She entwined her fingers with his and cuddled closer. “I’m leaning on you so hard. So many men would crumble.”
“I’m not any man.” He lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers. “And you are a hell of a woman.”
“I love you.” The words came easier these days. The relationship was still so new, but she didn’t have to wait and see. She didn’t need time to pass. This was forever love. The type where they grew old together and made each other better.
“And I love you,” he said in a husky tone.
She couldn’t believe how the phrase rolled out of him. How she could see it in everything he did for her, how he held her. “Don’t stop.”
“Never.”
“I believe you.” Her trust was low right now. It was so hard to believe in anything. To keep her balance and not lose who she was. But not when it came to him. He didn’t lie to her or make promises he couldn’t keep. He put her first and showed her every day that she could depend on him. That he needed her.
His smile grew even wider. “That sounds like a pretty great start to me.”
“Take me home.” Not because she was anxious or twitchy about being out around people. She wanted to be alone with him. Climb into bed and stay there for hours.
His head dipped until his hair brushed against hers. “Are you feeling a little naughty?”
“I guess we’ll have to go home and see.”
His eyebrow lifted. “To our home?”
He’d asked her to officially move in. To let her apartment go and stay. She requested time to think, but she no longer needed it. Not after nights with him and days roaming around the house. They worked better together. They would survive the rest of the fallout and the dangers of his job and the pressure of life by leaning on each other. She didn’t want to give up one minute with him.
“Yeah, to our home.”
He let out a long breath as a look of satisfaction settled on his face. “I’ve been waiting to hear that.”
“I needed some time.” Not to figure out her feelings for him, but for everything else.
“I’ll give you forever.”
She took that deal.
Acknowledgments
After years of writing about fictional undercover operatives—and loving it!—I was ready for a change. That led to the Games People Play series, filled with mysterious men, strong women, and cold cases. It’s been a dream to write these books, and I truly hope readers enjoy them, too. Thank you for trying The Fixer.
I owe a huge thank you to my amazing editor, May Chen, for being so supportive. When I said I wanted to try something new with less of a body count, you told me to send some paragraphs . . . then you loved the idea. Your enthusiasm and expertise never cease to amaze me. You make my writing life so much easier.
I also want to thank my agent, Laura Bradford, for all the handholding and the “of course you need to write this series!” cheerleading. I’m so happy to have you on my team.
Big kisses and hugs to Jill Shalvis for doing an early read of the first few chapters and telling me to stop worrying and get busy writing. You always say the right thing.
Thank you to everyone on Team Avon for making the book better, for selling it, for getting the word out there. You guys are the best!
And, as always, love to James.