Page 109 of The Deadly Shallows

He loosened his collar. How was it hot in the midst of one of their coldest winters yet? “That, I—” Here went nothing. “That I like you.”

Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “But?”

“No but.” He shook his head, and her shoulders relaxed. “I care for you deeply. I just want . . . just think . . .”

“We should be a couple?” Austin supplied.

Why did the words come so easily for her when he’d sounded like a bumbling fool? “Yes.” Not wanting to drive distracted and already fully there, he looked for a place to pull over and found one the next block up. He shifted the car in park, unbuckled his seat belt, and shifted to face her.

“What are we doing?” she asked, a soft smile on those lips he loved to kiss.

Words first. He needed to know, though from the way she kissed him back he thought he already did, or at least he hoped. “How do you feel about us being a couple?”

She bit her bottom lip, then smiled. “I’d love to be your girlfriend if you’re asking.”

He smiled. “Oh, I’m most definitely asking.” He reached over and slipped his fingers through hers. “And dating . . .” He looked up at her. “I don’t date if I don’t see it going anywhere.”

Her gaze held his. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

He choked. He cared deeply, but they’d just started—

She laughed, hard. “I’m sorry.” She struggled to contain her laughter but did a terrible job of it. Tears even sprang from her eyes. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“You little . . .” He wanted to say vixen but had zero clue where that word had come from.

She continued to crack up. “You should have seen your face.”

“That wasn’t funny.” She’d nearly given him a heart attack, partially from the joy the mere thought had brought to his mind.

“Oh, I disagree. It was hilarious.”

He snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her tight. “I can see now this is going to be one heck of an adventure.”

She caressed his jawline, lowering her lips to his. “But never a dull moment.”

He chuckled as she kissed him, then swallowed his laughter as her kiss grew deeper.

Austin’s heart was still abuzz when they pulled into FoamTech’s lot. They—her and her boyfriend. She smiled, basking in the thought he was hers.

“Who are we seeing here?” Caleb asked as he hopped out and walked around to open her door.

“Len Heisman, the director of manufacturing,” she said, stepping out of the Forester.

Len was out on the inventory floor when they arrived, so they waited in the dismal gray lobby.

A half hour later, a tall man in his upper forties strode toward them with an iPad tucked under his arm. “Len Heisman,” he said. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. It’s inventory day.”

“We understand,” Caleb said.

“How can I help you folks?” Len asked.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions about TCEP,” Austin said.

“TCEP.” Len shook his head on a whistle. “That was a real money sucker once they banned it.”

“We heard it was extremely expensive to properly dispose of,” Austin said.

“You’re telling me. Fortunately, we only had a dozen barrels left when the ruling came down, but it still cost us a pretty penny.”