“Oh, Rafe,” she breathed, her eyes starry.
He touched his lips to hers, longer this time, putting all his love for her into the kiss before coming up for air. “I should never have left you, Angel. In so doing, I broke my heart in two and left half with you.” He took her hand and pressed her palm to his chest. “It’s never been the same since. I’ve never been the same.” Rafe tried to grin. “Did I tell you I’m stubborn and stupid? Only now do I see what I’ve done to myself.” He brushed a tendril of hair out of her face. “To you.”
“I guess you’re not the only one. I should have believed in you. Trusted in our love. Tracked you down.” She felt the beat of his heart under her palm. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve realized I’m not happy in New York. I thought that career was what I wanted. I sacrificed everything to make partner in my law firm. Then they chose someone else anyway.”
Rafe took her hand from his heart and kissed the top. “You could open a practice here. We don’t have a lawyer on the island. Course, you wouldn’t have a lot of work, which is just the way we like it.”
“I could handle that. Plus, I want to help my father. Lighten his caseload. Nowadays, much of the work doesn’t have to be done in the office anyway.” She let out a happy sigh. “I didn’t know when I came here that I’d find what I was seeking. I didn’t even realize I was looking.”
He tapped her nose with his finger. “Your heart’s desire.”
She captured his finger. “And yours.”
Rafe made a little splashing sound. “Took the magic long enough. I’ve been swimming here for years.”
“We had to be ready, Rafe. I don’t know that I was before.” She looked at him with love. “But I am now.”
“That’s settled then. We’ll fly home to Sweetwater Springs. I’ll patch things up with my family. But we’re not leaving until tomorrow. We’ll be a bit busy today.”
Angel leaned forward until their lips almost touched. “We will?” she murmured.
“Definitely.” Rafe drew her toward him for a kiss.
THE END
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Angel in Paradise was my first contemporary Montana Sky story and it came about because my friends and colleagues in The Indie Voice wanted to do an anthology. So we put together Summer on Seeker’s Island. I had to stretch to create a Montana Sky story that would fit into an anthology set on a magical, modern, tropical island. I love the result!
I’m so very grateful for my dear friends: Jana DeLeon
Tina Folsom
Denise Grover Swank
Colleen Gleason
Jane Graves
Liliana Hart
Dorien Kelly
Theresa Ragan
Jasinda Wilder
In gratitude to:
My editors:
Louella Nelson
Linda Carroll-Bradd,
Adeli Britto
who always make my stories better.
To Delle Jacobs, friend and talented cover artist.
To my formatter:
Author E.M.S.,
whom I always trust to do a great job.
To my beta readers:
My mother, Honey Holland My aunt, Hedy Codner
And most of all to my dear readers: With many thanks for loving the Montana Sky Series
MONTANA SKY SERIES
Beneath Montana’s Sky
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Prudence (Summer 2015)
1890s
Wild Montana Sky
Starry Montana Sky
Stormy Montana Sky
Montana Sky Christmas
A Valentine’s Choice
Painted Montana Sky
Glorious Montana Sky
Sweetwater Springs Scrooge
Sweetwater Springs Christmas
Look for future Montana Sky books, novellas, and short stories
ABOUT DEBRA HOLLAND
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Debra Holland is a three-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist and one time winner. She is the author of the Montana Sky Series, sweet, historical Western romances and The Gods’ Dream Trilogy, fantasy romance. In February, 2013, Amazon selected her book Starry Montana Sky as one of the top 50 Greatest Love Stories.
Debra has written a nonfiction book, The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving from Alpha Books (a subsidiary of Penguin). Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free download of 58 Tips for Getting What You Want From a Difficult Conversation: http://drdebraholland.com
Also look for her:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.holland.731
Twitter: http://twitter.com/drdebraholland
Blog: http://drdebraholland.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Acknowledgements
The Montana Skies Series
About Debra Holland