Annabel would not have believed that the next few weeks could pass so quickly—or so delightfully. But they did, because she was with Cole, and because the thing that had always been missing in her life, the thing she hadn't even known she needed in order to make herself complete, was now hers. She was in love with a good man who loved her equally in return. That was all that mattered.
Which didn't mean she hadn't been somewhat embarrassed to return to Mrs. Noone's house the day after that first night she and Cole spent together. To Annabel's surprise, she'd found that she was taking on some of the morality of the period, and was worried that Mrs. Noone and Lucius would think that she was now a fallen woman.
As it had turned out, however, Mrs. Noone was delighted for her. "Don't think that just because people put up a facade of so-called respectability, my dear, that we're all hidebound puritans," the elderly lady had said. "Why, things have gone on in this town that would shock you! Cole Brady is a good, decent young man, and you're a wonderful young lady. I think the two of you make an absolutely lovely couple."
"So do I," Annabel had admitted with a smile.
"You'll maintain your room here, of course, for appearance's sake, but don't worry about paying for it. All I want in return is an invitation to the wedding."
Wedding? Neither she nor Cole had mentioned anything about marriage, Annabel had thought. But at the same time, she couldn't imagine ever being separated from him, so she supposed a wedding was an inevitability. And Mrs. Noone didn't seem to doubt for a second that one would take place.
Annabel had smiled and said, "Of course."
She had moved most of her things to Cole's house, Lucius delivering the trunks and telling her somewhat awkwardly, "If that young man ever does less than right by you, Miss Lowell, please inform me immediately so that I may have the pleasure of thrashing him for you."
"I don't think you have to worry about that, Lucius," Annabel had told him With a smile before leaning, over to kiss his weathered cheek.
Since then, Annabel had settled in at Cole's house. She had a room of her own on the second floor—again for appearance's sake, for she seldom used it The cook and the housekeeper had grown accustomed to her being there, and a tentative truce existed between Annabel and the two servants.
As for what existed between her and Cole . . . Well, that was a continuous source of wonderment and joy for Annabel. She had never dreamed of being so happy. Day and night, her thoughts were of him. He seemed to fill her senses, even when he wasn't there. His presence lingered in the air long after he had gone to the firehouse. And when he came back, she was waiting for him, and the lovemaking was always fresh, spontaneous, and utterly satisfying.
She could get used to this, Annabel found herself thinking on more than one occasion.
As for Cole, he still seemed to be a little puzzled by her decision not to push the issue of joining the fire department right away. Annabel hadn't decided what she was going to do in the long run, but Cole's sweet offer to give up his own career as a fireman had led her to the belief that it wouldn't hurt to postpone the issue for a while, primarily because she didn't want career decisions to interfere with the newfound sensation of being completely in love with a man. She worried a little that the values of Cole's time period were seducing her, but for now, she didn't care all that much. Not as long as she could continue seducing Cole.
The only thing that interfered with this idyllic period was the trouble on the waterfront.
Several more fires had broken out in the warehouse district, and each time at least one building had been destroyed before the fire department could bring things under control. Another warehouse belonging to Tobin had burned to the ground, and the other buildings also belonged to Cole's competitors. In each case, an eyewitness or some other bit of evidence had proven that the fires had been deliberately set. No more of Garrett Ingersoll's warehouses had been targeted, but that hadn't stopped the man from agitating among his fellow businessmen and pointing the finger of suspicion at Cole.