“His eyes held hers. “Because I knew, ten seconds after walking into this office and meeting you, that we had this in the bag.”

“She inched closer to him. "I intrigue you?""You know you do," he replied boldly, his eyes burning into hers. Wow-things were suddenly heating up fast. He wondered if they would have sex right there on her desk.Somebody better move that stapler.With a coy look, Taylor stood up to whisper in Jason's ear."then I think you're going to find this next part really intriging," she said breathlessly.He gazed down at her-he like the sound of that-and raised one eybrow expectantly as taylor grinned wickedly and-Slammed the office door right in his face.For a moment, Jason could only stand there in the hallway with his nose pressed against the cold wood of her door. After a few seconds, he knocked politely.Taylor whipped open the door, unamused.Jason grinned at her. "I just gotta ask: where did you get the whole 'all the cute girls run around naked' thing?”

“Help me out here, Jeremy," she said pleadingly.He gave her a look. "Why should I do that?""Because once, nineteen years ago, you were wrong about him, too."Jeremy stared at her stoically. After a long pause, his face broke into a smile. "Aw, hell, you crazy kid, you knew I was gonna let you in—I'm a sucker for this stuff.”

“Jack's eyes widened, then he moved closer to Cameron and put his hand on her stomach. "Does it hurt?"She covered his hand with hers. "I'd say it's only about a point two."Jack smiled, tenderly touching her cheek. "I knew, when we were on that rooftop, that we'd be here someday.”

“I will never, ever regret stopping you from walking out of my life a second time, Kyle," she said in an emotional voice. "And I can prove it."She reached for the buttons on her trench coat and undid them, one at a time. Then she opened the coat and let it drop to the floor.And even if she didn't say a single word more, Kyle knew he would never again doubt the way Rylann felt about him.She was wearing his flannel shirt."You kept it," he said softly. "All this time."She nodded. "For nine years, I've held on to this darn shirt, literally dragging it across the country and back."Kyle touched her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb. "Why?"She paused hesitantly, and then with a tender smile, finally put it all on the line, too. "I guess I always hoped you'd come back for it someday.”

“Good. Or instead, what if I just told you that I love you?” Payton gazedinto his eyes. “What would you say, J. D. Jameson, if I told you that?”J.D. smiled. He touched his forehead to Payton’s, closed his eyes, andanswered her with one word.“Finally.”

“She asked him the question she had been asking herself for the past few days. "Why are you being so nice to me now?" J.D. leaned forward in his chair. He gazed directly into her eyes, and Payton suddenly found herself wondering why it had taken him eight years to look at her that way."Because you're letting me," he said softly.”