I zipped up my hoodie against the chilly December wind blowing in from the Aegean Sea. After two weeks in Greece, I was supposed to leave for England tomorrow. Natalie and I had been here together shortly after we graduated high school, but before we could finish the rest of our trip, she’d gotten sick. When the debilitating headaches and nausea didn’t get better, we flew home, only to find out she was going to die. The ache in my heart had never gone away.

Since arriving here, I’d explored the island, revisiting all the places we’d gone to together. God, I missed her. Traveling wasn’t the same without my twin at my side. I didn’t feel her with me. She had moved on to a better place while I’d hung on to a promise that I’d thought would bring her back to me.

Along with being lonely, I was worried about Savannah. She wasn’t the same happy girl who’d left the valley to make her dream come true. She’d refused to talk about what was going on in her life during the three days she’d been home. Instead of traipsing the world, I should be home where I could try to find out what was going on with her. Autumn would be back from her honeymoon in a few days, and we could make a trip to New York, see for ourselves what the deal was with our friend.

And then there was Dylan, my real reason for being miserable. I lifted my head to the star-filled sky. Was Natalie up there, looking down on me? “I know I made a promise, Nat, but I think I made a mistake. I miss him something awful. You would understand if I went home, wouldn’t you? I need to know if he misses me as much as I do him.”

“He does.”

Oh, great. Now I was hearing Dylan’s voice in my head.

“Turn around, Jenny Girl.”

I pressed my hand over my heart to keep it from exploding out of my chest. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. It was only because I missed him so much that I was hearing his voice.

“You’re not really here,” I whispered, afraid to turn and see nothing but sand behind me. He chuckled, the sound traveling through me slow and easy like warm syrup.

“Are you sure about that?”

No, I didn’t know anything anymore. I turned and there he was, but to make sure, I closed the gap between us so that I could touch him. I put my hand on his chest, right over his heart, feeling it beat against my palm.

“You’re real. How?” So many questions crowded my mind, but when he wrapped his arms around me, surrounding me with his warmth, nothing else seemed important.

“Your father told me where I could find you.” Dylan put his mouth against my ear. “I came to tell you something.”

“Something good?” I said through my tears.

“I guess you’ll have to decide that.” He stepped beside me and, with his arm around my shoulders, led me to a bench.

Maybe I was dreaming. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around him really being here. My eyes soaked him up. He was gorgeous, so sexy wearing a cream-colored cable-knit sweater, jeans, and hiking boots. I’d told myself repeatedly before leaving that I wasn’t in love with him. What a fool I’d been.

He enfolded my hand between both of his. “I forgot to give you your Christmas gift before you left.”

“You came all this way just to give me a Christmas present?” Disappointment crashed through me that he hadn’t come to… I don’t know. Ask me to come home? Tell me he loved me? I forced a smile that I didn’t feel.

“Partly.” He reached behind him, pulling a thin jewelry box from his back pocket and handing it to me.

I opened the black velvet box to see a silver heart and emerald necklace. “It’s beautiful, Dylan.”

He took it out. “Turn around.”

Obeying, I pulled my hair up so he could hook the clasp. His fingers lingered on the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. “Thank you. It really is lovely.” I still didn’t understand why he’d flown all the way here just to give it to me when he could have mailed it.

“Before you thank me, you should know the caveat that comes with it. You may decide you don’t want it.”

His whiskey-colored eyes captured mine, holding my gaze prisoner. He picked up the heart, rubbing it between his fingers. “I didn’t come to take you home, but to tell you that I love you, and I’ll wait for you, however long it takes. This necklace is my way of saying you have my heart in your care. If you want it.”

I’d never seen such vulnerability in his eyes before. Sadness, yes, when he’d talked about his wife. Other than that one time, he’d always been confident and sure of himself. But now he let me see how easily I could hurt him. And he loved me! My heart sang with joy.

This man, oh God, this man. I climbed onto his lap, straddling him. “I want it.” I peppered kisses over his face. “I want it forever.”

A beautiful smile lit his face. “You just made me a very happy man, Red.”

“Well, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I love you, too.” That earned me a kiss that curled my toes.

“Ah, young love. Do you remember how it was, Sophia?”

I lifted my head, eyeing the elderly couple standing only a few feet away, their hands clasped together.

