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  “Some of them were certainly scared, weren’t they?”

  “Not with you and your dragons there. And at Thanksgiving the kids thought you were an angel. Sophie, you have a way with children that’s downright magic.”

  “I like to feel needed. I think it’s why I chose going home to Lisa rather than accepting a sculpting job. I didn’t feel the world needed spoons with the heads of the presidents on them, but Lisa was a mess. She was a teenager with no mother, an insufferably lazy stepfather, and she needed an excuse to get away from a very bad group of people.”

  “And then there was Carter,” Reede said quietly. “He needed you too.”

  “Yes he did. His father is the biggest bully on the planet.”

  “But what does all this neediness say about me?” he asked, smiling. “I’m pretty self-sufficient. I run businesses, clinics, take care of a whole town’s medical problems, and about half of their psychological problems. I’ve never told you—or anyone else for that matter—but I practically run a dating service. One time I—”

  He cut off because Sophie was laughing. “You self-sufficient? Are you kidding? You’ve got to be the neediest person in the world.”

  “Me? Sophie . . . ” He couldn’t help feeling hurt that she knew so little about him. “You know that here in Edilean I have employees but when I’m on my own I—”

  “Get nearly run over by race car drivers.”

  “That was one time,” Reede said and couldn’t help frowning. “Sophie, what are you trying to say to me?”

  She took a deep breath. If she said what she truly and deeply felt, told him what she wanted, what if he said no? What if he laughed at the idea of her going with him? “Carter and Treeborne Foods will fund your hospital ship and I want to go with you.”

  Reede looked at her, blinking. “But what about your sculpture? And the fabulous studio Henry is building? With his contacts he could set you up in the art world. With your talent, you could become famous.”

  “I’m not like Jecca and Kim. I’m not driven to succeed in the art world.” She took a step toward him. “I felt better helping those children with the potato animals than I did after anything else I’ve ever made.” She took another step toward him. “Is there a place in what you do for a woman who can deal with traumatized children? Do you think you need someone like me in your work?”

  “Sophie,” Reede said, and there were tears in his eyes. “Yes. I need you. And the world’s children need you.”

  She was standing in front of him, her face close to his.

  “Sophie, will you marry me and go with me to . . . to wherever the world needs us?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I’d very much like to do that.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her—and outside the office they heard people cheering. It looked as if someone had been listening at the door. Within three minutes, the fire department set off its alarm, Colin turned the sirens of both sheriff cars on, and the bells of all three churches were set to ringing.

  Reede pulled away from Sophie to look at her in surprise, then the two of them started laughing. “I think they agree with us.”

  “Yes,” Sophie said. “Yes and yes and yes.”

  JUDE DEVERAUX is the author of more than forty New York Times bestsellers; her most recent novels include Stranger in the Moonlight, Heartwishes, Moonlight in the Morning, and The Scent of Jasmine. There are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide. She lives in North Carolina. Visit her interactive website at www.judedeveraux.com or check the Jude Deveraux Fan Page on Facebook, where she posts daily updates about her writing.

  http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jude-Deveraux/

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  BOOKS BY JUDE DEVERAUX

  The Velvet Promise

  Highland Velvet

  Velvet Song

  Velvet Angel

  Sweetbriar

  Counterfeit Lady

  Lost Lady

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  Twin of Fire

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  The Temptress

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  The Conquest

  A Knight in Shining Armor

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  First Impressions

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  Return to Summerhouse

  Lavender Morning

  Days of Gold

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  First Pocket Books paperback edition February 2013

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  ISBN 978-1-4165-0976-9

  ISBN 978-1-4767-0471-5 (eBook)