Her Heart's Desire

“We can’t always get along, sweetheart, and I don’t think you want us walking on pins and needles for fear of making the other one angry, do you?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not realistic.”

“No, it’s not. But I will promise you something.”

“What?”

“I’ll always, always want to have makeup sex.”

“I’m glad because I will, too.”

He picked her up and headed out of the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked.

“Well, we’ve had our first fight. Now it’s time to get to the lovin’.”

Chapter 14

Now, that was definitely something to remember him by! Tiffany was curled up on the family-room couch thinking about the “makeup sex” they’d just shared. They hadn’t even made it to the bed. It was quick, explosive and her body still hummed from the aftermath like a well-tuned engine.

Ivan sat down on the couch next to her. “I don’t have to ask what’s got you smiling like that.”

“Nope.” Tiffany sat up and kissed him.

“I forgot to mention that I don’t normally have the ringer on my personal phone when I’m on duty, so if you need to reach me and I don’t answer, text me and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I wrote down my assistant Curtis’s direct number on the itinerary. He can get a message to me if it’s an emergency.”

She sat up. “Okay.”

Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed with emotion. It dawned on Tiffany how much she would miss him, especially now. There was a higher level of intimacy between them, and with it a new sense of awareness that Tiffany didn’t have before. Her need for him was heightened, which made her wonder if it would have been better to wait until he came home from Italy before they made love. Well, it was a moot point now. They had—a lot—it was incredible, and for Tiffany it was going to be a long week.

By the time Cole returned home, they had just finished lunch. He said hello and went straight to the fridge for a bottle that had a green concoction in it. Ivan sauntered over to the cabinet, pulled out a large bottle of Advil and handed it to his brother.

He grunted his thanks and then surveyed the couple. “How was your evening, or do I need to ask?”

The high-wattage smile from Tiffany may have been proof enough, but she added, “I think it was pretty spectacular, don’t you, Ivan? I mean, we barely got the last of the furniture reglued before you got here. Good thing Ivan will be away for a week so that it can dry. Unfortunately, one of the goose-down pillows didn’t make it.”

Ivan roared with laughter. He observed his brother. “I think you’d better think twice before trying to put Tiffany on the spot.”

Cole laughed, too, and took another sip of his drink. “Evidently, our Tiffany is no shrinking violet. That’s cool. I like a challenge.”

“You’d better go to bed, little brother. You look like warmed-over crap. If you get hungry later, there’re leftovers in the fridge. I’ve got an assignment, but I’ll call and check in with you later.”

Cole nodded and gingerly lowered his head to the table.

Ivan glanced at Tiffany. “And that’s why I don’t drink anything stronger than beer.”

“Hope you feel better, Cole,” she whispered, before following Ivan back upstairs.

“How about we take you home so that you can change your clothes? I’ll stay as long as I can and leave for the airport from your house. That way we can spend more time together.”

“I like the way you think, Colonel Mangum.”

Ivan gave her a small bag to carry her dress in. She placed the basket of toiletries he gave her into his linen closet to save for next time.

“I’ll call you tonight and you can tell me how the party went,” he said as he packed.

“Ha. Don’t worry, if things get really interesting, I’ll send a video,” she promised.