Page 25

Jake didn’t text Livvy with any of the details from his meeting with Diana because the situation was too complex to pare down to a couple of paragraphs. He did text her that he’d talked to Diana, and they’d discuss it when he got home tonight.

As he studied his text before he sent it, his gaze kept going back to ‘when I get home tonight.’ That was what he wanted. A home with Livvy. And he knew Livvy wanted that, too. So they’d work together to make that happen. He was willing to do anything, and he knew Livvy was, as well.

Once he’d texted her, he tried to put the situation out of his head and focus on his work. The last thing he wanted was to let his personal life interfere with his job. He’d never done it before, and didn’t want to start now. Although Livvy was in a completely different category than other ‘distractions’. Livvy was his life, and he found himself thinking about her too often during the day. Picturing her in his apartment. Wondering what she was doing. Counting the hours until he’d see her again.

Eventually, he had to shove everything Livvy out of his mind and focus on his job. But he couldn’t stop himself from checking the time on his phone far too often.

Finally it was five p.m. and he could leave. He gathered together all the papers he didn’t want to leave in his office -- there was still at least one Russian mole in the Bureau -- and headed for the door. Once in his car, he was careful to drive the speed limit. But it felt like forever before he pulled into his parking lot.

Instead of waiting for the elevator, he ran up the three flights of stairs. Unlocked his door and stepped inside. “Livvy?” he called. “You here?”

“In the living room,” she answered, but moments later, she appeared in the hall and threw herself at him. He caught her and buried his face in her hair, then kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in weeks.

When he eased away, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s sit down. I have a lot to tell you.”

He told Livvy that Diana couldn’t hire her temporarily, and Livvy nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think that would fly. It was worth asking, but I was pretty sure I knew what her answer would be.”

“Yeah. We talked about you being posted here for Blackhawk Security, and she was more positive about that. Not that she would send jobs your way, but she knows a lot of people in D.C. A lot of companies. I got the impression that companies often called her for recommendations about bodyguards. She assured me she’d keep you at the top of the list.”

Livvy drew a deep breath. “Well, that’s something. That will definitely help my pitch to Mel and Dev.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I thought that, too.” He turned to face her and took both her hands in his. “How about I take a vacation day and we fly back to Helena this weekend,” he said. “You can talk to Mel and Dev, and we can spend a long weekend together. I want to save my vacation time to spend with you.”

Livvy nodded slowly. “I don’t want to leave you so soon after finding you,” she said. “But you have a job to do, and so do I. And the sooner I get myself on another assignment, the sooner I’ll have ten days to spend with you in D.C. afterward.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah. Ten days sounds wonderful. Let me call the airline and make reservations.”

* * *

Two days later, when they landed in Helena after a long flight with a connection, they headed for the long-term parking lot and climbed into Livvy’s car. As they drove into Helena, Livvy smiled over at Jake. “I’ll drop you off at the hotel you stayed at last time, then I’ll go to the Blackhawk Security compound. Talk to Mel and Dev and see what I can work out with them. Then I’ll stay with you at the hotel, since technically, my ten days leave isn’t over yet.”

“Sounds great.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her mouth as she started the car.

After Livvy had dropped Jake off in downtown Helena, she drove back to the compound and parked. She tossed her luggage into her apartment, then went in search of Mel. She knocked on her boss’s door, and when Mel called, “Come in,” she stepped into her office.

Mel frowned. “You’re here a lot sooner than I expected. Did things not go well with Jake?”

“No, they went great. He’s here with me for a few days, but I need to talk to you.”

She sat across from Mel and explained her idea. “I’d like to be permanently stationed in Washington D.C.,” she said.

Mel frowned, and Livvy could see the ‘no’ forming, so she held up her hand. “Hear me out, Mel. Diana Redfield, the FBI director, put together a list of companies in the area who often hire bodyguards.” Livvy pulled out a copy of the list and handed it to Mel. “She’s promised to give them all my name and a strong recommendation. I know it can’t happen immediately, but I hope that if we get a good amount of business, you and Dev would eventually consider posting me there permanently.”

* * *

Three hours after she’d dropped Jake at the hotel, Livvy pulled into the parking lot, grabbed her travel backpack now filled with clean clothes, and hurried into the hotel. Jake had texted her his room number, so she went directly to the elevator. When she knocked on the door, Jake opened it, then yanked her into the room and into his arms. After kissing her thoroughly, he held her at arm’s length. “How did it go?”

“I knew Mel wasn’t going to tell me to set up shop in D.C. tomorrow,” Livvy said. “But after I gave her the list of companies that often use bodyguards, and told her that Diana was going to recommend me, she was more… open to the idea. But it won’t be immediately. She said she’d have to see steady growth in jobs and clients before she could even think about posting me there permanently. And even when I was, I’d have to come back to the compound on a regular basis, just like the operatives in Seattle and Chicago.”

Jake brushed the hair away from her face. “That’s about what I expected her to say.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Livvy said. “But I still get ten days leave after every assignment, and I’ll be in D.C. for those ten days. And maybe, if bodyguard jobs start popping up in D.C, I’ll be there a lot more often than for ten days after an assignment. Although when I’m working, I won’t be able to see you very often.”

“I have vacation days, too, Liv. I can come out here once in a while.”

“Let’s just see how this plays out,” she said. “My ten days after a job is a given. Mel said she’d send me on the next job that comes up, so I could be back in D.C. in a week or two. We can go from there.”

She leaned into Jake and kissed him, and Jake gently pulled her on top of him. “What did you do while I was talking to Mel?” Livvy asked, tugging his lower lip into her mouth.

“I went shopping,” he said.

Livvy reared back. “Shopping? What on earth were you shopping for?”

“This,” he answered, pulling a small box from the drawer in the end table next to him. He slid off the couch onto his knees. “Livvy, will you marry me?”

She stared at him for a long moment. “Oh, my God, Jake,” she finally said. “You want to marry me?”

“Of course I do, Liv.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “You think I’m just in this for the short term? You think all I want are booty calls?”

Livvy giggled. “I’d like booty calls. With you.”

“Trust me,” he said. “I’ll give you all the booty calls you want. But I still want to marry you.”

“I, um, I guess I hadn’t thought about getting married.”

“I have, Liv. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want you wearing my ring, and if I’m lucky, not much else. I want everyone to know we belong to each other.”

“Jake! Do you think I’d ever forget that? Hell, no, I wouldn’t.”

“Don’t you want to marry me, Liv?”

“Of course I do. But… but I wasn’t expecting this. Not now.”

“What? You think we should wait a few years? Get to know each other a little better? Make sure we’re compatible?”

“Of course not.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “You’re a part of me, Jake. And I’m a part of you. But this has all happened so fast,” she whispered.

“Not for me,” Jake said. “You’ve been it for me for a long time. I just want to make it official.”

Livvy stared at him for a long moment, then finally began to smile. “That’s what I want, too, Jake. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Jake took her hand and slid the ring on her fourth finger. Then he kissed her hand. “We’ll figure out where and when,” Jake said.

“Yeah,” Livvy said. “We will. But we already belong to each other. I’m yours, for better or worse.”

“And I’m yours, Livvy.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth. “Now I want to make love to my future wife.”

“And your future wife wants the same thing,” Livvy said, as Jake slid her into his arms and headed for the bedroom.

* * * * *

Enjoyed this book? Read an excerpt from the first book in the Donovan Family Series – Love Me .