Keeping Kennedy Read online

  Kennedy laughed, a choked sound. “Normally when you’re engaged it’s because someone has asked you to marry them. I don’t recall you asking.”

  He frowned. “Oh, yeah. You’re right.”

  Kennedy glanced at the boarding area, then back at Drake. “You’re going to miss your flight.”

  He glanced over his shoulder, then settled his silvery gaze back onto her. “That’s a very strong possibility.”

  She drew in a deep, calming breath to try and slow her racing heart. “Drake, I—”

  He went down on one knee. Kennedy couldn’t come up with a response to that move. She could only look at him, totally speechless.

  “I know this isn’t the most romantic place to propose, but” he lifted one shoulder in a hint of a shrug “neither of us is particularly conventional.”

  “We can talk about this when you get back,” Kennedy offered, her mind spinning. He couldn’t possibly mean this…could he? Her heart quivered with hope.

  He shook his head. “I want you to keep the ring. I love you, Kennedy, and I’d like to keep you. Will you marry me?”

  A smile spread across his trembling lips. “Drake, are you sure about this?”

  He gave her that lopsided half grin. “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything in my entire life. I don’t want to lose you. I want to wake up with you next to me every morning for the rest of my life.”

  Tears welling in her eyes, Kennedy nodded.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  He shot to his feet. “Good, ‘cause I gotta go.” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and ran like hell for the boarding area.

  It hit Kennedy then that she hadn’t said what she needed to say. “Drake!”

  He skidded to a stop and turned back to her.

  “I love you, too.”

  He smiled and every female in the place stopped to take notice, then he winked and said, “I know.”

  Kennedy stood there, uncertain what she should do, and watched him walk away. Profound sadness enveloped her. She looked at the ring and smiled. A tear trickled down her cheek. He loved her. They were engaged—for real.

  But he was leaving her anyway.

  Slowly, she walked to the wall of windows to watch his plane taxi away. Would it always be this way? Him rushing off for some unexpected, possibly dangerous, assignment? Kennedy pressed her hand to the glass, her heart aching. “Goodbye,” she murmured.

  “If you’ve seen one jungle, you’ve seen them all.”

  Drake’s handsome face stared back at her from his reflection in the glass. Kennedy spun around him to find standing right behind her.

  “You missed your plane!”

  He shook his head slowly from side to side. “I decided not to go.”

  She frowned. “What about your assignment? Your bag?”

  Drake slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “There will always be another assignment. And my bag will show up eventually.”

  Kennedy couldn’t catch her breath. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

  He brushed a kiss over her lips. “I want to do this right. When I said I wanted to wake up with you next to me every morning, I meant it.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” Kennedy traced his lower lip with the pad of her thumb.

  “Let’s go home and celebrate,” he murmured against the shell of her ear.

  Her cell phone rang at precisely that moment. Instinctively, she reached for it. He shook his head, took the phone from her hand and pressed the off button. “No interruptions.”

  She smiled. “None.” Then she tiptoed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I’m all yours.”

  “Fair warning,” he trailed a finger across her cheek “I intend to keep it that way.”

  Then he kissed her, the way only a man truly in love with a woman could.

  DEBRA WEBB, born in Alabama, wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain—and a five-year stint with NASA—that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has penned nearly 100 novels. Visit her at www.debrawebb.com.

  Thank you for selecting a Debra Webb story. If you enjoyed KEEPING KENNEDY be sure to look for Debra’s other exciting Pink House Press releases:

  Sassy and Spicy Romances

  HERE TO STAY

  FREE FALLING

  UP CLOSE

  BASIC INSTINCTS

  TEMPTING TRACE

  TAMING GI JANE

  GOING TO THE CHAPEL

  The Jackie Mercer Sassy, Sexy Mystery Series:

  DIRTY – series debut

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten