Yours to Keep (36 page)

The shamelessness of the questions had shocked him only once, when he had to report that, while formerly they had used condoms for birth control, Ana was now on the Pill, which his health insurance had paid for.

The USCIS officer had wished them a happy life together, and Ethan had left Theo with James and taken Ana to a hotel room so that he could have some quality time with the pink nightie. Also without the pink nightie. At whatever volume the situation necessitated.

Ana was now sprawled out on the living-room floor, her biology textbook in front of her. Periodically, she asked, “Are you sure I can’t help?,” and he reiterated his “No.”

“Dinner is ready,” he finally called.

She came in and sat across from him. “Oh,
yum.
” She helped herself to a steak and some corn, slathering a warm piece of bread with butter. He spooned some of the salad onto her plate. “Are you going to tell me what we’re celebrating?” she asked.

He pulled out the envelope he’d been sitting on and handed it to her.

Her eyes got huge.

It was an ordinary white envelope with two windows, one for her name and address and one for the return address: USCIS.

He’d slit the envelope. “I opened it.”

“Good.”

She’d told him she wanted him to. That the suspense would make her sick to her stomach.

Even so, her hand shook as she turned it over. The card—it was so little, almost inconsequential—fell out into her lap.

She picked it up and held it. There she was, her own serious face looking back at her. United States of America. PERMANENT RESIDENT—all caps. A ghost of the Statue of Liberty in the background.

He came around the table and stood behind her chair. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her while she cried, his lips making trails that followed the tears down her cheeks, his hands moving along her arms and shoulders, warming her.

After a while, he said, “Now I know you won’t leave.”

“Never.” She rose from her chair and twined herself into his arms, kissing his jaw and his cheeks and his ears and his mouth. His breath came fast.

He pulled away. “I have another surprise.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a piece of printer paper. It was an itinerary from an online travel site. “We can take our honeymoon now. Visit your aunt.”

It was tickets for the two of them, spring-break dates. Landing at La Isabela, in Santa Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

“I wanted to go sooner, but I heard hurricane season isn’t the best time of year there.”

She shook her head, laughing. “It’s really not.”

“If you want to go someplace you’ve never been before—”

“No,” she said. She smiled at him, eyes still sparkling with tears. “It’s perfect.”

For Lizzie

Acknowledgments

I am, above all, deeply grateful to the undocumented immigrants, ESL/ELL teachers, and immigrant advocates who shared their stories and helped me understand what it’s like to live in the shadows.

Thank you to Loveswept editor Sue Grimshaw for loving the story and midwifing the last chapter, and to Random House for its meticulous production process.

I couldn’t have written this book without the loving support of Jessica Auerbach, Brad Parks, Ellen Price, and Tracey Smith, all of whom believed in the story before it was written and helped shape it into the book it has become. Neither could I have done it without the love and devotion and
patience
of my husband and children.

Ruthie Knox gently and diplomatically urged the second, and crucial, gutting of the first half of the book, then undertook with me a crash course in how to begin a novel. Eliza Auerbach was my expert on pediatrics and the Dominican Republic; Matthew Kolken, my legal guru (with additional help from Alisha Bloom); Aimee Triana Alvarez, my Spanish tutor and editor; Meg Maguire, the official critiquer of first kisses. Mary Ann Rivers provided advice and reassurance at a key moment when my morale was flagging and panic was setting in.

And, of course, huge thanks to my terrific and eternally optimistic agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, of Prospect Agency, who fell in love with the story and brought it back into the light.

Photo credit: Susan Young Photography

Serena Bell
writes stories about how sex messes with your head, why smart people do stupid things sometimes, and how love can make it all better. She wrote her first steamy romance before she was old enough to understand what all the words meant and has been perfecting the art of hiding pages and screens from curious eyes ever since—a skill that’s particularly useful now that she’s a mother of two.

For a while, Serena took a break from penning love stories to explore the world as a journalist, where she spent time shadowing and writing about a cast of fascinating real-life characters.

