One Special Moment Part 20

"Sweetheart, you're taking a big gamble on him."

She smiled faintly up at her brother. "The biggest gamble I took was going to California in the first place."

It seemed James held her gaze for the longest time before finally nodding. Then he reached out and captured her hand in his. "I'll always be here for you, baby. I love you. You know that don't you?"

Colby wiped away the tears that misted her eyes. "Yes, and I appreciate that."

Then she reached out and hugged him. "And more than anything, James Cameron Wingate, I appreciate you. And I love you, too."

Colby stared out of the window and watched the car pull up in the yard and knew it was Sterling. Getting up from the table she hugged herself and rubbed her arms, feeling nervous and apprehensive. Her conversation with James had brought up uncertainties she didn't want to deal with. They were things she hadn't wanted to think about. But she knew sooner or later she would have to.

Taking a deep breath she walked out the door and stood on the porch. When Sterling got out of the car, he stood leaning against it and stared at her. She gazed into his dark eyes and saw him appraising her outfit, an old faded shirt and a pair of denim shorts. It wasn't an outfit a wife would greet her husband in, especially if that husband was Sterling Chandler Hamilton.

"Welcome home, Sterling."

A huge smile tilted the corners of his lips and he slowly walked over to her. "I'm glad to be home."

Sterling started to tell her that the main reason he was glad to be home was because he loved her, but something held him back from saying those words. Instead he reached out and pulled her to him and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I'm glad to be home because I knew you were here, Colby."

Those simple words he'd spoken in a deep, husky voice totally dissolved any apprehensions Colby had. Loving him the way she did wasn't wrong. And she had to continue to believe that given time, he would come to love her, too.

She placed her arms around him. "I missed you."

Sterling smiled and tightened his arms around her. "I missed you, too."

He picked her up and carried her into the house. Once inside he placed her on her feet and closed the door behind him with a soft click. "I should have been here to do that when you first got here."

"Do what?"

"Carry you over the threshold."

Colby smiled. She wondered if he realized he was behaving like a happily married man, and not a man with every intention of ending his marriage some time in the future.

"Better late than never," she said, smiling up at him. "How's your mother?"

"She's progressing rather nicely."

"And your brother?"

"Nicholas is fine, too. But I don't want to talk about them."

"Oh? Who do you want to talk about?"

He pulled her into his arms, and moments before capturing her lips with his, he whispered, "n.o.body."

Colby couldn't sleep anymore. She slowly eased out of Sterling's embrace, taking care not to wake him. He needed his rest.

He had tried to be tender when he'd made love to her, but she had shown him she hadn't wanted his tenderness. What she had wanted, and what she had needed, was exactly what he'd eventually given her, his complete possession, and the sharing of his heated pa.s.sion.

She wondered if it would always be this way, whenever he returned home after being away-that overwhelming need to be joined as one with him in the most intimate way, where the only thoughts that could cloud her mind were those of him.

Over and over he had made love to her. Then she had fallen asleep in his arms only to be awakened later by the feel of his warm breath on her neck, and the feel of his hand moving slowly over her body, causing her flesh to become hot once again.

Finally, after neither of them could handle any more pleasure and survive the experience, they had fallen asleep exhausted and their strength totally consumed.

But something had awakened Colby. Something had pulled her back into consciousness. It hadn't been a sound that had awakened her, but a sudden thought, an alarming realization. She felt the need to think about it, work it out in her mind and come to terms with it. That need increased her urgency to be alone for a while.

Slipping into her robe, she walked barefoot across the room, opened the French doors and stepped out onto the dark balcony. She drew in a deep breath of the clean, crisp smell of the mountain air, wishing it could somehow cleanse her soul.

The great irony of it was that she had known from the very beginning what she was getting herself into. Sterling hadn't made any promises to her. He had made it clear up front that he wasn't looking for a permanent wife. But she had let herself believe she could make a difference in his life; a difference he would soon come to accept. Now she wasn't sure that would happen.

"Colby?"

Sterling's voice startled her. She'd thought he was still inside sleeping. She slowly turned around to him. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

She only hesitated a moment before answering him. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just enjoying the night air."

"Would you like some company?"

"Sure, but I thought you were sleeping."

He came to stand before her. The musky scent of him combined with the potent smell of pine needles and mountain laurels, stirred her senses and made her even more aware of him.

"I was asleep, but I woke up and reached out for you and you weren't there." He put his arms around her, drawing her closer to him.

Colby leaned against him, absorbing his strength. She so desperately needed it now. He always managed to convey an aura of cool confidence. The only time she'd seen that confidence waver even just a little was when he had told her about Angeline Chenault's visit. It was during that time that she had seen straight through Sterling's pretense at being cool, confident and nonchalant.

"Do you want to tell me what really drove you out here?" he asked softly, as he leaned down and caressed her face with b.u.t.terfly kisses.

"Talk to me, baby. Tell me what's bothering you." Then he drew her deeper into his arms as his hand smoothed gently across her shoulders and back.

"James came to see me today," she finally said, knowing he'd been waiting patiently for her to answer.

He eyed her thoughtfully before saying, "This sounds serious."

Colby nodded. "He found out about that Morton Industries stock you gave me. Homer Morton visited him and accused James of marrying me off to you to save Wingate Cosmetics."

"So what did you tell James?"

"I told him the truth, all of it."

