“Thank you for your help,” Ian said, keeping his focus pinned to Malone.
“Glad to do it.” Vern started to walk away, the gravel grinding under his boots, but then he stopped. “Guess this job is a total loss now.”
“Looks like it,” Ian said.
Shaking his head, Vern headed for his truck.
When he was gone, Malone peered at Ian. “Speaking of holding off, I don’t care what issues either of us might have about starting a relationship. I know how I feel. I love you. So even if you want to argue, I—”
He pressed his finger on her lips. “No argument from me. When this investigation is closed, I plan to pursue you with the same intensity.”
“Well then, Detective Blair.” She slid her hands around his neck again. “Let’s get this new pursuit going as fast as you can.”
Epilogue
The midday sun beat down on Ian’s truck as he parked in front of Malone’s house. He checked his hair in the mirror, still wet from the shower. He was there to pick up Malone for Thanksgiving dinner at Peggy and Russ Byrd’s house.
He pushed out of the truck and jogged up the sidewalk, moving past a big For Sale sign posted in the ground. Malone had delayed putting the house on the market while she looked for a new home, and it had just gone up for sale the day before. Her Realtor would hold an open house that weekend. He’d accompanied her to look at a bunch of houses in the past few weeks, until she found the perfect one. He loved that she wanted him to come along and offer his opinion. They’d even talked about a future where they could share the home she bought.
His shower after being called in to investigate a homicide made him a few minutes late, so he hurried to the door.
Malone was waiting at the door for him, holding out a casserole dish. “Can you take this? I’ll grab my purse.”
“No.”
She cast him a confused look, but he let his gaze rove over her black skinny jeans. She’d paired with crazy high heels and a black-and-gray plaid shirt topped with a tailored version of a leather motorcycle jacket. Her hair was down, tumbling over her shoulders in soft waves, and she was wearing a deep red lipstick.
All of which he found insanely attractive.
“Can you set the casserole down for a minute?” he asked, remaining on the front stoop.
Her eyes narrowed. “Is something wrong?”
“Not at all. It’s very right.”
A puzzled look on her face, she placed the casserole on the hall table and turned to face him.
He swept her into his arms. “You’ll need to replace that lipstick that’s driving me crazy. Maybe a different color even.”
He lowered his head and kissed her, their lips melding together, and he couldn’t care less about the homicide he’d had to investigate that morning. About the fact that Beatrice was probably watching from across the street. About the rest of the world.
All he wanted wasnow. This moment with Malone in his arms. He could deal with the rest later.
He tightened his hold, careful not to seem too desperate. But he was desperate for her. He wanted her in his life. He was desperate for a normal life, whatever that might be. He didn’t know the future, so he was taking things one day at a time. That was all he could do.
She pushed back and dragged in a deep breath. “I’m not complaining, but what was that all about?”
“I had a tough morning, and I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She rubbed her finger over his lips, removing the lipstick he assumed, but all it did was make him want to kiss her more.
She was decent. Honorable. Honest. A woman a man could get lost with forever, and he hoped he could be that man.
He couldn’t commit to that yet. Not until they’d dated for some time, not until he judged his fitness for being her partner in life. If he passed, then yeah, he was going to ask her to marry him.
“How about we get going,” she said, “and you tell me about your morning on the way? You can get it all out so it won’t trouble you at the Byrd’s house.”
“Sure.” Not that the lingering disquiet from the scene he’d cataloged that morning would go away that fast. “But first, one more of these.”