When she’s not writing or getting her butt kicked at Scrabble by her kids, she’s practicing modern-dance improv in the kitchen, swimming laps, taking a long walk, or reading on one of her many electronic devices.

Serena blogs about reading and writing romance at
www.serenabell.com
and
www.wonkomance.com
. She also tweets like a madwoman, as
@serenabellbooks
, and posts to Facebook at
www.facebook.com/serenabellbooks
.

THE EDITOR’S CORNER

Welcome to Loveswept!

The holidays are approaching and I’ve so many things to do, don’t you? So why is it
all
I want to do is cuddle up on the couch with a good book? I’ll tell you why, there are so many amazing
Loveswept
stories on sale this month that all you’ll want to do is read too!! For starters,
LOVING THE EARL
(11/11) by Sharon Cullen features our hero’s sister from
THE NOTORIOUS LADY ANNE
(2/11), and OMG ladies, this book is for you! Sharon writes with wit and steam a combination that keeps me reading all night long. Double your historical delight with Samantha Kane’s finale in
The Saint’s Devils,
DEVIL IN MY ARMS
(11/26) – its Hil’s story and what a match he’s made. Then,
Loveswept
debut, Serena Bell releases,
YOURS TO KEEP
(11/11), a captivating story of a woman living on the edge—and the man who’s destined to love her (
sigh
).

And there’s more!

Ruthie Knox releases a series of short stories,
Roman Holiday
. Over the next weeks look for each installment:
CHAINED
(11/12) - book one launches the series; followed by,
HITCHED
(11/19); then,
BLINDSIDED
(11/26), plus books four and five are right around the corner, ten books in all!!

And, you can’t miss these classics:

Fran Baker’s,
THE WIDOW AND THE WILDCATTER
, the captivating story of a woman haunted by the ghosts of the past, and a daredevil who promises a future filled with love; Sandra Chastain’s,
REBEL IN SILK
, about an unconventional beauty who refuses to back down from a challenge—or a handsome loner with a taste for trouble; and Sandra’s classics continue with,
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
, and,
THE SILVER BULLET AFFAIR
. Look for favorite
Loveswept
author Iris Johansen and her re-release of,
STAR-SPANGLED BRIDE
. Readers have continued to adore Ruth Owen’s
Loveswepts
including,
SORCERER
, a sexy tale of an emotionally guarded computer whiz and the princess who makes virtual reality come to vivid life. And, to wrap up the month Jean Stone’s,
BIRTHDAY GIRL
, and Connie Brockway’s,
AS YOU DESIRE
, will keep you toasty on those cold winter nights.

Holiday lovers won’t want to skip these contemporary reissues,
ROOM AT THE INN
by Ruthie Knox, and Molly O’Keefe’s,
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
, guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.

New this winter is,
HEATING UP THE HOLIDAY’S
, a fabulous anthology that takes you through the seasons:
New York Times
bestselling author, Lisa Renee Jones, leads the lineup with,
PLAY WITH ME
, a Thanksgiving romance;
SNOWFALL
, by Mary Ann Rivers, will warm you up for Christmas; and knock off your New Years with,
MIDIGHT AFFAIR
, by Serena Bell – love could not be any more special!

Be swept away with
Loveswept
, ’tis the season!

Happy Holidays –

Gina Wachtel

Associate Publisher

Read on for excerpts from more
Loveswept
titles …

Read on for an excerpt from Elisabeth Barrett’s

Slow Summer Burn

Chapter 1

“Sweet office,” a tall, dark-haired man wearing a pair of hipster glasses and a well-cut suit said as he stepped inside and leaned his broad shoulders back on the door frame. “Why don’t you spend more time in it?”

Val Grayson looked up at his brother, put down the pen he was holding, and rubbed his eyes. “Because when I’m here, I actually have to work. You know how much I hate work.”

Theo smiled, the corners of his green eyes crinkling at the edges. “Liar. You just hate being indoors.”

