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“It’s so lovely at night, isn’t it? I’ve often wished that—”
Tiffany halted when she saw the first fireworks burst overhead, followed by loud claps and applause.
“Oh, my gosh,” she exclaimed excitedly. “I forgot about the fireworks.”
“Two nights a week during the summer, and lucky for us, we’re here at the right time.” He put an arm around her and eased her into his side.
“I will give you one thing, Colonel Mangum,” she said over the racket. “When you take a girl out, you go all in.”
“Go hard or go home,” he said with a grin. “Words I live by.”
After a loud cheer at the latest light display, she said, “I can see that.”
By the time they arrived back at her apartment, Tiffany was still wired. On the doorstep, Ivan wrapped his arms around her waist, and then reeled her in. He bent his head and claimed her mouth for a searing kiss. Tiffany wrapped her arms around his neck to get even closer. They parted a few seconds later, their breathing labored.
“This was an incredible night, and the best first date I’ve had.”
“Me, too,” she confessed. “Of course, I would’ve said that no matter where we ended up, because the best thing about my date was you.”
“I agree.” He grinned.
They shared another kiss, then he opened the front door and stepped into the corridor. “I’ll see you later.”
“Call me when you get home so that I know you’re safe,” she commanded. “I take my watch seriously, too.”
With a grin, Ivan nodded. “I will.”
Tiffany watched him until he was out of sight, then locked the door.
“Ivan Mangum,” she purred. “You were definitely worth the wait.”
Chapter 10
I swear next time he kisses me, the clothes are coming off. Just seeing Ivan saunter through the door of her shop each time was enough to make Tiffany giddy. It was like he had a direct line to her libido, and he never failed to get it pumping. Between helping Ivan with self-defense classes at the community center and their dates, they saw each other on a regular basis. That suited her just fine because she never tired of being around him—or looking at him.
She attempte
d to quell her sporadic breathing when their gazes connected from across the room. “Hi,” she called out.
“Hey, yourself. How’s your day been?”
“Great. I had a lovely group of ladies from a book club come in. It seems one of their members had on a shirt she bought from me. They liked it so much, they all decided to come in and get one. Isn’t that fantastic?”
Ivan leaned over and kissed her. “Way to go. Do you have time for a break?”
“For you, I might.”
They walked to the coffeehouse. Both ordered vanilla-bean frappés. It was a lovely day out, so Tiffany suggested they sit outside.
“So what’s up?” she asked after a minute of companionable silence.
“I have to go out of town on assignment.”
“Okay, where to?”
“Venice.”
“How come you get to go to all the supercool places? What happened to guarding some insurance salesman going to the Ramada Inn in Hackensack, New Jersey?”
