He stopped and faced her. “Tiffany…are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Ivan, we’re a team. I support what’s important to you. If our roles were reversed, and I was the one having to go away for my job, I know you’d be in my corner one hundred percent. I want to do the same for you. I’ll be here waiting for your safe return—no matter what.”
Ivan searched her face. “Sweetheart, as long as I have your support, that’s all I need.” He kissed her solemnly. “I’ll get time off, so I’ll be back as soon as I can manage it.”
“You’d better,” she said tearfully.
They resumed walking.
“When will you let your client know?”
“I’ll call him tomorrow morning. I don’t want anything taking away from our night together.”
“How long do we have?”
“Probably just a few days.”
She nodded. “I guess we’d better make the most of them.”
“We’ll do whatever you want to do,” he promised her. “Name it.”
“I’d like to go back to Navy Pier.”
He grinned. “The Ferris wheel?”
“The Ferris wheel.”
They took a trolley ride to the pier. Tiffany felt like a kid again when Ivan escorted her into their compartment on the ride. She held on tightly to his arm as the ride lurched forward, and they were airborne. When they got off, Ivan took her to the carousel and set her atop an inanimate horse. With each revolution of the ride, Tiffany giggled like a schoolgirl.
When it was time to go home, Ivan walked her back to her car.
“Thanks for a lovely evening.” She leaned up to kiss him. “I had fun.”
“Me, too.”
She started her car. “Are you coming back to my house?”
He leaned down so that they were at eye level. “Do you want me to?”
Tiffany cocked her head to the side. “Of course. When don’t I want to sleep with you?”
That made him grin. “I’m not in the habit of not giving my lady what she wants.”
“Good to know. Your lady will be in the bed wearing nothing but a smile. Don’t keep her waiting.”
With that, Tiffany sped away from the curb and down the street.
Chapter 19
“You look amazing,” Ivan assured Tiffany from the doorway, where she was getting ready.
“I’m meeting your grandmother, Ivan. I’m too nervous to look amazing.” On their last night together, Tiffany decided to invite a few guests over to her house for a bon voyage party.
He sauntered into the bedroom. “My grandmother won’t bite. You’ll be fine.”
“I’ll try, but your grandmother blesses you and Cole out at the drop of a dime. What will she do to me?”
“That’s different. Cole and I are her grandsons.”