Marriage by Mistake

felt that organ twist with all he'd never told her, all he'd been too afraid to admit, even to himself.
    Well, if ever there was a second chance this was it. Dean closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I care, Kelly. I really care. I...love you. That's it. Love. Just— love . That's how I feel." He gave another whispery laugh and opened his eyes.
    Kelly was staring at him in a way that made Dean's heart sink. He'd failed, once again.
    Then she launched herself at him. It was too fast for Dean to do anything but gasp, clutch her close, and try to keep them both from landing on the pavement.
    "Oh, Dean. Dean, Dean, Dean." She rained kisses all over him; eyebrows, nose and both cheeks.
    Dean crushed her gently. Her warm, lithe body was actually in his arms. How was this possible?
    "You said it." She squeezed him tightly. "You actually said it."
    It took Dean a second to understand what she meant. Meanwhile he didn't dare let go. "Oh," he said. "Did you like that?"
    Kelly pulled back to stare at him. "Did I like it?!"
    Dean felt his face turn warm. "I guess what I mean is, love is a feeling and, well, feelings, they're not very reliable, are they?"
    Kelly gazed at him round-eyed. "You think feelings aren't reliable ?"
    Dean had to look away. "Well, mine are..."
    "Dean." She turned his chin so he had to look at her. " My feelings are reliable, too. And I love you. I do."
    Dean felt a very strange pressure, deep in his throat. She loved him. He hadn't known how...big it would feel to hear the words. Or how hard it would be to believe them. "But—you left," he tried to disagree.
    Kelly's lashes dropped. "I did. Because you couldn't hear that. You weren't believing it."
    He hadn't. He wasn't. How could she love him—forever?
    Kelly raised her eyes. "You still don't believe me."
    Alarm flashed through him, but she suddenly grinned. "All right. I guess you're just going to have to do the experiment and find out."
    "The experiment?"
    She hugged him gently around the neck. "Take me home and find out if my feelings last. It's a long experiment. Might take forty or fifty years, but eventually you'll get your answer."
    Dean knew he was staring at her. He'd let her down, but she was just smiling at him, so beautiful, so generous, so...loving. He tried, and failed, to swallow. "You're...coming home with me?"
    She tapped his chin. "How else can I prove my feelings are forever?"
    "Kelly—" Then Dean couldn't say any more. He pressed his face into the curve of her neck. He hadn't driven her off? Amazing. On her waist, his hands trembled. "I'll do anything, anything, to make this work," he vowed.
    "Oh, Dean." He could feel her stroking his hair. "All you have to do is be yourself. I love you just the way you are."
    Dean went very still. The words echoed in his brain. Oh, he could almost... remember them. That's right, standing in the hot desert air, next to a building with a huge wooden yellow sun tacked to it, and Kelly. Oh, Kelly looking up at him with her clear, sincere eyes.
    Slowly, Dean drew back from their close embrace. He looked down into her face. She blinked up at him, quizzical. In that moment he understood. Oh, the memory blew away, ethereal as smoke, but the understanding remained. Her words, the sentiment—it was what had driven him to follow Troy's hypnotic suggestion in the first place. It— this —was what he'd wanted. Not wild sex, not an irresponsible alliance, but this: the love of a good woman.
    "Oh," Dean said. " Oh ." It was so absurdly simple. So...rational. He started to laugh.
    "What?" Kelly demanded. "What?"
    Dean felt emotions swell up in his chest. Humor, understanding, need. And love. That's what it was all about, wasn't it? Love.
    "What?" Kelly asked again.
    Dean made a low noise in his throat. "This," he said, and lowered his head. Kelly's lips felt like coming home. Well, a combination of coming home and flying to the moon. Dean drew in a sharp breath and moved in closer, exulting when Kelly pressed back. Oh yes. She, like he, wanted a perfect union.
    For a long time they stood there, trying to forge that union with their mouths. Finally, reluctantly, Dean pulled back.
    Kelly made a protesting noise, but Dean set her apart, resolute. "I'm not done— My speech," he panted out.
    "Your speech?" Kelly looked dazed.
    Dean laughed a little. "On the way over I had a few hours to put one together."
    "Mm?" Kelly was making a visible effort to clear her brain of the kiss.
    Dean brushed a finger down