Declan turned, and when he looked at me through those dark sapphire eyes, I lost my train of thought. I was pretty sure he was undressing me with his eyes. He walked over to me and slipped one hand to the small of my back. The warmth of his skin seeped through the thin fabric. He laced our fingers together with the other hand like he might slow dance with me.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said simply, my voice shaking slightly.
His lips lifted into a grin. “You’re trembling.”
“I have no idea why, but I’m nervous.”
“About what?”
“I have no idea. Maybe it was the doubt that had crept in and played mind tricks earlier.” More likely, it was the stress of tomorrow night’s party, but for some reason, I didn’t care to voice that to Declan. Even though he probably would never admit it—because he was the almighty Declan—he had to be at least a little nervous to meet my family.
He rested his forehead against mine. “I would marry you right now. You are perfect for me.”
I searched his eyes for any hint of uncertainty, but found none. “But I’m not perfect.”
“Neither am I. What’s your point?”
“My point is: I’ll never be perfect. I’ve made mistakes. I will make more.”
“So will I,” he said. “We will make a mess of things, and we’ll work to always forgive each other.” He took in a deep breath, then crushed his lips to mine. Unlike the earlier, gentle kiss, this one was passionate, urgent. Our teeth knocked, and I thought we might not stop. When he pressed his hand into my back, my dress rode up slightly.
But we had to stop. I had promised myself we would talk about Romeo. I broke the kiss and stepped back. “I have to tell you something.”
Declan dropped his hands to his sides, letting my dress slide back into place. He was breathing hard. “Tell me what?”
“Mike called me this morning. He gave me an update on Romeo and asked for my help.” The timing was never going to be good, so I just started blurting it out. “I planned to tell you before we left. I swear I did. But you were out of sorts, and I thought you were having an off day, left over from the shooting, maybe. And then I thought you might be having second thoughts about marrying me.”
“I told you—”
I held up a hand. “I know. And I promised I wouldn’t keep anything regarding Romeo secret again. But I have. I haven’t been investigating him or anything like that, but I’ve been cataloging what I know about him.”
“Cataloging. Is that what we’re calling it now?”
I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “Yes. But I didn’t do it to betray you.”
“Brooke—”
He tried to interrupt me, but I didn’t let him. “I did it just so I wouldn’t forget anything. I truly handed over everything to Mike, and I’ve allowed him to handle it all. I promised I would tell you if Romeo contacted me or if anything happened—”
“Brooke—”
“Wait. I’m not finished.”
Declan closed his mouth. A grin formed, but he immediately swallowed it back.
“I love you, Declan. I won’t do anything to hurt our relationship. If Romeo comes after me in any way, I will tell you. I will ask you for help. I won’t always tell you about cases at work that I’m working on because… that’s my work. But Romeo… Romeo is personal. I will not keep things that are personal to me… to us… a secret from you.”
“Are you finished?”
I nodded. “I am. For now.”
“I spoke with Mike.”
“I know. He texted me. And that’s not why I’m telling you all of this now. I planned to tell you all day. But I didn’t, because you were distracted and… well… I didn’t. And then you were trying to romance me, and I didn’t want to ruin the mood, and—”
Declan placed his forefinger on my lips. “My dear Brooke, will you please stop. You are not going to lose me. I am in this relationship one hundred percent for as long as we both shall live. I was angry at first, but I’m not now.”
I studied the intensity in his eyes.
“I’ve kept a secret from you as well,” he said. “It wasn’t something that I thought you needed to know, but it affects our home, so…”
“Our home?”
“Two of Aidan’s employees—employees who work on Shaughnessy—have gone missing.”
“Missing?”
“The police are investigating, but all we know is two employees went missing on two different days while on their way to work.”
“Why was this not in the news?”
“At first Aidan and David thought it was just a case of a Hispanic worker returning to Mexico, but when a second employee—this one not from Mexico—didn’t make it into work, they called the authorities.”
“Why would you keep this from me?” Did Declan think I wasn’t good at my job?
“I didn’t want to add to your stress this week… with all of your wedding planning and everything.”
The way he said “wedding planning” made me take a step back. I crossed my arms and considered how he’d reacted to my revelation that I’d been “cataloging” what I knew about Romeo. “You’ve seen my planner.”
His face revealed nothing. “Yes. I’ve seen your wedding planner. Creative, I must say.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Brooke, you and I are not a typical couple. You certainly aren’t typical. You work a high-risk job in law enforcement. I’m a very wealthy and public businessman. With both of those professions come certain threats.” He touched a finger to the diamond earrings I wore almost every day. They were wired with the smallest of GPS trackers, which Dimitri and Declan had promised they would access only in the case of an absolute emergency. “That’s why I’m glad you’ve agreed to wear these most of the time. I don’t want anything to happen to you, but if something did, I need to be able to find you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me.” I leaned into his touch to my cheek. “So are these employees the reason you were so distracted this morning?”
