Page 79 of Deadly Target
“God, I hope not, but you may have to take it easy on me for a while.” He lifted his bum arm an inch.
“Excuses, excuses. You’re not going to be a wimp about it, are you? I mean, I get that you can’t paint right now, but as for the other stuff”—she raised her eyes toward the bedroom—“I need to know you can hold your own.”
He tilted his chin down to place his forehead against hers. “What do you say after the party, we do a test run?”
She kissed him, softly, gently, but with promise. As she broke away, she whispered, “I love you, Victor, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
As Taz leaned against both their legs, watching them intently, Victor knew this was the future he’d been waiting for. While the two of them still had demons to put to rest about her brother and his father, they had new leads. More members of the Suarez Kings had been picked up and questioned, and with the testimony Olivia had gotten out of Alfie, the Fifty-seven Gang was already being torn apart, Gino and Frankie were both under arrest and facing life in prison. Alfie was in jail too, his daughter now living with his mother in Sacramento.
It was time for a fresh start, a new beginning. Time to let the ghosts of the past rest and build a future with this woman. “I love you too, Liv, and you don’t need to prove anything to me. I know you, and what a good heart you have. I’ve never doubted that for a moment.”
“Are you two going to stand there and jabber all day, or can we get this party started?”
Victor looked over to see Cooper standing in the hallway, two beers in hand.
“Good to see you up and about,” Olivia said.
Cooper gave a wry smile. “Can’t keep The Beast down, Fiorelli. You know that.”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” Victor said. “Go ahead and start without us.”
Olivia stepped back as Cooper headed outside once more. “Let’s go join the party. I’m dying to meet your mom and sisters. You and I can save our deepconversationsfor later.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” He grabbed her by the hand and guided her toward the stairs. “I need to show you a couple paint samples.”
Olivia laughed softly under her breath. “Paint samples, huh?”
They jogged up the stairs, eager to be in each other’s arms. Taz chased them, sure of the game. “There are way too many shades of blue. I definitely need help picking the right one for the bedroom.”
“And this decision needs to be made at this exact moment?”
He propelled her into the room and to the bed, now officially set up and ready for plenty ofconversations. “Oh yeah. National emergency. How fast can you get out of those shorts?”
She hugged him, and they fell onto the bed together, Victor ignoring his injured shoulder and stripping off the sling before he began removing her clothes. As he sank into her soft, inviting heat, he felt no pain, no regrets. He was a stronger man because of her and he wanted nothing more than to make her happy for the rest of her life.
There was no time like the present to begin.