“You called our wedding off because of him?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I called it off to saveyou.”
He stepped back, glancing at the door open to the adjacent guest room. He walked into it and sat on the double bed as Iz and Jayce tumbled back into the twin room where Brady lay—their lack of silence always deafening.
Cassie followed him into the double room and shut the connecting door behind them. “I’m so sorry,” she said, moving to stand over him. Her arms wrapped around her waist, she swayed side to side in a rhythmic movement.
He looked up at her, not even bothering to hide the hot tears—a mix of frustration and deep, deep love. “You let him rip us apart?”
“I was protecting you.”
“By letting me think you didn’t love me?” It was anguish—a pain he’d never known, and he’d been shot on the job, for goodness’ sake.
Tears rolled down her face. “It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, but I couldn’t let him rip you from my life.”
“But you did.”
“Don’t you see?” She shook her head. “You could find someone new, fall in love, live a long, happy life. Be safe as long as you’re away from me.”
He looked up at her and blinked. “You did it to give me a new life?”
“Yes!”
He exhaled, reached for her hand, and tugged her down on his lap.
Surprise lit her eyes.
He reached up and rubbed her jaw. “Don’t you know the only person I want a life with is you?”
“Me?” Her voice came out like on helium. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Want? As instillwant?”
“As inalwayswant.” He lowered his lips to hers, forgetting how soft and tender her kisses were. She molded into him as she always had, and suddenly a year of horrific pain evaporated into just a stellar, magnificent, emotion-filled kiss. It was like it’d never happened, but then he opened his eyes. They were still here. Trapped with Cassie’s stalker—a killer—and the most crushing moment in Joel’s life had happened athishands. The sicko.
She studied his eyes, his face. “You’re going after him, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Let me help.”
“All right. We can catch him together like we should have in the first place.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
“I know. If it was the reverse and I thought I had a chance to save your life, I’d take it every time, but this”—he gestured between them—“is going to take some time to wrap our heads around and work out.”
“Agreed.”
“That is, if you even want to...”
“My kiss didn’t convince you? If we weren’t in the middle of a nightmare, I’d kiss you again.”
“Save them up, because after we catch this madman and are finally free of him, we’re talking a vacation somewhere—just the two of us to sort this all out.”
“Sounds perfect. Just one thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go someplace tropical.”