He smiled. “Partly.” He dropped his hand. “The other part had to do with a package I’d been waiting on all week.”
“A package?”
He nodded. “Which brings me to one of those good surprises I have for you.” His voice took on a gentleness that drowned out both our confessions in an all-is-forgiven sort of way. “You know I’ve never given myself to someone the way I did after you crashed into my life.”
I smiled at the memory of me literally stumbling up the steps to the governor’s mansion and Declan steadying me.
“I trust you with my life and my heart,” Declan continued. “And I promise to always make your life—and your heart—my number one priority.” He crooked a finger under my chin. After a soft kiss, he whispered, “I love you with everything that I am.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to stand in a spot in front of the sliding glass doors, overlooking the beautiful Washington skyline. Candles burned on a table beside us and on a buffet table behind him, and the chandelier in the center of the room was dimmed to perfection. I had noticed the very romantic dinner setting when I’d entered, but for the first time I was realizing that this was more than Declan simply romancing me. He’d romanced me before. This was—
He turned to me with a warm, gentle look. He went down on one knee and lifted a hand between us. In that hand was a ring. A beautiful, sparkling ring.
I sucked in a breath. Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t look away from him.
“Brooke, you are unlike anyone I’ve ever met. You make my life whole.” He tilted his head side to side. “You make it a little crazy at times, too, but I can’t imagine it any other way. And I have no desire to ever imagine a life without you in it.” He looked down at the ring. “I know you agreed to marry me, but I never got to ask you the way I wanted to ask you—the way you deserve to be asked. And we never made it official.” He lifted his hea
d, and I could swear there were tears in his eyes. “Brooke Fairfax, will you marry me?”
I stared at the ring, then at him. I swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in my throat. “Declan…” Tears streamed down my face. I nodded. “Yes. A billion times, yes! You saved my life when you chose to love me. You took a chance on me when I was broken—so broken I might not have ever come back from it. I love you. So yes, I will marry you.”
He took my left hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. It was beyond beautiful.
“It fits perfectly,” I said, unable to speak above a whisper.
He stood, swept me up, and twirled me around. “I meant it when I said I would marry you right now. I don’t need any of the other stuff. I only need you.” He buried his face in my neck.
“You know a friend here in DC that could marry us?” I asked. “I mean, I am dressed in white.”
He pulled back, smiling. “Tempting. Though I think your mother would hate me for life if I denied her this party.”
“You haven’t even met my mom.”
“Exactly. Which is why I don’t want to disappoint her this early in our relationship.” He poured us a couple of glasses of wine and handed me one. “This does not get you out of telling me what Donaldson has discovered about Romeo. And I probably should tell you that Dimitri is here—that’s how I knew about Romeo’s presence. But all that can wait. We’re safe inside this hotel suite for tonight. I want to do nothing but enjoy my fiancée. We’ll deal with Romeo tomorrow.”
I pulled in a breath, then let it out slowly and tipped my glass into his. “Tomorrow, then.”
After we both took a sip, Declan pulled out a seat at the table for me. “For now, we shall eat, and I’ll tell you about the piece of my life that you’re wearing on your hand now and forever.”
Chapter 7
Declan
Brooke kicked off her heels and ran her foot up and down my pant leg as we sipped our wine. She grinned lazily through the wine-induced, post-dinner haze between us.
“What are you up to, Miss Fairfax?” I asked, smiling across the table at her.
“I’m trying to seduce you, Mr. O’Roark.”
“It’s working, but I like a slow build from time to time. And right now, I’m enjoying the view.”
She took another sip of wine, the Bordeaux tinting her lips. Suddenly, her face morphed from that of someone trying to lure me to bed into the face of someone who’d just remembered something important.
“What did you forget?” I asked, trying not to get alarmed.
Her cheeks relaxed, and she smiled. Holding up a single finger, she said, “I’ll be right back.”
She padded out of the room in bare feet, was gone less than a minute, and when she returned, she was carrying a small box gift-wrapped in black paper and a white ribbon.
She returned to her seat, and after setting the box on the table between us, she set her feet in my lap again.
I ran a hand along her leg and studied her playful look. “What’s this?” I nodded toward the box.
“A present.”
Barely able to take my eyes off of her, I grabbed the box and examined it.
“It’s not going to bite you. Open it.”
I lifted my eyes to meet hers again. “I can’t remember the last time someone gave me a gift.”
“Well then, I hope you love what’s in that box.”
“I love it already.” I untied the bow, tore off the wrapping, and opened the box. Inside was a pair of gold horseshoe cuff links. “They’re beautiful. They look old.”
“They were originally owned by Christopher Chenery. They were left to Penny Chenery, Christopher’s daughter, when he died.”
“Penny Chenery. As in the owner of Secretariat?”
