Claudia.
“Rio. Can you meet me in Colt’s office in five?”
“Will do.” He finished up the last paragraph on the report and clicked Save. He thought he’d have more of a feeling of satisfaction than he did at the moment.
Claudia was already in Colt’s office, seated in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Rio nodded to Colt and her.
“Good morning.”
“Have a seat, Rio.” Colt sipped his coffee, his expression relaxed.
Why did it feel as if he was about to be chastised?
“Colt tells me that you haven’t spoken to Kayla since she’s been home, Rio. It’s been two weeks. She’s going back to work at the shop tomorrow.”
“That’s great news. She’s a tough woman.”
Colt and Claudia exchanged a glance that made Rio go cold.
“Is this a meeting to tell me how to run my personal business? I’m an SVPD detective and a Trail Hiker, but my personal life is mine.”
“To a point, yes.” Claudia shifted in her seat so that she could face Rio head-on. “Your well-being is definitely our concern, as is any Trail Hiker’s. Kayla and you need each other, Rio. Tell me you don’t already know that.”
“I know I need her, but she doesn’t need me, not if I can’t be there for her in her time of need.”
“You were there for her. Knock off the martyrdom, Rio. We were all there. The actions of a murderer are never predictable. Have you thought about that?”
Rio gritted his teeth and counted to five before he responded.
“I should have stopped the entire mess.”
“Nonsense.” Claudia picked at something on her pant leg. “You’re not giving Kayla any credit here, Rio. She’s a trained Trail Hiker, even if she’s a novice, and she knew how to handle Cynthia. She kept herself alive.”
“We can argue about this all day.” Colt cleared his throat. “You know I’m not one for getting too personal, but I’m going to tell you this, Rio. If you don’t go after Kayla now, before she gets so pissed off at you for not being there these past two weeks, you’ll regret it down the road. If not sooner.”
Claudia’s eyes were filled with concern, but also...was that amusement? At his angst?
“Colt’s right. It’s time for you to take a breather, Detective Ortega. Take a week and get some R & R. Maybe think about taking Kayla with you. She’s only going to work part-time at the shop for the first few weeks, and I’m sure she could be convinced to get some relaxation herself.”
He looked at Claudia, then Colt. Neither budged and their expressions remained neutral. Maybe a little bit encouraging.
“Fine.” He stood up. “I’ll take a week off. But I can’t promise anything else.”
* * *
Kayla stopped to catch her breath at the workbench in the back room. She’d hired another assistant and a delivery person with Jenny’s help. Miranda was learning the front register this morning under Jenny’s careful eye.
It felt a bit unbelievable that she’d been working as a Trail Hiker agent at the Charbonneau wedding only two weeks ago.
The bucket of peonies at her feet reminded her of the flowers Claudia had sent while she was in the hospital.
Her side still ached where the knife had pierced through the Kevlar and resulted in a collapsed lung.
She turned to get Jenny or Miranda and almost slammed into a large man. It was the best pain she’d felt in weeks.
Rio.
“Hi, Kayla.”
“Will you ever not sneak up on me?”
“Jenny let me back here.”
She looked at him, careful not to meet his eyes right away. He was the same and smelled the same. As she gathered the courage to meet his eyes, she saw something she’d never noticed in him before. Uncertainty.
“What do you want, Rio?”
“I was hoping I’d catch you on a break or even lunch. We need to talk.”
“You could have called.” Irritation trickled into her awareness of him. “A week ago, or better, two, you could’ve called. Or come over to my house and talked to me. I was pretty much stuck on the sofa, watching NCIS reruns with my parents.”
“I met them.” His eyes had a strange light. “They’re very nice. And very devoted to you.”
She shrugged. “Whatever.”
He rocked back on his heels, his hands in his pockets. “Can I take you to lunch?”
“What’s the point? Do you want to hash out the details of the case, for closure? I already did that with Claudia.” Of course he knew that, she was certain. “You’ll be relieved I don’t have to do another Trail Hikers mission—” she lowered her voice “—unless I want to.”
“Do you?”
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.
He gave her a slow once-over, leaving no inch of her unexposed to his sexy stare. She’d missed him so much when he’d cut off communication these past two weeks. He hadn’t answered her texts or visited, except for the hospital vigil that had made him sainted to her family.
It was no use. She was still hot for Rio.
“What?” She wiped her brow with her gloved hand and attempted an insouciant stance.
“Come to lunch with me.”
She took off her gloves slowly. Why make it easy for him? “Fine.”
He drove them to a local park that was known for its magnificent views of the valley and Appalachian Mountains that surrounded them. They walked a short distance to a picnic table, Rio carrying a cooler.
“Did you pack a lunch for us?” She was impressed with his forethought, but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of saying so.
“I did. But we’re going to do something fun, Kayla. I think we’ve both learned how short life can be.” As soon as she was seated on the bench next to him, he opened the cooler and pulled out two bowls, into which he scooped vanilla ice cream, then sprinkled some nuts and topped it all with canned whipped cream.
“Those look delicious. Who needs lunch?”
“Wait. We’re missing the best part.” He took a thermos out of the other bag he’d had slung over his shoulder and poured hot fudge over their concoctions.
“You did this all yourself?” She didn’t mean to sound so doubtful of his culinary skills, but the only skills of Rio’s that she’d seen in action were lovemaking and law enforcing.
“Why are you blushing?” His low voice was gentle, and when he touched her cheek she blinked back a tear.
“I hardly know you.”
“I know, and that’s going to change. Consider this our first date.”
“Haven’t we kind of fast-forwarded through that already?” Was he thinking they weren’t going to make love again until they knew each other better?
“Some parts, yes. Other parts, we could use some catching up. I want to know why you chose flowers for a living, why you’ve stayed in Silver Valley apart from the fact that you didn’t want to move around anymore. I want to know how it is a local boy like me has fallen for an international girl. I want to know what kind of wedding you want and how many of my kids you’re willing to have. If any.” He grinned and dug into his sundae.
She couldn’t think of eating her ice cream. Not yet.
“Did you just say...”
“I did. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Kayla. I couldn’t come here sooner, come to you earlier, because I had to get over my stupid pride.” His eyes grew somber and her stomach flipped. “When I saw you lying on the ground, maybe bleeding out, I felt as if I’d failed you on so many levels. I never want to feel that way again. I love you, Kayla, and I’ll wait as long as it takes to convince you that we belong together.”
She couldn’t see him very well as his face shimmered through her tears.
“I
love you, Rio. I wanted to tell you after the wedding. I thought we’d have time. And then when I blacked out, I was certain I’d missed my chance. That we’d had the only chance we were going to have.”
He put down his spoon and drew her close to him, caressing her jaw with his fingers. “We’ve got this chance, Kayla, and I’m not going to let it escape me. I love you, darling.” He kissed her then, and it was so tender it released something in Kayla and more tears slid down her cheeks. Rio’s rough fingers wiped her face and he smiled against her lips. “Don’t cry, babe. This is our happy ending.”
She laughed and for the first time in two weeks, it didn’t hurt.
“It’ll never end for us, Rio. This is where we start.” She kissed him. “Together.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488004919
Wedding Takedown
Copyright © 2016 by Geri Krotow
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN-13: 9781460395110
Copyright © 2016 Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Cowboy at Arms
Copyright © 2016 by Carla Bracale
Colton Baby Homecoming
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Lara Kingeter for her contribution to The Coltons of Texas miniseries.
Her Secret Spy
Copyright © 2016 by Cynthia Dees
Wedding Takedown
Copyright © 2016 by Geri Krotow
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Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2016 Box Set Page 88