Sterling raised one eyebrow at her. "In that case, I'm surprised he didn't hang around to b.u.mp me off."

She shrugged. "I talked him out of it."

"I appreciate that."

He sat down on a bench and pulled her down next to him, taking her hand in his. "And just what did you say to him that saved my life?"

Colby glanced up at him and wondered how Sterling would handle what she was about to say. "I told him I had no intentions of honoring that contract between us."

"And he fell for that?"

"Yes, because it's the truth, Sterling. I can't give up my child," she said seriously, and honestly.

Sterling released Colby's hand and stood. He stared down at her. His expression was unreadable. "You're totally serious, aren't you?"

Tilting her chin, she stood and faced him. "Yes, so you might as well go ahead and sue me."

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "I'd rather continue to love you," he whispered before his head came down and his mouth covered hers.

Because Sterling's kiss had sent immediate shock waves coursing throughout Colby's body, it was an entire minute before the meaning of his words sank into her mind. She suddenly broke off their kiss. "What did you say?"

Sterling smiled at the look of disbelief on her face. "I said I love you. And don't worry about me suing you because there's no longer a contract. I contacted Edward before my plane landed today and ordered him to destroy it, as well as the prenuptial agreement. So now, Colby, you're stuck with me. Forever." Sterling pulled her into his arms.

"Oh, Sterling," she said as tears began clouding her eyes. She felt as though she had just awakened from a dream-a wonderful, glorious dream. The knowledge that he loved her sent her pulse in overdrive.

"Colby?"

She lifted her head and looked up at him. The moon's light silhouetted his features and she could see the intense look that lined his face. "Yes?"

"How do you feel about me?"

She was surprised he even had to ask. There was a glint of mischief in her eyes when she said, "You have moved up a notch above Denzel. And since I've gotten to know you better, I even like you much better as a man."

"Colby!"

"What?"

He lifted her face to meet his eyes. The look in his expression was serious. "I have to know how you feel about me."

She looked at him, reading the anxiety in his eyes. Then it suddenly occurred to her that this was all new to him, these emotions he was experiencing. And it was important that he knew just how she felt. As far as he was concerned, no woman had ever really loved him before.

She lifted her hand to rub gently across his beard. "I love you, Sterling, and I have loved you for some time. I fell in love with you in California. I realized how I felt about you the day you took me to your home in Malibu. I love you with all my heart and soul."

He stared down at her for a long moment before saying, "Thank you for loving me."

Colby gazed into his eyes with all her love clearly shining in hers. Her voice was soft as a whisper when she said, "It is my pleasure."

The reddish-brown highlights of dawn seeped across the mountains and into Sterling's bedroom. His eyes were open. He had awakened during the predawn hours.

Colby sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to his body. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Her body felt heavenly curled up against his. And her perfume, that arousing feminine scent he'd come to accept as part of her, surrounded him.

He gazed down and regarded her thoughtfully. Their marriage wouldn't be normal by any means. Their home life would be chaotic and their private life would be nonexistent. And they would have to work harder than most married couples at building and maintaining a solid relationship. But as he stared down at her, he knew she was worth everything.

Colby shifted in his arms, slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. She smiled.

Sterling felt as if his entire world opened up with that one smile, and he silently pledged to love her for the rest of his life. He pulled her closer into his arms and whispered the words, "I love you," before leaning down and touching her lips in a soft, gentle kiss.

Chapter 21.

Colby stood on the porch and watched Sterling load his luggage into the trunk of the car. He was getting ready to leave for Spain.

She sighed heavily and leaned her head back to rest against the huge wooden post. He would be gone for a month and she would miss him terribly.

She couldn't help but think about the last five days they had spent together. Their time together had been private, precious and intimate. They had walked hand-in-hand over every inch of his land, sharing stolen kisses during the day among the thickets of plants and trees, and then again at night underneath the dark, moon-kissed sky.

They had engaged in long serious conversations with topics ranging from the challenges she felt were facing schoolteachers today, to his desire to one day direct and produce his own movie.

He had also explained the things that went into making a motion picture telling her how the special effects were done and why he enjoyed performing most of his own stunts.

They had also talked seriously about their marriage. He had told her she was now his first priority in life, and he intended to make their marriage work. It was important that they fill their marriage with constant support, understanding and open communication. Their marriage, like most celebrity marriages, would be faced with many challenges from overzealous fans wanting to know everything about them to the media trying to oblige their readers at any cost.

She had agreed that when he was on location making a movie for extended periods of time, she would stay with him whenever possible.

They also talked about what she wanted to do with her time. She loved teaching and if the opportunity ever presented itself for her to return to the cla.s.sroom, she would consider it. He had no problem with that and even liked the idea of her wanting to teach in Hamilton.

By the end of each of their discussions, she'd felt within her heart that together they would be able to handle whatever pressures came their way. Love, faith and trust would be the key ingredients to them having a successful marriage.

When Sterling placed the last piece of luggage in the car he turned and looked at her. His gaze was serious, thoughtful. She had no idea what he was thinking to cause such an intense look in his eyes because her own mind was filled with her own thoughts. They were thoughts of him and how much she loved him.

He slowly walked over to her and extended his hand to her. "Come on, baby. Let's go for a walk."

She nodded and placed her hand in his.

For the first few minutes they walked in silence. Then she spoke.