define romance…”

“I’d be interested in learning that myself.” Zach wiped the edges of his mouth with his napkin. Janine suspected he did it to cover a growing need to smile.

“It isn’t all that easy to explain, you know,” Janine said. “And remember this was off the top of my head. I told Gramps romance was forbidden trysts on Scottish moors.”

“With an enemy clan chieftain?”

“No, with the man I loved.”

“What else did you tell him?”

“I don’t remember exactly. I think I said something about a moonlight stroll on the beach, and…and desperate passion.”

“I wonder how he’ll arrange that?”

“I don’t think I want to find out,” Janine murmured. Considering how seriously Gramps had taken her impromptu definition, she almost dreaded the thought of what he might do next.

When they’d finished, their plates were removed by the attentive waiter and their coffee served. To complicate her feelings, she was actually a little sad their dinner was about to end.

They left the dining room, and Zach escorted her up the stairs. “Thank you for being willing to take a risk and share dinner with me,” he said, his voice deadpan. “I enjoyed it, despite the, uh, danger.”

“I did, too,” Janine said softly. More than she cared to admit. Against her better judgment, her mind spun with possible ways to delay their parting, but she decided against each one, not wanting to tempt fate any more than she already had.

Zach walked her to her room, pausing outside her door. Janine found herself searching for the right words. She longed to tell him she’d enjoyed spending the evening with him, talking and laughing together, but she didn’t know how to say it without sounding like a woman in love.

Zach appeared to be having the same problem. He raised one hand as though to touch her face, then apparently changed his mind, dropping his hand abruptly. She felt strangely disappointed.

“Good night,” he said curtly, stepping back.

“Good night,” she echoed, turning to walk into her room. She closed the door and leaned against it, feeling unsettled but at a loss to understand why.

After ten restless minutes she ventured out again. The country garden was well lit, and a paved pathway led to rocky cliffs that fell off sharply. Even from where she stood, Janine could hear the sea roaring below. She could smell its salty tang, mixed with the scent of heath. Thrusting her hands into her blazer pockets, Janine strolled along a narrow path into the garden. The night air was cool and she had no intention of walking far, not more than a few hundred feet. She’d return in the morning when she planned to walk as far as the cliffs with their buffeting winds.

The moon was full and so large it seemed to take up the entire sky, sending streaks of silvery light across the horizon. With her arms wrapped aroung her middle, she gazed up at it, certain she’d never felt more peaceful or serene. She closed her eyes, savoring the luxurious silence of the moment.

Suddenly it was broken. “So we meet again,” Zach said from behind her.

“This is getting ridiculous.” Janine turned to him and smiled, her heart beating fast. “Meeting on the moors…”

“It isn’t exactly a tryst,” Zach said.

“Not technically.”

They stood side by side, looking into the night sky, both of them silent. During their meal they’d talked nonstop, but now Janine felt tongue-tied and ill at ease. If they’d been worried about having dinner together, they were placing themselves at even greater risk here in the moonlight.

Janine knew it. Zach knew it. But neither suggested leaving.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Zach said at last, linking his hands behind his back.

“It is, isn’t it?” Janine replied brightly, as if he’d introduced the most stimulating topic of her entire vacation.

“I don’t think we should put any stock in this,” he surprised her by saying next.

“In what?”

“In meeting here, as if we’d arranged a tryst. Of course you’re a beautiful woman and it would be only natural if a man…any red-blooded man were to find himself charmed. I’d blame it on the moonlight, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, I agree completely. I mean, we’ve been thrust together in a very romantic setting and it would be normal to…find ourselves momentarily…attracted to each other. It doesn’t mean anything, though.”

Zach moved behind her. “You’re right, of course.” He hesitated, then murmured, “You should’ve worn a heavier jacket.” Before she could assure him that she was perfectly comfortable, he ran his hands slowly down the length of her arms, as though to warm her. Unable to restrain herself, Janine sighed and leaned against him, soaking up his warmth and his strength.

“This presents a problem, doesn’t it?” he whispered, his voice husky and close to her ear. “Isn’t moonlight supposed to do something strange to people?”

“I…think it only affects werewolves.”

He chuckled and his breath shot a series of incredible light-as-air sensations along her neck. Janine felt she was about to crumple at his feet. Then his chin brushed the side of her face and she sighed again.

His hands on her shoulders, Zach urged her around so that she faced him, but not for anything would Janine allow her gaze to meet his.

He didn’t say a word.

She didn’t, either.

Janine experienced one worry after another, afraid to voice any of them. Zach apparently felt the same way, because he didn’t seem any more eager to explain things than she did. Or to stop them…

After a moment, Zach pressed his hands over her cheekbones. Leisurely, his thumbs stroked the line of her jaw, her chin. His eyes were dark, his expression unreadable. Janine’s heart was churning over and over, dragging her emotions with it. She swallowed, then moistened her lips.

He seemed to find her mouth mesmerizing. Somewhere deep inside, she discovered the strength to warn him that her grandfather’s plan was working. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a single word, Zach’s arms came around her and drew her close against him. She felt his comforting warmth seep through her, smelled the faint muskiness of his skin. The sensations were unlike anything she’d ever known. Then he lowered his mouth to hers.

The immediate shock of pleasure was almost frightening. She couldn’t keep from trembling.

He drew back slightly. “You’re cold. You should’ve said something.”

“No, that’s not it.” Even her voice was quivering.

“Then what is?”

In response she kissed him back. She hadn’t meant to, but before she could stop herself, she slipped her arms around his neck and slanted her mouth over his.

Zach’s shoulders were heaving when at last she pulled her mouth away and hid her face against his chest.

“What are we doing?” he whispered. He broke hastily away from her.