The woman smiled fondly up at the man. “I do, and it is still so.” She glanced back at us. “Blessings on you both. May the love I see in your eyes last a lifetime and beyond,” she said before they walked away, her head resting on the man’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” I whispered as they retreated. Although she’d been a stranger, her blessing seemed like a gift, one I would cherish.

Dylan chuckled as he trailed a hand down my cheek. “You’re blushing.”

“I was afraid she could read my mind.”

He raised a brow. “And if she could have?”

“She would have blushed too, knowing all the things I want to do to you.”

“Now you have my attention.”

Happiness bubbled up, making me laugh. “Where are you staying?”

“About that. My luggage is being held at your hotel. I was hoping you’d invite me to share your room with you.” He slid his hands up my thighs.

I pushed off him. “Let’s go, roomie.” We had things to talk about, but all I wanted right now was Dylan naked in my bed.

We ran, holding hands and laughing, back to my room. As soon as the door closed behind us, he pushed me up against it.

“Your luggage—”

“Later.” His mouth crashed down on mine.

As our tongues tangled in a quest for dominance, he pulled the zipper down on my hoodie, pushing it off my shoulders and down my arms. I wanted his sweater off, but then we’d have to separate, so I settled for wrapping my legs around his waist. He slipped his hand under my T-shirt, trailed his fingers up my spine, and unhooked my bra.

“Dylan, please.”

He tore his mouth away, and seconds later I was naked from the waist up. “Please what, Red?”

I looked into eyes turned stormy with desire, my breath hitching at knowing all that heat was for me. He’d traveled thousands of miles to offer his heart into my keeping without being sure how I’d respond. How could I not love him?

“Please make love to me.”

“I love you,” he said as if reading my mind. He curled his arms under my knees, walking us to the bed.

“I love you back.” I would never get tired of telling him. Before I realized what he planned to do, we were falling. I yelped, getting a laugh from him as he took the brunt of the fall with me landing on top of him.

He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “Always love me back, Jenny Girl.”

“Always. I promise.” Something in the way he’d asked for my love made me wonder if he was thinking of the woman who’d broken his heart. It couldn’t have been an easy thing for him to trust in love again. Yet he was here, bravely trusting me. I would never be her. Ever. I wanted him to know that.

“Always, always, Dylan. I will die loving you.” I smiled down at the man who had stolen my heart the first time I’d seen him, even though it had taken me too long to admit it. Now that I had, he was mine and I was keeping him. “I will never make you regret loving me.”

Tears pooled in his eyes, which made my own eyes water. I traced my thumb over his bottom lip. “And don’t forget, we’ve been blessed to love a lifetime and beyond.”

“I’ll never forget, my Jenny Girl.”

He blinked his eyes dry, then pulled my mouth down to his. When he slid into me, joining our bodies, it was different from any time before. We were in love, and that changed everything, even how it felt when his hands roamed lovingly over me. He loved me all through the night until I laughingly begged for mercy. I fell asleep wrapped in Dylan’s strong arms, happier than I’d ever been.

“Wake up, beautiful girl.”

I groaned as I turned away, pulling my pillow over my face. “Go away.”

An amused male sigh reached my ears. “And last night you said you loved me. Not so much in the morning, Red?”

“I’ll probably hate you all of our mornings if you’re always this cheerful.”

“Even if I bring you coffee and hot spanakopitas?”

My nose twitched when the rich aroma of the pastries and coffee drifted my way. “In that case, I might like you a little. Gimme.” I pushed up against the pillows and bit into the savory spinach, feta cheese, and egg pie. “So good,” I murmured.

Dylan grinned from his spot on the edge of the bed. “I thought that might win me some points.”

I snorted. “Like you need more. You’ve won the game.”

His smile faded as his eyes searched mine. “Have I?”

Did he even have to ask? I set down the pastry. “Yes. Don’t you know that?”

“When I said I hadn’t come to take you home, I meant it.” He wrapped his fingers around my ankle. “I understand you not only had a dream to travel long before we met, but that you made a promise to your sister. I would never ask you to give that up. Before you left, I almost told you that I loved you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

His gaze shifted to the hand he had on my ankle. “Because I knew there was the possibility you might meet someone. A sexy Italian who spoke accented amore words in your ear. Or possibly a brawny Scot in a kilt that you couldn’t resist peeking under. I wanted you to be free if that happened.”

Oh, Dylan. You sweet, wonderful, amazing man. “That’s something you’ll never have to worry about…well, I can’t promise I won’t peek under a kilt if the opportunity presents itself. You know, just to learn the answer to the age-old question.”

