Page 58 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

“Myles.”

Zack ran down the three steps and raced down the sidewalk toward him, his face beaming with happiness.

Myles picked him up when Zack reached him and swung him high in the air. The little boy laughed aloud. Myles heard Anna’s laughter at the same time. For a moment, he could scarcely move. He felt truly and completely happy for the first time in years.

This felt right.

“Hi,” Anna called, coming a few feet down the sidewalk to meet him.

“Hi yourself,” he said.

Holding Zack with one arm, he drew her closer with the other and kissed her. Not as long as he wanted, but they were on a public street and Zack was only about six inches away.

“Kiss me, too,” Zack said, putting his hands on Myles’s cheeks and turning his head to face him.

Myles smiled and kissed his plump cheek.

“I’m happy to see you both,” he said, his gaze going back to Anna’s.

Did he imagine it, or was the sadness so often clear in her eyes gone?

“Ready to work again?”

“I’m so stiff from yesterday I can hardly move. But I’m game,” she said as they walked toward the apartment.

“I feel the same way, but it’s a good feeling. I’m back in my stride now and want to see if I can get off medical leave sooner than I thought. I’m calling the company’s medical doctor on Monday to see when he can see me.”

Anna tried to smile, but the anxiety that clutched at her was too strong. If Myles was cleared to return to work, he’d have no reason to remain in New York. Granted, he’d talked about setting down roots. But with the next breath, he’d talked about his foreign assignments and she could hear how much he liked his work.

Where did that leave her?

What did she want? In one thought, she believed she’d never love another like Tom. In another, the idea of Myles leaving, maybe never to be seen again, filled her with anguish. She cared for him much more than she realized. The thought of his leaving filled her with panic.

She needed some time to consider all the ramifications. Now it didn’t look as if she was going to get what she wanted.

They dropped Zack off with Edith and headed for the school.

“You’re really quiet today,” Myles said as they walked side by side.

“Sorry. It’s really wonderful you feel fully recovered and can return to work.”

“But?”

She looked at him.

“But what?”

“I don’t know, it just sounded like a but should be in there somewhere.”

“But I’ll miss you,” she blurted out.

He slung his arm across her shoulder and drew her closer.

“Hey, getting a release just means I’m in working shape again. I told you I’m thinking of looking for something here in the States.”

“America is huge,” she said. “In the States could mean Alaska, which is just about as far from here as the Middle East.”

“Don’t want me so far away, huh?”

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