“That’s the one. I’m told that Penny carried those cuff links with her to every race Secretariat ran after her father died, including each leg of the Triple Crown.” Brooke took a sip of her wine and tilted her head side to side. “They’re for luck,” she added. “For your next derby horse. Or whatever.”
She tried to wave off the meaning of the gift, but she had no idea how much I loved it—especially the thought she put into it.
“I don’t need luck,” I said. “I have you.” I leaned forward and kissed her.
She smiled sweetly at that.
We were on our third glass when she held out her left hand and stared at the diamond perched there. “I’m a little intimidated by this ring.” She glanced over at me. Her face was flushed, a result of the wine. “I’ve heard of blue diamonds before. I am a girl, after all.” She angled her head as if getting a different perspective.
“I’m never going to doubt your femininity.” I laughed softly. “Just look at your shoe collection.”
“The color is magnificent,” she said, ignoring the shoe comment.
“My grandparents were not particularly extravagant people, but my grandfather was a lover of exquisite things. And my grandparents both traveled to South Africa on occasion during their lifetime. My grandfather was in the right place at the right time to acquire this stone, mined in one of the Botswana diamond mines. My grandmother wore it every day for the rest of her life.”
Brooke met my gaze. Her face grew serious, and her foot paused mid-stroke. She opened her mouth to say something, then paused.
I reached across the table and took her hand. “What is it?”
She set her glass down, stepped around the table, and stood before me. I scooted away from the table, and she sat in my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I am unbelievably honored to wear this family heirloom.” She tilted her head to one side, then the other. Then she touched her lips to mine.
I ran my fingers up and down her back. Her muscles tensed when I reached a sensitive spot in the middle. And when I let my fingers skim along her sides and up to the straps that held her thin dress in place, she smiled against my lips.
She was in the perfect mood to forget all things Romeo, and I was in the mood to let her. Woodford Clay Harrison had cast too many dark clouds on our relationship already. And I wanted to be selfish tonight. For just one night, I wanted Brooke to be all mine.
I pushed one strap off her shoulder, then the other. She stood slowly, keeping her eyes on mine and letting the silky white fabric drop to the floor, puddling at her feet.
She straddled me in the chair and threaded her fingers through my hair, and we kissed right there in the candlelight until I couldn’t take it any longer. I stood while holding on to her, her legs wrapped around my waist, and I carried her through the living room to the bedroom. The hotel staff had been instructed to leave us alone for the night. They would retrieve the dishes the next day.
When we reached the bed, I laid her down gently. We spent the next several hours blocking from our minds everything outside the four walls of that room.
Chapter 8
Brooke
Our car pulled through the front gates of my parents’ farm shortly before three p.m. My childhood home was a three-story, white brick colonial with massive columns befitting a southern plantation. I had spent many summers swinging on the tire swing down by the creek or running beneath the large oak trees. Those trees were barren now, thanks to a colder-than-normal autumn and the approaching winter.
My grandparents lived less than a mile away on a neighboring farm, and when I was a teenager, my growing interest in my grandfather’s business meant I was spending more time in my grandparents’ home than I did my own. At that time they used the twelve hundred acres of my parents’ farm for retired thoroughbreds and ran their own broodmare operation on their own land. But now my grandfather was mostly retired, and didn’t keep many horses.
My mother was hurt by the time I spent with my grandparents; she never understood that it wasn’t about her. And things between us went from bad to worse when I decided to study criminology and join the FBI. That’s when I changed my name to her maiden name, my grandfather’s name, thereby distancing myself
from the director of the FBI—and, if I was being honest, punishing my mother. I felt guilty about this many years later, but the damage had been done.
The truth was, I loved my mom. She and my father raised me in a loving home, and I was given every opportunity I could have wished for. I simply didn’t wish for the same things they wanted for me. They hoped I would become an attorney, pursue a corporate career, or take some sort of secure job that would lead me down the path to getting married, having children, and living happily ever after. Whereas the path I chose—one that resulted in me putting my life in the line of fire, falling for a fellow FBI agent, and then eloping with him, only to become a widow shortly thereafter—was definitely not part of my mother’s plan.
And because I didn’t want to see a disappointed look on her face—or worse, a look of pity—I had, for the most part, stayed away from my mother ever since Teddy died.
Until now.
Beside me, Declan squeezed my hand. “You okay? Where did you go?”
I smiled at him. “I’m fine. Just remembering my childhood.” The car came to a stop in front of the house, and I sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
“It won’t be that bad. I promise.”
Declan climbed out of the car first. He immediately came around and opened my door. As I climbed out, I heard a female voice behind him.
“Well, what do we have here? A true gentleman. Even opening the door for my baby girl.”
Suppressing an eye roll, I placed a hand on Declan’s chest just before he turned, and we both faced my mother. “Hi, Mom.”
She held out her arms and wiggled her fingers in a way that urged me to walk into them, which made me feel like I was five.
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