Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36987 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36987 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
“That’s my gift to all of you,” I said, chuckling.
They were all looking at me, and then the questions came fast and furious. Brad was concerned about Vladek and where he’d gone, and when I told him he was in Moscow, he was stunned.
“Really?”
I nodded.
“He was that scared of your friend?”
“He was.”
He seemed hesitant to ask me the obvious next question.
“We won’t ever speak about your loan again,” I told him. “It’s not something that bears repeating.”
“But, George, it—”
“Really,” I insisted. “It’s a dead issue.”
His eyes searched mine. “Okay.”
“Good,” I said with a nod.
To make sure everyone could feel just as certain as I did, and could have the same closure, I called Detective Tunney, put him on speaker, and wished him a merry Christmas.
“Oh yes, merry Christmas to you as well, Hunt. Are you and the family on your way back now that Vladek and his entire organization have disappeared?”
“Probably tomorrow,” I told him.
“Well, not that we’re not all pleased to have Vladek and his syndicate out of Portland, but making some arrests other than those we already have in custody would have been nice.”
“I had no control over that, Detective,” I said honestly. “My family’s safety was my only priority.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “And if you’re ever looking to go into law enforcement, consider how great it would be being near that family of yours.”
“Yessir, I will.”
“Merry Christmas again, son.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Once he hung up, I looked around at all the faces.
“I think tomorrow sounds perfect,” Thomasin said. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Same,” Toby stated happily, hugging his mother.
“Of course,” I agreed, smiling at them.
“Who’s going to help me make breakfast?” Thomasin asked.
The boys and Brad all wanted to.
Needing a moment, I went upstairs while Kurt fed the dogs and Bubs.
In our room, I took a seat on our bed and looked at the ring on my finger. It all felt like it was moving too fast all of a sudden, and that was never good for me.
“Hey,” Kurt said, walking into the room. “Are you going to come back down? We have cinnamon rolls ready to go.”
“Yeah,” I replied but didn’t move.
His indrawn breath was choppy. “Baby, if you don’t like the ring, we can go get you a—”
“No, it’s beautiful,” I murmured, touching it, my fingers running over the diamonds, feeling the smooth platinum of the heavy band.
“Then what’s wrong?”
I shook my head but still didn’t get up, didn’t move.
Taking a seat beside me, he immediately took my hand, the one with the ring, in his. “Look at me.”
I lifted my eyes to his.
“I would never tell you your business or think for you. It’s not my place, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to.”
I remained still and quiet, his voice soothing my rabbiting heart.
“But since you stepped off the plane, you have been in protection mode, in fixer mode, and have not had even a moment to completely relax.”
It was true. “Yeah.”
“I think, because of that, because everything is just rushing by, that you maybe feel like you were rushed into an engagement as well.”
I nodded.
“If you want,” he said gently, “we can pack the ring away until you’re ready.”
But the idea of taking it off didn’t feel right.
“Yes?” he asked, searching my face.
“No,” I whispered.
“Oh,” he said, exhaling sharply. “That’s amazing.”
“Why? Do you think I don’t want to get married?”
“No. But I think maybe, like I said, you feel rushed, and I would never want to do that because this is the most important step in my life.”
“It is?”
He smiled at me. “Of course it is. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I get excited to see you at the end of the day. I love it when we meet out for dinner somewhere and you take my hand when we’re leaving the restaurant and I drive us home.”
“You do?”
His face lit up as he nodded. “I love going grocery shopping with you because you can absolutely make the most tedious chores fun. I mean, when I had to go through my closet, the running commentary on my clothes had me laughing so hard, I nearly peed.”
I could feel warmth replacing the scared, unsure coldness in my chest. He was like the sun, warming all the dark, shadowy parts of me.
“Even when I dropped the clothes off and the Members Only jacket fell out and my acid-wash jeans, I started laughing all over again. The people at the clothes place thought I was nuts.”
I sighed deeply.
“I will wait if you want to wait, and we can get married in the fall, or next year, or the year after that. I just want you to be mine because you are the most important person in my life,” he said hoarsely. “I will wait as long as you—”
“No,” I murmured, taking his face in my hands. “I don’t want to wait. I want my friends there, though, like Chris and his wife. And I want Hannah and her folks, and Mr. Sutter and my boss, Mr. Romero, and the guys from my unit, and fucking Ian.”