He grinned. “You can look but not touch. How’s that?”

“Deal.”

His smile faded, and he stared intently at me. “I want you to know that I’ll wait for you, however long it takes before you’re ready to come home. You’re it for me.”

Happiness filled me, warming all the places that had been cold since the day I’d lost my twin. I put my palm on his cheek. “Who do you love?”

He leaned his face into my hand. “Jenny. Just Jenny.”

There was nothing better he could have said to put to rest any lingering fear that his heart belonged to another woman. I smiled up at him. “I love you more.”

“Do not.”

“Do too.” That resulted in a round of wrestling and tickling, and when we were both laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath, he rolled on top of me and stared down at me. “Where do you go next?”

“I have a flight to London this afternoon, but—”

“Can I come with you? I have two weeks before I have to return.”

Before he interrupted me, I was about to say that I wanted to return home with him, but two weeks traveling with Dylan? That would be so awesome.

“If that’s not okay, I understand,” he said when I didn’t answer.

“Crazy man. Of course you can come with me. I want you to. And when it’s time for you to go home, I’m coming with you.”

“Are you sure? You’ve talked of nothing but seeing the world since we met.”

I could tell I’d pleased him. “And I still want to, but with you by my side. You get two weeks of vacation a year?”

“Actually I negotiated three weeks before I left. The mayor owed me a favor and was feeling rather generous.”

I clapped my hands. “Fantastic. Every year we’ll pick a country to visit.”

“Although that was Plan B, it was my favorite one.”

“What was Plan A?”

“To find you, tell you I loved you, and then send you on your way.”

Somehow I’d found the perfect man to love. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. So how does Italy next year sound?”

He pursed his lips as if thinking, then said, “Who knows, maybe for our honeymoon.”

My heart tripped over itself. While neither one of us was ready to talk marriage, that he was mentioning the possibility moved our relationship into a whole new realm.

“Well, I have heard that Italy is for lovers.” I could already imagine us in a villa by the sea, the windows open and sheer white curtains billowing in the air while we made love.

“And we’ll have to come back to Greece someday since I’m only getting a glimpse of the country this time around.”

“Definitely.” I loved Greece and wanted to experience it with him.

He rolled off me, then pulled me onto my side to face him. “Will you move in with me when we get home? I mean, you might as well. You’ll be spending all your time in my bed anyway.”

“Ha! Pretty sure of yourself, Chief.”

“No, I’m just hoping.”

His hand was on the bed between us. I curled my fingers around his. “The answer is yes.”

“Thank you.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. Then his expression turned serious. “I should mention that we’re going to have about a dozen kids.”

“Huh?” I gulped. “I was thinking two or three someday. In the future.” If we get married, I silently added.

“Nope. Somewhere between nine and a dozen if the vet’s right.”

At his amused grin, I punched his arm. “Don’t scare me like that.” Then it hit me. “Daisy’s pregnant?”

“She is. Must have happened right before I found her. It would have been noticeable sooner if she hadn’t been so undernourished. The vet said she’ll deliver in about three weeks.”

“We need to go home.”

He chuckled. “Another reason I love you. You love my dog as much as I do.”

“Almost as much. You have a slight edge over her.”

“That’s nice to know.” He leaned over me and kissed me long and hard. “Back to Daisy,” he said when we came up for air. “I want to keep her puppies.”

“All of them?”

“Yeah. I guess we could find them good homes, but how would we know for sure they were being treated right? Before I left, I asked Connor to scout out some land I can build a log house on. Adam said he would fast-track it and have whatever I decided on finished in six months. It would mean a houseful of rambunctious puppies in my apartment for a while, but we could manage it for a short time.”

“If we don’t get evicted.”

He laughed. “There is that. We’ll worry about that if it happens.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it? No telling me I’m out of my mind?”

“Nope. The more the merrier, I always say.”

“You can’t possibly know how much I love you,” he said. “And we’re still going to London. Daisy wouldn’t dare have her puppies before we get home.”

He picked up a lock of my hair and wrapped it around his fingers. “I think we’re done talking. I have other things in mind at the moment.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “You by any chance bring your handcuffs, Mr. Policeman?”

A wicked smile curved his lips. “No, but I’m very good at improvising. Let me show you.”

Turned out my man was very creative.