“I know.”
“I was still undercover. It was about to become a zoo.”
“I understand that. I do.”
“You weren’t seriously injured. I made Wiley swear to that on the heads of his children. So after completing all the official BS, I split.”
“And stayed away,” she said in a voice that was unexpectedly husky with emotion.
His regret plain, he sighed. “Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
He looked away, took a breath, came back to her. “Because I didn’t know how you felt about Josh and the way it ended. My bullet took him out.”
“They don’t know which—”
“I do. He didn’t feel it or any that came after. I couldn’t stand to see you hating me for that.”
“I don’t.”
He clasped her head tighter between his hands. “You need to know this. You need to accept it. If I had it to do over again, I still wouldn’t hesitate. I would do—”
She laid her fingers vertically against his lips. “I would do it over again, too. It ended the way it had to. Josh was liberated, and so was I.”
“Wiley told me that was your feeling.”
“To the bottom of my soul.”
“Years from now you won’t—”
“No.”
He searched her face and seemed satisfied that she was speaking honestly. Then his expression turned wry. “Then Wiley—who’s like an old woman busybody—said that as long as I was in the neighborhood, I might want to touch base with you.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “Remind me to send him a bottle of wine. Fine wine.”
“I want to touch base, all right. Especially third.” He slid his hands to her bottom and brought her up against him. They kissed again and when he at last raised his head, the sharp eyes she loved speared into hers. “They throw fancy parties in Atlanta. I’ve never been to one, but that’s my understanding.”
“That sounds like a promising market. Certainly worth exploring.”
“I’ve been giving thought to upgrading my accommodations. You know, buy some furniture. A kitchen stove.”
She laughed.
He smiled, but then turned serious. “Jordie. I was lousy at this before, and I may still be lousy at it. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my days wondering about what might have been with you. With us. I for damn sure don’t want to spend another night without you. I already formed the habit of you. I want you in my bed and under me every night. Even if it means tying you up with those hankies and hauling you off like I did before.”
She kissed the C-shaped scar on his chin. “What if I want you under me?”
He grinned, swept his thumb across her lower lip, and just before kissing it, whispered, “Still mouthy.”