Page 90 of After the Spy Seduces

“Is it what you want?” Emotion scraped her voice raw. “To work for them?”

“I might be persuaded to decline it.” He murmured, “What do youwant?”

“I want you…to be happy,” but the words tore from her in a desolate whisper.

He took her chin and turned her head gently until she looked up at him. He repeated quietly, “What doyouwant, Diana?”

The pleading in her eyes told him that she couldn’t bring herself to put her answer into words. She’d lived for so long at the heartless mercy of fate that she didn’t yet dare consider claiming her own happiness. Didn’t dare raise her hopes, only to have them dashed if he did want a life in service after all. A life that would never have room for the stability and consistency she needed in hers.

She wanted a future together as much as he did, he was certain of it. But she also needed to protect her daughter.

And he loved her even more because of that.

Her face darkened with grief. “When you said you wanted to ask me a question, I thought…” Her voice trailed off.

“I haven’t asked it yet.”

Her gaze flew up to his, to search his face for answers.

He gathered all his strength to keep from yanking her into his arms and kissing away her doubts. “So this Meri girl—you like her, do you?”

She blinked, her watery eyes widening at that unexpected question. “Pardon?”

“I mean, you like her enough to keep her around?” He fought to maintain a somber expression on his face as he teased her. “Feed her, clothe her…water her once in a while so she’ll grow?”

“Christopher,” she chastised softly, her shoulders sagging with exasperation. “Be serious, will you?”

“I couldn’t be more serious. I’ve been shot. Something like that shakes a man up and makes him want to seize what’s important.” He rubbed at his aching shoulder. What he wouldn’t have given to be able to crawl into bed and fall back asleep until he healed, with Diana in his arms. “You want Meri to have a loving home, don’t you? Maybe give her a brother or sister to play with?” He murmured, “Or six?”

“A brother or…” Her breath caught, her eyes widening with understanding of what he was truly asking her. “Yes,” she finally managed to choke out. “I think she’d like that. A great deal.” She trembled and whispered, blinking rapidly, “So would I.”

Kit knew what he wanted, then and for the rest of his life.

He opened his arms.

She rushed into his embrace, burying her face in his chest and clasping him around the waist. He pressed her close despite the pain in his shoulder and the fatigue that even now had him light-headed and unsteady on his feet. Although that could have also been due to Diana and the anticipation of a life together.

“I love you, Diana.” More than he’d ever dreamed possible. He drew a deep breath and finally asked the question that was burning inside him. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said, pulling back just far enough to cup his face in her hands. “Yes, I will marry you.”

A smile beamed through her tears as she rose onto her tiptoes to kiss him. Then, lowering herself away, she arched a brow that told him she’d brook no argument.

“But I amnothaving six children.”

He laughed as happiness swelled inside him, and he pulled her back into his arms, to never let her go.

Epilogue

Kingscote Park, Hampshire

Two Months Later

Diana reclined in the bottom of the little rowboat and turned her face up toward the warm afternoon sun, relishing in a few moments of peace from the noisy party they’d left behind at the manor house. “Where are we going?”

“I told you. It’s a secret,” Kit answered, not pausing in his rowing as he moved them across the lake on his brother’s country estate. “You used to like secrets.”

A laugh fell from her lips, and she corrected, “What I liked were secret agents.” She smiled flirtatiously at him. “Onesecret agent, actually.”