Page 53 of One of the Good Guys

He threw back his head and laughed, obviously delighted with her ire. “Ah, Libby, whatever made me worry that you would be the kind of woman who’d get lost in the shadows? I keep pushing you back into the shadows of my mind, but you refuse to stay there.” He leaned forward and with the tips of his fingers swept an errant strand of her hair away from her cheek. “I have been so afraid for so long of being like my father. I quit my job on the force so that wouldn’t happen. I’ve kept myself isolated and alone so I wouldn’t ruin somebody else’s life like he destroyed my mother’s.”

“But you aren’t your father,” she reminded him softly, knowing Tony could never be cold, unemotional.

“No,” he agreed. “I’m not my father, and I don’t think there’s anything or anyone on this earth that could make you a shadow woman. You’ll never fade away—you’re too strong for that.” He took her back into his arms, his body pressing intimately against hers. “I love you, Libby. If you’re willing to take a chance on a stubborn cop who works long hours for too little pay, I’m willing to take a chance on an outspoken, stubborn pawnshop owner. Marry me… I need you beside me.”

She threw her arms around his neck, joy causing tears to spring to her eyes. “I thought you were going to stay a fool forever,” she breathed, pulling his head down so their lips could meet in a kiss of infinite tenderness.

“I may be slow, but nobody can tell me I’m a complete fool,” he murmured against her lips. “After facing the likes of an albino psychopath and a group of subversives, do you think you’re woman enough to put up with me?”

She smiled up at him, her heart filled with a kind of love she’d never experienced before. It consumed her, overwhelmed her, and she knew it would sustain her forever. “Yes, Tony.” She placed her hand on the side of his face, loving the look in his eyes, loving everything about him. “Didn’t I tell you that you were one of the good guys?”

“Yeah, I guess it just took a while for me to realize that,” he replied softly.

Libby smiled at him. “I intend to spend every day of the rest of my life reminding you of just how good you are.”

He smiled and his eyes lit up with a fire that made a glow deep inside her. “How about we start right now in your back room?” he asked, nuzzling her neck in a way that made it impossible for her to think. And as he swept her up into his arms and headed for the back room, she knew there would be moments in her marriage to Tony when she would worry about his safety. There would be times they wouldn’t agree. But he would allow her to be herself—he loved her for the outspoken, stubborn fool that she was. They hadn’t found a formula that would save the world, but they had found the formula for love, and in the end, that was all that really mattered.

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