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His low words snapped her lips shut. He walked the flowers to the kitchen counter, set them down, then returned to her to cup her cheek and cover her lips with his in a not-so-subtle kiss. In fact, the sparks raging between them were enough to make her decide to build a dang den fort every day from now on. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lost herself in the simple joy of being in his arms. And not being afraid to let him know how much she wanted to be there.
He pulled back—much too soon in her opinion—and grinned down at her. “You’re amazing and I love you, Raina.”
She swallowed. “Oh, Vince...”
He pressed a finger to her well-kissed lips. “Hold on, I need to say this, and if you stop me, I might lose my nerve. That night in the condo, when you mentioned moving to Florida, I immediately wondered how long it would take for a transfer to go through.” He cleared his throat. “That’s when I knew without a doubt that I was head over heels in love with you and wanted my future to include you. My forever to be our forever. And I know your name is Brianne, but you’ll always be Raina to me.”
With her heart in her throat and unable to speak, she kissed him again. Finally, she found her voice. “It’s okay. I like Raina better than I ever liked Brianne.” She wasn’t talking about the name and he knew it. “I love you too, Vince. More than I ever thought I would love someone. With Kevin I thought I knew what love was.” She shook her head. “But this emotion racing through me is more than anything I’ve ever known. And it’s more than just a feeling. It’s a decision. I want to love you. I want to be with you. I want everything that comes with a relationship. The ups and downs and working together through the good times and bad.”
“Bad times? Downs?”
She wrinkled her nose at him, and he smiled. “Yeah. I want that too.”
“To be honest, I never expected to allow myself to love anyone again, but you didn’t give me much choice in the matter.”
His smug look tugged the laughter from her, then she sobered. “I know I made things very difficult for you in the beginning, but I was scared, unable to trust you or God or anyone else really. But, your faithfulness—and determination—in watching out for me, being there, is really what won me over. That, and the fact that you saved my life.” She cleared her throat. “I’m glad Leslie Baldridge isn’t going to die. I’m glad she has a chance to repent and make things right in her life before she has to stand before God.”
“Her choices have certainly not been good. Let’s pray she makes better ones from here on out. I did hear that her husband, Christopher, is divorcing her even though he’s been arrested for helping Keith—Kevin—hisbrothercover up the killings.”
“His political career is shot for now. You think they’ll be able to prove he knew what his wife was doing and add charges for that?”
“I don’t know. Watching the media footage of everything, I’m leaning toward he didn’t know. She had her own money and paid that guy to do her dirty work. I honestly think he was clueless about that.”
“I still can’t believe that man killed Trent.” She sighed. “I feel so bad about that.”
“If only he’d gone to the authorities, it might have ended differently—and a lot sooner.”
“He was scared. When we’re scared and feel trapped, we can make bad decisions. Which circles us back to Leslie.”
“She felt trapped. If it had gotten out about Keith—and it would have—her husband’s career would have been toast.”
“Which it is. And now her marriage—and life—are too.”
“And all of that is good news. I have one more question for you.”
“Sure.”
“You’ve never mentioned trying to get custody of Michael back. You’ve seen him and you were able to walk away.” His hand gripped hers. “Are you okay?”
She smiled, her heart still so full of joy with the time she’d spent with Michael and his parents. “I’m so very okay. I would never pull him away from all he’s ever known, but the fact that I get to be in his life is a miraculous answer to prayer and I’m so blessed by that. So, yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. I thought that’s how you felt but wanted to make sure. But now...”
“Now?”
He gripped her biceps and pulled her toward the fort. “I want to see inside this masterpiece.”
She laughed and followed him in, watching him take in the details. “This is awesome, Raina. Truly awesome.” He settled onto the pillows in front of the television and pulled her down next to him. She settled her head on his chest and breathed in his scent. Soap and a woodsy aftershave filled her senses.
He kissed her temple and snuggled her close. “So, I want to forget all about threats and killers and dangerous situations and focus on us.”
“Us?”
“Us.” He tilted her chin up and lowered his lips to hers.
Until the knock on the door stilled them both. “Who’s that?” he whispered, his warm breath tickling her lips. “You expecting company?”
“No.”