Val inclined his head in agreement. “That, too. Looks like you got through security all right. Marion escort you in?” He could always count on his secretary, Marion Heeps, as a gatekeeper.

“Yeah,” Theo said. “This place is like Fort Knox, though. Thought they were going to give me a full-body search.”

“What did you expect? It’s the Feds.” Not just the Feds—the Drug Enforcement Administration, the premier drug enforcement organization in the world. For more than a decade, Val had been putting his life on the line to dismantle major drug-trafficking operations up and down the Eastern Seaboard. But because it was the government, there was always a hell of a lot of paperwork to get through.

Papers were piled everywhere. Each pile represented a separate ongoing drug investigation that he was either supervising or organizing. His whole life’s work, neatly laid out. He placed a few sheets on top of the nearest stack. No matter how messy things got during the day, they were always organized when he left. “Is it time to go?”

“Yes,” Theo said, taking a quick glance at his wristwatch. “The event starts at six, but from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be a late night.”

“I’ll definitely be working from home tomorrow,” Val muttered, standing up and retrieving his own suit jacket from the back of his chair.

“Which one?”

“Boat,” he said. His refurbished houseboat in Star Harbor was his home base. If he could,
he’d work there every day, but special agents were encouraged to work from the office anytime they weren’t in the field. Val came in a few times a week, and to keep his boss happy, he rented a bare-bones studio apartment in Boston as a place to crash when he was in town.

“You don’t have to come,” Theo said, a twinkle in his eye. “It’s not that big a deal.”

Val swung his jacket over his shoulders and regarded Theo. “Yeah, I do. It’s a huge honor for you.” Tonight, his younger brother was receiving a Kirkland Award for his series of local, historical seafaring novels. And if watching Theo get one of the state’s highest artistic awards wasn’t enough of a reason to attend, someone being investigated by his office was expected to be there. It was the perfect excuse, even if the ceremony and reception at the Commonwealth Club wasn’t really his type of thing.

Theo cocked his head and muttered something.

“What?” Val asked.

“You should wear nice clothes more often. You look good.”

Val just snorted. He was far more comfortable in worn jeans and a henley. But he knew how to dress the part when the situation required.

“If you’re ready, we’d better leave,” Theo said. “Avery’s meeting us there.” Avery Newbridge, a kindhearted social worker with fiery red hair, was Theo’s fiancée. She’d been good for his brother, both grounding and inspiring him.

“I’m ready,” said Val, flicking off his office lights. As he escorted Theo through the building, he gave a wave to his secretary. “Night, Marion.”

“Good night, Agent Grayson,” the middle-aged woman replied. “Have fun tonight.” She dipped her head down to her desk, but not fast enough for Val to miss the teasing look in her eye.

“ ‘Agent Grayson,’ are we?” Theo said, laughter coloring his voice as they passed through the double glass doors to the elevator lobby.

“Only when I have guests in the office. Otherwise I’m just Val.”

“Sure you are,” Theo said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Val let it lie. If his brother wanted to think he was some bigwig at the DEA, let him. But with dozens of successful missions completed, with an increasing number of junior agents under his command, and with every passing year, he had gained some serious experience.
And some serious age.
Damn, he wasn’t
that
old. Just thirty-five.

But his success at work had come at a cost. He spent so much time working, he’d
neglected his personal life. At night, instead of a woman and children to come home to, he returned to an empty place. He had a few too many gray hairs and some days, an aching back from all the gym time he had to put in to keep fit for his fieldwork. Some things never changed. As the oldest of four brothers, he’d given up his youth to help his mom care for the family after his dad died on his boat in a freak hurricane two decades ago. High school weekends hadn’t consisted of parties and football games; they entailed helping his younger brothers with their homework and then scrambling to finish his own. And when their mom died of a stroke, eight years after their father’s death, every ounce of Val’s energy went into making sure his brothers were doing all right, both personally and professionally.