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Ty hadn’t let her down, yet; in a sense, she was letting him down. Believing the worst, when in fact, he was the best there was. She could love him with all her heart, but that didn’t mean she had to lose herself. Who she was.
Norma Rose pushed away from the table. He’d promised he’d be back, and she’d promised to be here. Her. Norma Rose Nightingale. And the Norma Rose Nightingale Ty knew would never have sat around moping until his return.
Her resolve stuck. She rose, marched to the door and pulled it open.
* * *
Ty had imagined this sight ever since driving away from the resort with those two thugs in the trunk. Dressed in black, as usual, with her hair slicked in waves and gloves on her hands, she was the vision of every waking moment and dream for the past five days. There was surprise in those magnificent blue eyes, but also determination, just as he’d expected. Norma Rose would never have sat around, sulking over his absence. Just one more thing he loved about her.
She lifted her chin a bit higher, even as her hands curled at her sides. The desire to kiss her was greater than ever, but he liked when she made the first move. Whether she admitted it or not, she liked to be in control as much as he did.
“I was just seeing to the cabin,” she said. “Making sure it was presentable for the next guests.”
“And is it?” he asked.
“I expect so.” She turned then and her shoulders indicated the deep breath she took. “Have you ever heard of a phone?”
“A phone?”
“Yes, it’s a little black device that can let people know you’re okay. So they don’t have to worry.”
Smiling, he stepped into the cabin and closed the door. “I do believe I have, but I couldn’t call you.”
“Why not?”
There had been a dozen reasons, including how he’d refused to waste the time calling her when it could be spent driving back. None of that mattered any longer. “One of us had to make a choice, Norma Rose,” he said, “and I didn’t want that to be you.”
She turned around. “A choice?”
He nodded.
Her understanding came swiftly and she lifted a perfectly shaped brow.
“I’d already made a choice, Ty.”
Neither of them moved, as they stood there, facing each other like some kind of Old West gunfight. His heart beat the seconds away as he forced his feet and mouth to remain still. Until a smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
She took a step forward and pressed her hands to his chest. “I chose you, Ty. Even before I was kidnapped. I’ll leave the resort, become a federal agent’s doxy and never look back. Never regret my decision.”
He grasped her face and kissed her, long and hard, before he whispered, “I’m no longer a federal agent.”
She hissed in a breath. “No. Did they see you, discover your identity?”
“No, no one knows I was behind it, but Bodine was arrested,” Ty said, rubbing the softness of her cheeks. “The one you knocked out with the shovel was his son. He’d only been a kid, fifteen or so when Bodine faked his death, and over the years became his father’s new righthand man. Yet, when push came to shove, he saved his own hide and gave away his father’s hideout in Wisconsin.”
“If they don’t know who you are, why—”
“Because you told me Prohibition won’t last much longer. I agree with you. Which means I’ll soon be out of a job. I might as well switch professions now.” He grinned. “How would you feel about being married to a lawyer?”
“A lawyer?”
He nodded. “I just have to take my bar exam. Or I could become a police chief now that Williams is in jail.” Bumping his nose against hers, he added, “Or we could just live off my bank account for a few years. I’ve collected a lot of bounty money over the years.”
She grinned, but shook her head. “I never said I’d marry you.”
Ty took her hands to roll her gloves over her wrists and off her fingers. “Only because I haven’t asked.”
As she started unbuttoning his shirt, she stepped out of her shoes. “Are you going to?”
Walking backward, toward the bedroom, and pulling her forward by her waist, he asked, “Do you want me to?”
She parted his shirt and ran her hands over his chest. “I’ll tell you in an hour or so.”
He swept her into his arms and spun around, carrying her into the bedroom. “I thought you might say that.” After a long, solid, and overly hot kiss, he lowered her onto the bed and kissed her once more before stepping back. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
* * *
Norma Rose laughed. As much as she loved him, she also loved the fact she’d met her match. She held one leg up in the air and unhooked her stocking from the garter on her thigh. “Don’t make me find a shovel, Ty.”
He let out an exaggerated groan. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Probably not.” Tossing the stocking at him, she lifted her other leg. “I, too, like to be in control once in a while”
He laughed. “You don’t say?”
She unhooked that stocking from its garter and started to roll it down. “Surely you can find another way to convince me to say yes.”
Stepping forward, he snagged the toe of her stocking, pulled it off and tossed it on the floor with the other. “Do you need convincing?”
She hooked him by the waistband of his pants, pulling him closer. “You tell me.”
He told her all right, and convinced her, several times.
