Chapter 69
Andi and Duke still hadn’t had their talk.
Too much had happened.
The good news was that, thanks to Matthew’s computer skills, Kate had been found—and she was okay. A little malnourished and dehydrated, but nothing she wouldn’t recover from. It could have been much worse. Andi had even chatted with her on the phone for a few minutes.
After all that happened, they still had the Barstow event the next morning.
This had become so routine, Andi’s body moved on muscle memory alone.
Then they left to head to Vegas, arriving at the hotel well after dark.
She was halfway through kicking off her shoes when her phone buzzed. It was Duke.
Can we talk?
She stared at the message for a long moment. This was it. The moment he’d tell her the truth. The moment she’d learn what his secret was.
She typed back:
Yes. Meet in the lobby in ten minutes?
He agreed. She quickly freshened up and then headed downstairs.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him waiting for her. He wore a suit—and looked dashing—with his barely there beard, clean hair, and bright eyes.
In his hands, he held a bouquet of white roses.
The two of them had bonded so quickly, so deeply.
She couldn’t imagine her future without him.
Tension filled her at the thought. What if this talk devastated her? What if it changed the course of their future?
Would he be wearing a suit and holding flowers if that were the case?
Most likely not.
Still, a speck of doubt and worry remained.
He offered his hand. “I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? I’m not sure I can handle any more surprises.”
“I hope you’ll like this one.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
He led her through the hotel, past restaurants and slot machines and showgirls.
Then they stepped outside into the warm Vegas night, past fountains and music and crowds that pulsed with energy she felt separate from, as if she were watching through glass.
The Eiffel Tower rose ahead of them, lit against the dark sky.
She stopped and sucked in a breath as she looked up at it in awe.
“You like it?” Duke murmured.
“It may not be the real Eiffel Tower, but it’s stunning.”
Duke’s mouth curved. “Come on.”
He took her hand and led her inside a nearby building.
They rode the elevator up. When the doors opened, a breeze swept over the platform, lifting her hair and cooling her skin as they stepped out.
Vegas stretched in every direction—neon and motion and noise softened by distance.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Duke turned to her.
He took her hands, steady and warm, and lowered himself to one knee.
Andi’s breath caught.
Her heart slammed so hard she felt it in her throat.
“This.” He pulled a small box from his pocket. “This is the secret I’ve been keeping.”
He opened it.
The ring nestled inside caught the light—simple and elegant, old and new at the same time.
Her vision blurred as emotion swept over her.
“Celeste had it.” Duke’s voice stayed calm, but emotion threaded through it. “It’s been in my family for generations. I’ve been trying to get it back.”
“That’s what those texts were about?” Her voice came out at a squeak.
“Yes, that’s what the texts were about. I had trouble catching up with Celeste, and then I had to figure out how to have the ring delivered. It just came by courier last night. I didn’t think I’d get it in time.”
Andi pressed her free hand to her mouth.
“I remember you told me you’ve always wanted to go to Paris,” Duke said. “You said it seems like the most romantic place on earth. I can’t take you there. Not yet. But this felt like the next best thing.”
“Oh, Duke . . .”
He looked up at her, eyes steady, certain, open in a way that undid her. “I remember when we first met on the Dalton Highway. I thought you were beautiful and fascinating as you stood beside your semi in the middle of a blizzard.”
“Then someone began shooting at us.”
“And that seemed to set the tone of our entire relationship.”
She chuckled, unable to argue.
“Then we kept getting thrown together. Butting heads. You weren’t afraid to stand up to me and could hold your own ground. I loved—and love—that about you.”
She smiled at the memories.
“But we were two broken people,” Duke continued. “You were searching for vengeance for everything that happened in Texas. I was searching for Celeste, needing some closure. And we both realized that we were better together. Our strengths and weaknesses complimented each other.”
“They still do,” Andi murmured, this whole conversation still feeling surreal.
“Everything became clear to me after our investigation into Nursy Mercy. After that, I finally knew we could move forward.”
She repressed a shudder at the thought of that case.
She’d thought she was going to die. And, indeed, everything had become much clearer after that.
“Throughout all of that—we’ve had enough adventures to fill a lifetime it seems—one thing became certain to me.
I don’t want to sound cheesy. I really don’t.
But I feel like our relationship has been like a compass needle navigating a magnetic storm.
Though the pull of the past initially kept us spinning in circles, we eventually found the true north in each other once the interference was cleared. ”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “I don’t know about cheesy, but that’s beautiful, Duke. And so true.”
He held up the ring. “Andi Slade, will you marry me?”
The world narrowed to that moment. To the man in front of her. To the life waiting on the other side of fear and chaos and near misses.
“Yes.” The word burst free, whole and unguarded. “Yes.”
He stood, the ring cool against her finger as he slid it into place.
His hands framed her face.
Then he kissed her, and the world melted away.
Until applause broke out.
Andi stepped back and laughed as the sound wrapped around them.
Without looking, she knew exactly who the sounds belonged to.
Mariella stepped from the shadows first, clapping and grinning. Simmy followed, eyes bright. Ranger nodded once, approval written all over his face. Matthew wiped at his eyes but pretended not to.
Andi leaned into Duke, overwhelmed in the best possible way.
She had not expected this.
And she was totally okay with being surprised.
Then she saw the elevator door open and the figure standing there.
Her breath caught.
Was that . . . ?
It was.
She let out a gasp. “Dad?”
He was here. In Vegas.
He crossed the distance in three long steps, arms already opening.
Andi rushed into them. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
“Duke asked me to come,” he murmured.
“I’ve missed you,” she said into his shoulder, her voice thick with emotion.
“I wasn’t missing this show for anything.”
Andi laughed, tears slipping free now without resistance.
“I brought some energy drinks to celebrate!” Mariella announced. “I even bedazzled the cans!”
Everyone let out a groan then laughed.
For a moment—just one—the noise of Vegas faded. The past loosened its grip. The future opened wide and bright.
And standing there beneath a borrowed Parisian skyline, with Duke’s hand warm in hers, Andi let herself relax as all the world felt perfect.
~~~
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