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“I sure did.”
“And… what was that?”
He leaned over and hugged her tight in his strong arms, kissing her tenderly. “You of course, my love.”
She grinned. “I was hoping that’s what you meant.”
“Yep, I’ve got my gorgeous, brave, wonderful woman by my side. And my past demons are put to rest. All thanks to you. You do make a difference, Astrid. Much more than you ever realized.”
Pride to swirled inside her. Suddenly she could see he was right. “And you don’t care about the money? The fact there was no treasure, I mean?”
“Nah. I don’t need to…” he chuckled mischievously. “This treasure should keep us going for a while.”
He delved in his pocket and pulled out a huge diamond ring, which glistened in the sunshine.
Astrid gasped in shock. “Wow… that’s… it’s so big. And sparkly!”
“The world’s most expensive diamond ring – it’s been missing for decades, but my dad always knew where it was. I wanted it as soon as he told me about it. I intended to sell it – it’s worth a few million. Then I could stop being a private investigator, and start living my life as a better person. But you know what else Dad told me?”
She shook her head. “What?”
“He told me to find a beautiful woman, and ask her to marry me.”
Excited shock spun inside her. “Oh really? And are you going to?”
He reached out and slipped the sparkling diamond on her finger. “You want to?”
“Hmm…. Do I want to marry you?”
“Yeah.”
She pretended to consider this. “Would I like to marry Jake Quinlan? He’s trouble, you know.”
He chuckled. “That’s what everyone keeps saying. Maybe it’s time I changed my ways. Do you think I can?”
She leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips. “I hope not.”
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a most definitely, one-hundred percent yes!”
He kissed her excitedly, easing his tongue in her mouth and offering promises of what was to come. “Thank you for making me the happiest guy alive, Astrid Lawrence. But… I guess we’d better get out of here before Daniel realizes there really isn’t any treasure.”
She laughed, feeling free. “Agreed. Let’s go start our wonderful adventure together right now.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was a gloomy overcast day, but the sunshine was glowing in Astrid’s heart with the comfort of belonging. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and everyone in Astrid’s hometown of Northfields was preparing their turkey and celebrations. This year, Astrid had plenty to be thankful for.
After the adventure of Graves and Simon, it was actually nice to be living here, taking the time out to relax and be peaceful. Astrid knew she couldn’t settle here forever – there was a big wide world out there, waiting for her to discover it, and have some fun with her gorgeous fiancé. But those adventures could wait until the New Year.
Astrid was looking forward to seeing Emma tomorrow, to find out what her first term at art college had been like – to see what she thought of NYC. It sounded as if she’d been having fun. Astrid had been keeping busy too, working on creating her charity to support victims of domestic abuse. It was great to have the financial sponsorship of Adam and Dylan Quinlan…
It was hard work, and could be very intense. But she’d never been so fulfilled. And Jake was supportive in so many ways.
There was one type of support in particular she loved, and she was hoping to engage in it soon. Preferably right now. She smiled to herself and pulled her raincoat tight around her body…
The local police station was small and neat – far too constrictive for the current acting-sheriff. But this guy was good under that tough exterior, and he had the interests of the town at heart.
