Under Cover
Page 15
He dropped his gaze. "And by this afternoon... I should have told you then. But I was so hurt. After all we'd been through—finding you like that, seeing you look at me with such disgust in your eyes—it was a shock. And I guess I figured that if I couldn't have your trust voluntarily I didn't want it at all."
"David," she said softly. "You took an awful chance. If I had gone to the department with what I knew— We might not have been able to make a bust, but we could have blown your whole operation."
He nodded soberly. "I guess my superiors—if I ever tell them—would consider that a drastic error in judgment. But I haven't been thinking too clearly since I met you. And somehow I knew you wouldn't go to the department."
"I should have."
"Yes, you should have. I guess both of us have been acting a little less like cops than we should. It takes something very powerful to overcome that many years of training, Teale."
"I'm glad," she whispered, "that we found it."
She lifted her face to him, and they kissed. Their joining was long and lingering and full of promise, and when they-parted they knew it was only the beginning.
David stroked her hair. "What I said this afternoon, Teale, I meant it. There were times during this last operation when I came closer to blowing it than I ever had in my life. I came into it pretty burned out,I guess, and I was ready to quit. But knowing you gave me back something of myself, the parts I thought I had lost. Thank you for that, Teale."
"You've given me something, too, David. With my father...something inside me was crippled, and I thought I'd never get over it. But this time—" she smiled at him, faintly, and touched her fingers to his face "—I got it right. That makes it better, somehow."
He drew her into his arms again, and she lay still and content against the beat of his heart.
"I'm taking a year off," he said, after a time, "to rest and regroup, and maybe find out what it feels like to be a real person for a change, instead of always playing an undercover role."
Teale nodded against his shoulder. "What have you decided to do about the house?"
"I close the deal in thirty days." His finger touched her chin, tipping her head back to look at him. His eyes were dark and sincere. "But I told you once I don't intend to live there alone."
Teale's heart was thumping erratically. "Is that a proposal?"
"No. This is. Teale," he said softly, "will you marry me?"
Her eyes searched his face, hardly daring to believe the love she saw there or the happiness that swelled her own heart. "It's a very important decision, choosing a partner."
"Yes," he agreed soberly. "My life will be in your hands—and yours in mine.”
“I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather place my life," she whispered.
"Nor I, mine."
He drew her into his arms again, and she came willingly, holding on to him, sharing a kiss that sealed a promise.
After a long time they turned and, arms entwined, went back into the empty house.
####
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I hope you’ve enjoyed UNDER COVER, part of my “Romance Revisited” series, in which I’ve taken some of my favorite romance novels from the nineties, updated and revised them, and given them a second chance at finding readers like you to love them. I adore Teale and David’s story (I mean, really, could there be a more unlikely couple than a cop and the criminal she’s sworn to convict?), and if you did too, you might also enjoy the other romances in this collection:
MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER
He was a cowboy looking for a wife. She was a lady specializing in brides. They were made for each other... They just didn't know it yet.
A MAN AROUND THE HOUSE
He made the beds, did the dishes, repaired the roof and managed her finances. He was the answer to a busy working woman's dreams. But was he too good to be true?
FOR KEEPS
He's an animal trainer who lives by one rule: never get attached. She's a social worker who knows all too well the price of getting involved. It may take an entire menagerie to bring them together, but eventually they both must learn that sometimes it's for keeps.
STEALING SAVANNAH
He was a reformed jewel thief now turned security expert and her job depended on his expertise. But could he be trusted not to steal the most valuable jewel of all-- her heart?
CAST ADRIFT
She was a marine biologist on short deadline to find a very important dolphin, with no time to waste on romance. He was a sailor who knew there could only be one captain on his ship-- himself. But two weeks at sea together could change everything...
THE STORMRIDERS
They were thunder and lightning when they were married, and their divorce does not appear to be any less tumultuous. But when they are thrown together in the midst of a deadly blizzard with an entire community depending upon them for survival, they quickly learn that the things worth fighting for are the only things worth saving.
If you enjoy these books, let me know at www.donnaball.net. Meantime, happy reading!
Donna Ball
Also by Donna Ball, in print and e-book editions:
A Year on Ladybug Farm
At Home on Ladybug Farm
Love Letters from Ladybug Farm
for every woman who ever had a friend... or a dream
Keys to the Castle
A fairy tale for grown ups
and
The Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series
Smoky Mountain Tracks
Rapid Fire
Gun Shy