Then Kevin stirred, and they eased apart—but not before sharing one more look that said everything they needed to say.
Soon.
Yes.
Finally.
“Shane…” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
He caught her hand, held it gently. “I can wait,” he said. “But not forever.”
She smiled then—small, certain. “You won’t have to.”
Shane's breath left him in a rush. He cupped her face in his hands, thumbs stroking her cheekbones the way he had on the porch last night. But instead of kissing her mouth, he pulled her close and pressed his lips to her forehead again—soft, reverent, sealing a promise.
Everything. It meant everything.
"We should probably head back soon," April murmured against his shoulder, but she didn't move.
"Probably." Shane didn't move either.
Kevin made a small sound in his sleep, shifting closer to Pete. The dog's tail thumped once against the blanket.
April smiled against Shane's shirt. "We're going to have to be careful around him. At least until we figure out how to tell him."
"Tell him what?" Shane asked. "That his mom's bodyguard is hopelessly in love with her?"
April pulled back just enough to look up at him, eyes bright. "Is that what you are?"
"Your bodyguard? Of course I am. Kevin retained me.”
April tried not to laugh even as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Or do you mean hopelessly in love?" Shane's mouth curved. "Yeah, Sweetness. That's exactly what I am."
This time when she kissed him, it was soft and sweet and full of promises of her own. Kevin stirred again, and they broke apart, both grinning like they had as teenagers who'd just gotten away with making out.
"Come on," Shane said, reluctantly standing and offering her his hand. "Let's get you two home before that storm decides to show up early."
April took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. Neither let go right away, even though Kevin was sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
FIFTEEN
The first fatraindrops hit the windshield just as Shane pulled onto the highway.
"Uh-oh," Kevin said from the back seat, twisting to look at the sky through the rear window. "Shane, I think the storm's coming faster than you thought."
April glanced at the darkening clouds rolling over the mountains, their earlier puffy innocence gone mean and heavy. Thunder rumbled—closer now, no longer a distant promise but an immediate threat.
"Yeah, bud, I see it. Just goes to show, you can be prepared, but mother nature can still outmaneuver you." Shane's hands were steady on the wheel, but his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, then to April. "My place is about ten minutes from here. We can wait it out there, have some dinner, wait until it passes."
April's stomach did a little flip. Shane's place. She'd never seen where he lived, never been invited into that part of his world. The thought made her pulse kick up for reasons that had nothing to do with the weather.
"Okay," she heard herself say.
The rain started in earnest as they turned off the main road—big, heavy drops that splattered against the glass and turnedthe world outside into a watercolor blur. Lightning split the sky, close enough to make April jump.
"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi—" Kevin counted from the backseat, his voice rising with excitement rather than fear.
