ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE
Page 7
“Someone in the super-secret government agency you work for?”
“Something like that,” Kai said with a snort.
“Then what happened?” Tilly asked.
“As the plane flew over the Atlantic Ocean, I had a revelation.” Kai frowned. “An epiphany? Could be I just pulled my head out of my backside.”
“Such a nice backside,” Tilly said, running a hand over her butt.
“Thank you.” Kai grinned. “Either way, I realized in ten short days, everything changed.”
“How, Kai?” Tilly looked deep into her eyes, his heart beating a mile a minute. “Would you be happy here? With me?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “Now I have a question for you. Would you be happy running around the world? With me?”
“Yes.” Tilly didn’t need to think twice.
“Good answer.” Kai gave him a short but thorough kiss. “Last question. For now. Can you think of any reason we shouldn’t have both?”
Tilly blinked, unable to speak because Kai had just blown his mind. He’d imagined a couple of scenarios where they were together. Either he left Eatonville to be with her. Or, she gave up her life of adventure and settled down with him. The idea of combining the two never occurred to him.
Obviously, Kai’s nimble brain was so far ahead of his, it was scary. Tilly grinned. He’d always known she was the perfect combination of brains and beauty.
“The best of both worlds,” Tilly said. “Chasing bad guys. Jumping out of planes.”
“Fourth of July picnics. Sunday family dinners. Holidays with friends.” Kai cleared her throat. “Well? What do you think?”
“I can’t say yes.”
“Oh.” Kai seemed to deflate before his eyes. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t.” Tilly shook his head. “You didn’t let me finish. I can’t say yes until I know one thing.”
“Another question?” Kai’s blue eyes filled with hope. “Let me have it.”
“Kai Northam.” Tilly took a deep breath. “Do you love me?”
Kai looked stunned.
“Didn’t I say?” she asked.
Tilly shook his head and waited.
“I fell in love with you the first time we met. And the second time. And the third.” Shaking her head, Kai smiled. “I wasn’t ready to admit my feelings. Not to you, or myself. I almost made the same mistake a fourth time, proving older isn’t always wiser.”
“What made this time any different?” Tilly asked.
“You. Me. Everything.” Kai touched his cheek. “For whatever reason, this time, I couldn’t walk away.”
“I’m glad.” Tilly laughed at the understatement of the century. “I’m thrilled. Ecstatic. Over the moon.”
“In other words, you’re happy?” Kai teased.
“In every word,” he assured her.
Kai lay her head on his shoulder, the fingers of her left hand linked with his right.
“Once I knew what I wanted, getting to you was the only problem. Seemed important to be here before midnight. So, I stole a plane and—”
“Wait.” Tilly chuckled, certain he misheard. “You stole a plane?”
“Borrowed is a better word,” she said. “Didn’t need a pilot, since I’m licensed.”
“Of course, you are.” Tilly didn’t know why he was surprised.
“I called in a few favors, had the private jet refueled, submitted a flight plan, and ta-da.” Kai spread her arms. “Here I am.”
“Why weren’t you arrested as soon as the plane landed?”
“I’m a valuable asset,” Kai shrugged. “People looked the other way.”
“Valuable, huh?” Tilly asked. “To our government?”
“Mm.”
“Okay,” he said.
“No more questions?” Kai smiled. “The subject is closed?”
“Almost.” Tilly took her chin between his fingers. Again, he looked into her incredibly blue eyes. “Do you love me?”
“I already told you,” Kai insisted.
“You didn’t say the words.”
“How remiss of me.” Kai wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Jedidiah Tillman. For ten years, you’ve had my heart. Now, if you want, I’m yours. All of me. Forever.”
Every muscle in Tilly’s body relaxed.
“If?” he asked, kissing her forehead, her chin, her mouth. “I love you, Kai. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. All those years ago. Every day in between. Now and always.”
“Forever and always is a long time,” Kai warned, her eyes overflowing with love.
Tilly brushed her lips with his and sank into her warm embrace. Forever and always. He couldn’t wait.
EPILOGUE
♫~♫~♫
THE ROAR OF the plane’s engine made talking difficult. Not exactly first-class accommodations, the turboprop Cessna Caravan wasn’t used for pleasure trips. Used for transporting cargo to out of the way locations, the interior had been stripped down to the essentials—four less than comfortable seats and nothing else but open space.
Today, as the plane flew low over the mountains of Peru, the cargo consisted of two people. Apart from one other person, their destination was a mystery. In fact, their entire flight was off the record. Plausible deniability. A phrase everyone knew but thought twice about speaking aloud.
