Longest Night (26 page)
Authors: Kara Braden
“Ianâ”
He touched a finger to her lips. “Not done yet. I'm a lawyer. I can't resist a speech.”
Grateful for the darkness that hid her blush, she rolled her eyes and nipped his finger.
“Where was I? Strongest, most amazing⦠Oh, right.” His smile reappeared, this time warm and gentle. “To Cecily Knight, the only woman mad enough to put up with me at my worst, and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be my best for her.”
Her breath caught. “Ian⦔
This time, he silenced her with a kiss. “You let me into your world. You let me touch youânot just your body, but
you
. And I'll never leave you, for as long as you'll let me stay by your side.”
Even if she'd known what to say, she had no breath with which to speak. She lifted her hand to touch his face, and the skies around them caught fire in waves of color carried on muffled blasts of thunder, startling her for an instant. Shouts and honking horns filled the air.
“Happy New Year, love,” Ian whispered over the sound of fireworks and celebration. “Our first, but not our last.”
Tears spilled over her lashes as she looked up into his eyes. “Not our last,” she repeated and forgot all about the champagne as she pulled him down into a kiss.
This book wouldn't exist without Cecily, Chris, Conor, and Nicole, who were right there with me for the early stages and answered my silly questions about life in Canada; and Jenny, Ray, Steph, and Summer, who held my hand during the tough rewrites. Leah believed in me and made my dream come true. At Sourcebooks, Deb and my editor, Cat, have given invaluable feedback and advice on making a pretty good story into a great romance. And I couldn't have done any of it without my wonderful agent, Jen at Donald Maass, who's gone above and beyond the call of duty to answer my questions, cheer me on, and save me when it felt like the plot hit a brick wall.
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Kara Braden believes in fighting fire with fire. As she spends her days in the desert outside Phoenix, Arizona, she combats the heat with endless cups of hot coffee, setting her kitchen ablaze once or twice a week, and writing smoldering romance. Her hobbies include incessant reading and writing, video games, and hiking whenever it's not too hot outside.
