Yeah—no.
He had Operation: Secure the Wife scribbled in his police notebook.
I couldn’t exactly tell Cathryn about his disability, so I embellished a few details here and there. Hopefully, she was none the wiser.
It was a while later when I heard the door open. Conversation quieted, and I knew he was here.
I glanced up just as Kade cut through the bar, eyes locked on me like a heat-seeking missile.
“Told you—big dick energy,” Cathryn muttered before hiccuping into her glass.
His hat came off as he leaned down to kiss me, and then came the wolf whistles and heckling.
Of course, Cathryn was the loudest.
His hat dropped onto the table as his hands came up to cradle my face.
I gripped his forearms, parting my lips for him as he deepened the kiss.
“Now you’re just showing off,” Cathryn hollered over the din.
We ignored everyone. Kade didn’t pull back until he was good and done.
“You look sexy as fuck, little mama,” he murmured against my lips.
I stared at the smear of my red lipstick on his mouth.
No doubt something he fully intended.
“Still full of red flags, Officer Kade,” I whispered, touching his lips with my fingertips.
“Only for you.”
I returned his smile.
Epilogue
Kade
Four Months Later
Juliette groaned beside me, and I let go of the cart to stare at her belly. But it wasn’t time yet. She slapped her hand against my arm.
“I forgot the Greek yoghurt—you know, the extra-strained one. I’m not waddling all the way back,” she pouted.
I kissed my wife’s sulking lips and headed toward the dairy aisle. It took me a while to find her favourite brand. Then I had to decide on the size. I ended up grabbing two large tubs. It would keep.
As I made my way back, I nearly dropped them when I saw her squaring up to none other than Nadine. It was bound to happen—her family still lived in town. The moment I got closer, my jaw dropped.
“—surprised he chose someone of your kind,” Nadine sneered, voice thick with spite.
Juliette looked her up and down.
“And I can see why he and his family feel like he had a lucky escape.”
“They worshipped the ground I walked on. Why Kade didn’t date for years after I left,” she said with a smug little smirk.
Oh, no, she didn’t.