“Just putting this out there,” Tilly shouted. “But most couples spend their first wedding anniversary dining at a romantic restaurant. Or engaged in crazy, hanging from the rafters, sex.”
Kai double-checked the fastenings on her parachute. Doing the same to his, she glanced up and grinned.
“Since when are we most couples?”
Laughing, Tilly couldn’t argue. They were married in the spring, on the twenty-first of April, surrounded by friends and family. Kai carried daffodils as her bouquet, picked fresh that morning from their garden, their bright-green stems wrapped with white silk by Sawyer’s expert hands.
The vows they exchanged were traditional, some things needed no embellishments. Honor. Love. Cherish. Sickness and health. When Tilly teasingly asked if they should include the word obey, she was all for the idea. If he was the one who made the pledge.
Tilly and Kai settled down to married life with surprising ease. They had their minor squabbles. Nothing earth shattering. The best part was making up, something they did often, in every room of the house—fight or no fight.
Eatonville turned out to be a good fit for Kai. While Tilly kept his job as housekeeper for Beck and Sawyer, she spent her time immersed in the world of cybersecurity. Challenging, she was never bored. And the money was outrageously good.
Tilly joked that he had married Kai for her money. In truth, he was damn proud of her. Every day, in every way. She became a part of the Eatonville community, volunteering her time at the high school, teaching young women to be future badasses.
Seventy-five percent of the time, Tilly and Kai were a typical couple. Living the American dream and loving every second. The other twenty-five percent was another story altogether.
Whether on a job for her everyday boss or sliding under the radar to carry out a secret mission for the government, after seeing Kai in action, Tilly was more convinced than ever that she was a superhero. And he was more than happy to be her trusty sidekick.
Today, the assignment was to rescue a high-powered businessman. Held for ransom by a Columbian guerilla group, the United States wanted him back but couldn’t afford to piss off a South American ally by sending in a sanctioned military unit.
Enter Kai and Tilly.
“Kind of a big job for two people,” Tilly said.
“We’ll have support once we’re on the ground,” Kai assured him.
“Unofficial support?” Tilly asked. He knew how the process worked. Still, he couldn’t keep a trace of sarcasm from creeping into his voice.
“If you have any doubts, I’ll tell the pilot to t
urn back. Just say the word.”
Tilly could see the excitement in Kai’s eyes. She was happy with their life in Eatonville. Thrived on the stability and her growing group of friends. However, the need to look danger in the face was in her blood. Addictive. To his surprise, his joy, Tilly caught the fever.
“We’re in this together,” he said. “Always.”
“And forever.” Kai leaned in for a fast, hot kiss. Standing, she pulled on the side door. A rush of wind hit their faces. “Ready?”
“After you,” Tilly said.
“No.” Kai shook her head. “Together.”
A leap of faith, Tilly thought as he looked at the tree-covered terrain below. Like life. Like love. He and Kai were a team. Always and forever.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Ten years of ups, downs, and missed opportunities. Now, Tilly and Kai were together, and nothing would tear them apart. Gripping each other’s hands, grinning, they exchanged one more kiss, counted to three, and jumped.
COMING NEXT YEAR
FROM
MARY J. WILLIAMS
Beginning in April, look for a brand-new spinoff of the bestselling ONE PASS AWAY series. Football is still on the menu. However, ONE PASS AWAY—A NEW SEASON, will feature new characters, new love stories, and new heroes and heroines to fall in love with.
Don’t worry, the old gang is still around. While we catch up with Logan and Claire, Gaige and Violet, and Sean and Riley, they will be around to lend support and words of wisdom.
As a special bonus, in February, look for a quick peek into the married lives of Sean and Riley from AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.
Reformed man whore, Sean has settled into the role of husband and father with surprising ease. His wild days behind him, he’s content to love one woman for the rest of his life.
As for Riley, she still owns the Seattle Knights football team and is determined to keep them on top while holding her family together.
When an unexpected bit of drama puts a crimp in their perfect lives, Sean and Riley will have an important decision to make. After all the problems they overcame to be together, can their relationship survive another bump in the road?
A special Valentine to everyone who loved AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. Coming February 14th. AFTER ALL THIS TIME.
And look for book one of the new sports romance series, ONE PASS AWAY—A NEW SEASON. Coming in April.
♫~♫~♫
Don’t miss the other books in the Rock & Roll Forever Series
ALMOST PARADISE
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ALMOST BLUE
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ALMOST HOME
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ALMOST EVERYTHING
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You met The Ryder Hart Band. Curious about their love stories? The Hart of Rock and Roll series, all five books, in one amazing boxset, is only one click away. Grab your copy now.
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