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“TONIGHT WAS GREAT.
THANKS FOR SAYING YES.”
“Thank you.” Wynn smiled. “I don’t get many opportunities to go out without my kids. It was fun.”
“We’ll have to change that. Check your calendar and let’s shoot for something next week.”
Wynn hesitated. Did she really want to do this again? Was she asking for trouble? “We’ll see.” She took a step closer and raised up on her tiptoes, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. Wynn kissed his cheek and then turned away, fumbling with her keys.
Suddenly, Adam’s hand encircled her arm. He spun her around to face him, taking a step closer. Surprised, she gasped, gazing into his face. Her heart almost stopped in her breast. His eyes were dark with intent.
He’s going to kiss me. And she wanted him to.
I Can Make You LOVE ME
KAREN WHITE-OWENS
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Prologue
“And they lived happily ever after,” five-year-old Adam Carlyle chanted along with his babysitter, Wynn Evans. They glanced at each other and burst into a round of giggles. Wynn shut the book of fairy tales and placed it on the nightstand next to the bed.
“We watched Star Wars, plus you’ve had two stories.” The eighteen-year-old Wynn straightened his Spider-Man pajama top. “I think it’s time for my favorite little superhero to go to sleep.”
“Don’t want to go to bed,” he muttered sullenly.
Concerned, Wynn leaned back, watching the child closely. Adam rarely acted out. Generally, when his bedtime came, he went down without a fight. Tonight, he’d insisted on movie after movie until his brown eyes fluttered shut when the bewitching whisper of blissful sleep enticed him. Each time Adam shook himself, fighting off the lure of sleep.
“Sweet pea, what’s going on?”
“When I wake up, you’ll be gone just like my sister.”
Understanding dawned and Wynn tried to explain. “Not in the morning. We’re leaving in the afternoon.”
His bottom lip quivered and tears pooled in his eyes. Sherry, Adam’s sister, was starting her third year of college and had left days earlier.
“I know what we’ll do. You and I will visit the park and then go have Buddy’s Pizza tomorrow. How’s that?” Wynn suggested.
Adam nodded solemnly.
Confident she had hit on the perfect diversion, she smiled. He never turned down a trip to his favorite pizza hangout, although the look of misery remained deep in his eyes.
“But you’re still going to leave me.”
“Only for a few months. I’ll be home for Thanksgiving and then back at Christmas for a longer stay,” she promised, pulling the blanket to his chin. “Come on. It’s past your bedtime. Your mom and dad will have a fit if they come home and you’re still up.”
As he pouted, the little boy’s thick eyelashes glittered with tears. “I don’t want you to go. Who’s gonna read to me and play with me?”
Tears pricked Wynn’s eyes and she hugged him. “Oh, Adam. I’ll miss you, too.”
“Wynn?”
“Hmm?” she muttered, wiping away the moisture from her face.
“Will you marry me?”
Surprised, she drew back and looked into Adam’s serious face. “What?”
“I said, will you marry me?” Adam asked the question a second time with more confidence and determination than Wynn expected from any five-year-old. Left speechless, she grappled for an answer that respected and protected Adam’s feelings but let him down easy.
“Don’t you think you should wait until you’re old enough to date?” she teased.
“No. I love you.”
“And I love you,” Wynn replied. “Tell you what. When you’re a man, you can ask me again. Okay?”
Adam’s forehead crinkled into a frown as he considered her suggestion. “When I get big, I’m going to marry you. Then you’ll never leave me,” he promised, snuggling into the blanket and turning on his side.
“Good night. Sleep tight, sweet
