Page 192 of Snowbound Threat

Until it’s just him and me.

I wrap my good arm around his neck and give myself over to the feel of his lips on mine. This moment—this instant where the world is right because he’s here—consumes my every thought.

It’sso muchmore than I ever dreamed it could be.

Too soon, he pulls away.

Breathing ragged, I stare up at him.

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” he says, his gaze searching mine.

“Good,” I whisper. I don’t know what I was saying anymore because the only thing I can think about is how badly I want him to kiss me again.

“If you’re not ready, I understand. But I just—” He runs his thumb over my bottom lip. “After everything we’ve been through, I needed?—”

I bury my hand in the back of his hair and pull his mouth back down to mine, already desperate for another kiss. This time, the kiss starts slow—tentative. But it quickly builds to an inferno ready to lay waste to all the doubts I may have had when I first walked into that precinct a week and a half ago.

Who knew one’s life could completely change in such a short amount of time? Then again, it feels like what’s been building between him and me has been growing since that first moment I met him—two years ago.

Slowly, I pull away. “Did you get fired because of me?”

“I quit,” he replies as he rests his forehead against mine.

My heart hammers. “Why?”

“Becauseyou’renot in Seattle,” he whispers.

My eyes fill. “Your mom is here.”

“She understood and has already decided she’s moving with me. That is if you’re okay with my relocating to Boston.”

How do I scream absolutely when I can’t find the ability to speak?

He cups my face with his hand and brushes my cheek with his thumb. “I told you, Beckett, I need you in my life. Right beside me, telling me when I’m being a jerk and letting me love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

I have no words.

Nothing that comes to mind as I listen to him. As my eyes fill with tears and my heart soars, I can do nothing but thank God for bringing this man into my life.

For giving me a second chance at not being alone.

I will always love Paul. But now that the truth is out, I finally feel like I’m ready to fully move forward into the future. Whatever that looks like.

“You don’t have to leave your home for me. We can make it work, no matter?—”

He kisses me again, hand cupping my face as he deepens the kiss, consuming all the questions I’d been about to pepper him with. Somewhere in the distance, I hear the door open, but it immediately closes again.

Shawn pulls back. “Take it easy on the closing arguments, Counselor,” he whispers. “I’ve made my decision, and I want to be wherever you are.”

26.Shawn

Three Days Later

My whole life is in this house right now.

Christmas lights twinkle brightly on a tree in the corner of my living room, and a fire is dancing in the fireplace, casting a warm orange glow over the living room. Something Trigs is taking complete advantage of, as he’s stretched out on the rug in front of it.

My mom is in the kitchen with Beckett’s mom as they prepare Christmas dinner, insisting that the rest of us stay out of it. The two women talk like they’re old friends, laughing and sharing stories about Beckett and me while we were growing up on opposite sides of the country.