“For supporting this. For not trying to talk me into staying at the firm where it’s safe and secure. For believing I can do this.”
“Of course I believe in you. You’re brilliant, Nora. Anyone who hires you is lucky to have you.”
She kissed him, slow and thorough, and when she popped open the button his jeans and dropped to her knees in front of him, Carson let her. Let her love him with her mouth until the stress of the day was forgotten—if only for a moment.
Later, curled up on the couch, Nora said, “I want to meet them. Your friends. Your colleagues. The people who are important to you.”
“You’ve met Finn.”
“Briefly, while I was terrified and in crisis. That doesn’t count.” She shifted to look at him. “We’ve been living together for almost three weeks. We’re building a life together. I should know the people in your life.”
Carson realized she was right. He’d been keeping his work life and personal life separate—an old habit from years of not having much personallife to separate.
“Okay,” he said. “Finn’s been bugging me to go to The Brass Tap on Friday. Bunch of detectives hang out there after shifts. We could go. I’ll introduce you properly.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He kissed the tip of her nose affectionately. “Fair warning though, cops are terrible. They’ll interrogate you, make inappropriate jokes, and probably tell you embarrassing stories about me.”
“I’m counting on the embarrassing stories.”
Carson shook his head, though he was smiling. “Of course you are.”
***
Friday night, they walked into The Brass Tap together. It was a cop bar—dark wood, neon beer signs, the kind of place where off-duty officers could relax without civilians asking questions.
Finn spotted them immediately. “Black! And you brought Nora! Come on, everyone’s in the back.”
He led them to a large table where half a dozen detectives were already several beers deep. They all looked up as Carson and Nora approached.
“Guys, this is Nora,” Carson said, his hand on the small of her back. “Nora, this is...everyone.”
Finn made introductions. “You’ve met me, obviously. That’s Anthony Holloway—yes, related to the Captain, he’s his nephew. That’s JadeMatthews, our CSI. Dax Mercer, bomb specialist but don’t hold that against him. Silas Kane, he’s our profiler which means he’s analyzing all of us constantly. And Knox Dalton, Carson’s partner before Carson went full lone wolf.”
“I’m not a lone wolf,” Carson protested.
“You absolutely are,” Knox said. He was in his early forties, graying at the temples, with laugh lines around his eyes. “Nice to finally meet you, Nora. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
“Mostly good. Some terrifying. The part where you were almost murdered multiple times was concerning.”
“Knox,” Carson said with warning in his voice.
“What? I’m just saying, your girlfriend has had a rough few weeks. We’re impressed she’s still standing.” Knox raised his beer. “To Nora. For surviving both Eugene and Carson’s terrible personality.”
Everyone laughed and drank. Nora felt herself relax.
“So,” Jade said, leaning forward with interest. “Tell us everything. How did you two actually get together? Because Carson’s version is all professional and boring.”
“That’s because it was professional,” Carson said.
“Until it wasn’t,” Finn added helpfully.
Nora smiled. “Well, I was being stalked. I went to Carson for help because no one else believed me.He took me seriously, moved me into his apartment to protect me, and somewhere between catching the stalker and almost dying several times, we fell in love.”
“That’s so romantic,” Jade sighed. “Like a movie.”
