Chapter 42
Later, back in the cozy attic room of the Sunderland cottage, Tina snuggled next to Jack. Sure, it felt like sweet redemption to crack a major international drug smuggling ring. And yes, giving Marigold the opportunity to arrest her runaway bridegroom was quite satisfying.
But by far, the best part of the aftermath of the Night Light bust was that she and Jack agreed that they might love each other. For real. They were both fully onboard with exploring how deep that went. They were already working on creative ways to be together.
“I can commute,” he insisted. “When we aren’t shooting, I can live anywhere.”
“That’s sweet. But maybe I want to watch you shoot.” She rolled on top of him, loving the feel of his long body under hers.
“You can watch me any time you want. I’ll fly you to the set. You can stay in my trailer. You can be my own private personal consultant.”
“How personal are we talking?”
“The naked kind of personal, of course. Goddamn, you’re sexy.” He skimmed his hands along her sides and ended with his hands on her bare ass. “How’d I get so lucky?”
“I don’t believe in luck.”
“Fate, then?”
“Maybe.” She propped her forearms on his chest and thought it over.
“Or maybe things just happen and you work with them. Even the traumatic things. If I hadn’t witnessed that corrupt sheriff as a kid, I never would have become a police officer, which means I never would have come to Sea Smoke Island and wound up chasing the same guy as you. ”
He caressed the curve of her shoulder. “So we have Marigold’s broken heart to thank?”
“Yeah, that seems kind of unfair. She gets dumped, we get together.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair.” Smiling ruefully, he found that super-sensitive spot on her back and stroked it lightly until she squirmed. “We should make it up to her.”
“Well, I did make sure she got credit for how much she helped in the investigation. She even got offered a job in the Harbortown police department.”
“Is she going to take it?”
“I don’t know. She’s thinking about it. She’s also trying to screw up the courage to start dating again. Talk about traumatized.”
“She’s like a Viking goddess, she should have no trouble meeting a non-smuggling wierdo. She just needs to get off this island—hey, that’s it! We’ll give her a vacation.”
Tina burst out laughing. “You’re a genius. Hey, it worked for me. Took a vacation, found the light of my life.”
His eyes darkened, turning serious as they gazed into hers. “The light of your life?”
She shrugged. If that was going too far, so be it. She was that far gone. No going back now. “Quite possibly,” she said simply.
“Good to hear.” A slow smile spread across his face and his gray eyes gleamed. “Because I know the perfect place for a honeymoon. It’s up on the cliffs, very exclusive, nice bathtub, only that one murder—”
She interrupted him with a surprise pounce and a tickle. “One step at a time, please. Don’t rush me. I only just joined the dark side.”
“The dark side?” He lifted his eyebrows.
“Yeah. You know. Love and romance and all that kind of thing.”
He laughed, then kept laughing, until they dove into a deep kiss, and she wondered if she should consider adding “happy ever after” to life on the dark side.
Thank you so much for reading!