I Can Make You Love Me. Karen White-Owens

tion>

      

      “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

       Kensington Publishing Corp. http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

I Can Make You LOVE ME

      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 pea.” She tucked the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

      My first marriage proposal, Wynn thought, sitting for several minutes on the edge of Adam’s mattress.

      It was time to grow up, move on, and take charge of her life. As far back as she could remember, she knew that she wanted to help people. Now she was headed to Michigan State University to work toward her degree in nursing.

      Wynn reached out and turned on the night-light next to the bed before switching off the lamp on the nightstand. She waited until Adam’s deep, rhythmic breathing signaled that he had succumbed to sleep. Seconds later, she tiptoed across the room and stood in the doorway, watching her favorite little man for a moment longer.

      She giggled softly, turning away from the doorway and heading to the staircase. Maybe her boyfriend, Jim, would miss her as much as Adam and she’d get a second proposal. That was one she’d have to seriously consider.

      Chapter 1

      Adam Carlyle checked his watch and then leaned to the left, counting the number of people in the line ahead of him. He grunted, debating whether he should give the clerk a chance to catch up or head back to the office and have his administrative assistant pick him up a sandwich. If he didn’t have a taste for a New York–style hot dog, he’d step out of the line right now.

      His glance wandered around the beige walls and open space of the New Center One building, focusing on