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“Summer is a miracle worker,” I told him.
Kace reached out and rubbed a rough hand down my soft cheek, causing shivers to race through my whole body. “Sweetheart, you are always beautiful to me. Even without all this,” he said, dropping his hand and motioning to my face and clothes.
“Looks like both me and Summer were right. Now you two get on out of here and enjoy your dinner,” Alley told us.
“Don’t gloat, baby,” Landon told his wife affectionately. She just smirked at him with love in her eyes.
Those two, in fact, all the couples in my life were the picture of what happiness looked like.
I was struggling with leaving Denver at all, but I trusted my friends. We were just going to dinner for a few hours and then coming back to watch a movie at the house so I wasn’t away from him for too long. Kace would have been okay to go out and bring him with us, but I decided to let it just be the two of us and see what a real date would feel like.
“You ready?”
I nodded as Kace placed his hand on my lower back. But instead of steering me toward the door, he took us toward my sweet child. As I watched him kiss his little head and say goodbye, I thought for a moment my heart would never recover. Realization at that moment smacked me square in the face.
Kace loves my son.
Taking my son from Summer, I also said my goodbyes, and then doubts about leaving him once again crept in.
“If you want to take him with us we can, sweetheart.”
Everyone around us stayed silent, not giving me a hard time, but probably understanding what I was going through. In the end, I placed Denver in Alley’s arms since she was staying.
“Take good care of him,” I told her.
“With my life,” she answered back.
Everyone told us to have a good time and then we were heading out the door. Kace grabbed my hand and with our fingers twined together, we made our way outside.
The cool night air hit me as we made our way through the parking lot and I was glad for the warm cardigan that was paired with the maroon-colored dress that hit just above my knees. The tall brown boots also helped to keep the cold out.
Kace dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his body heat warming like a furnace. We got to the passenger side of his truck and he opened the door and helped me up inside, then ran around the front of the vehicle and got in.
“This is the best date I have ever been on,” he said, turning toward me instead of starting the car.
I giggled, “Kace we haven’t even left yet, how would you know?”
“Because I’m withyou.”
Then as if he hadn’t just said the sweetest thing, he turned back in his seat and started the truck, pulling out of the lot. Grabbing my hand and enfolding in his own, he laid them on his thigh.
I had to agree with him.
If all we had done was make it to the parking lot, it would still be the best date ever.
And there had still been more to come.
* * *
Dinner wasamazing and so was the company.
With my feelings for Kace growing and after we arrived home, I had known it was probably not the right time, but I felt like I needed to show him the pictures and bare my soul even more than I already had.
I wanted to move forward with him but things were keeping me stuck.
Most everything was out in the open except for the gruesome photos and one other bit of info. What my husband did for a living. I hadn’t told anyone that he was a cop. Since I had been with Thad that had only brought more hardship. Everyone believed, trusted, and adored him. Those who saw through him or knew who he truly was, were his allies.
Being a cop had always been his advantage.
