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He smiled. “I thought diamonds would go well with roses.”
Izzie remained still, in a stunned silence, as Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. A gold one. With a big fat diamond on top of it. “I’m going to slide this on your finger, but not until you take that mask off your face.”
Dazed, she reached up and unfastened the clasps of her mask, one on each side of her head. The slow-motion feeling of the moment continued as she drew the red velvet away, letting it fall to the floor at her feet.
He reached for her hand, drawing her up to stand in front of him. “I love you, Izzie Natale. I love you, Crimson Rose. And I want you both in my life from this day on,” he said, his voice serious and unwavering. His expression was every bit as serious-as proud and determined as she’d ever seen him-as if he placed more value on this moment than he had on any other.
She certainly did. Because this could be the moment when her life changed forever. When, as silly as it sounded, all her secret dreams-the ones she hadn’t even acknowledged to herself-might actually start coming true.
“Whether we stay here, or go to New York, whether you work at the bakery or take off your clothes for a living…I’ll follow you. I’ll lead you. I’ll stand beside you.” He reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing his fingertips over her skin in a caress so tender it brought tears to her eyes.
“Be with me. Always.”
Now the teardrops gushed. Izzie seldom cried, but, at this moment, it was absolutely the only reaction she could manage. “I will, Nick. I love you so much. I’ve loved you for so long, I can’t remember what it felt like to not be in love with you.”
Reaching for him, she twined her arms around his neck and drew him toward her. She rose on tiptoe, touching her lips to his in a gentle kiss that gradually deepened. Their tongues sliding together in delicate intimacy, their bodies melted together. They shared breaths and promises not yet made but never to be broken, making a bond in that deep, unending, heady kiss that would last forever.
It was the most beautiful kiss of Izzie’s life. Because she was kissing a man she’d loved forever…and his amazing mouth had just given the same words to her.
When they finally paused, Nick smiled down at her. “Are you really going to wear my ring?”
She stuck out her hand. “Starting now. Lasting forever.”
Once he’d slid it on, she stared at the beautiful, glittering stone and gasped at the beauty of it. “Oh, thank you for waiting for me,” she whispered to him.
“Thanks for pulling me on top of you on that table of cookies to let me know how much you wanted me.”
Izzie glared at her new fiancée. “I did not pull you on top of me.”
“I’d have to say you pulled, Cookie.”
Reaching for the sash to her bathrobe and slowly unfastening it, she smiled a wicked, sultry smile. “Nick? You want to see what’s beneath this robe?”
His eyes glittered in hunger and need. “Oh, you know I do.”
He reached for her, but Izzie put her hand over his, stopping him. “Then I have one piece of advice for you. Don’t call me Cookie.”
Epilogue
Three Months Later
THOUGH THE COLD WINTER air outside buffeted the city with an early blast of winter, inside Leather and Lace, everything remained hot. As usual.
The club was packed this Saturday night, every table full, mostly with men, but a few daring women were in the audience, too. Leather and Lace had started earning a reputation as a “couples-friendly” club and more pairs were coming in. Laughing and partying as they entered…quite often whispering and cuddling seductively as they left.
Nick had thought that a fine idea…until tonight when he’d looked up and had seen his brothers Joe and Luke walk in, their wives on their arms. That had given him a momentary heart attack, but once he’d sat and had a drink with the quartet, he’d realized something: Rachel and Meg were excited beyond belief, not at all judgmental and certainly not jealous that their future sister-in-law was about to strip in front of a bunch of men…including their husbands.
He hadn’t understood it at first, until his brothers had confessed that their wives-as well as Tony’s wife, Gloria, and Nick’s sister, Lottie-were all taking the pole-dancing classes Izzie was now teaching at a Chicago dance studio. Mark’s pregnant wife was on a waiting list for a future class.
He had to grin every time he thought about it. Now that she’d stopped working at the bakery, Izzie had found herself a full-time job teaching the housewives and professional women of Chicago how to stay healthy while learning to be ultra-sexy.
