Page 40 of Finally

Ichecked my collar in the reflection of the mirror as I finished doing up the last few buttons on my shirt. Topher walked in as I was reaching for the blue silk tie from the hook on the back of the door, but he snatched it out of my hands.

“Here, let me help you with that,” he said, sliding in between me and the sink.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” I told him. I let my eyes roam over him, taking the time to appreciate how handsome my man was. My man. Sometimes, I still couldn’t believe he was really mine.

“Me? Have you seen yourself recently? I’m not sure gorgeous is even the right word to describe you,” he said as he slid the tie around my neck and began knotting it.

“Oh, really? What would the right word be?” I teased.

“Hmmm.” Topher’s face scrunched up in concentration. “Sexy, divine, exquisite…delicious,” he answered, flashing me a playful wink.

I laughed. “Delicious huh?”

“Yep. In fact, I wouldn’t mind having a taste right now,” he replied, tapping a finger against his lips. My hands slid around his waist and I bent down to give him a kiss. After a few moments, he pulled back and ran his fingers along my collar, smoothing it down over the edge of my tie. “There, that’s perfect.”

“Thank you.” I gave him another peck on the lips and then turned and reached for my jacket. I could feel his eyes on me as I slid it on and adjusted the sleeves. “You all right?”

“Yeah,” Topher said, shaking his head as if he were trying to clear it. I arched a brow at him, letting him know that I didn’t quite believe him. “I just can’t believe it’s almost over, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the election is almost over and whether I become governor or not, it won’t be the same. I’ll move on, either to the governor’s office or maybe some other branch of government and you’ll move on to some other client and travel with them, possibly around the world,” he answered miserably then blew out a deep breath. “Sorry. I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this.”

“Hey,” I said, pulling him back into my arms. “I’m glad you brought it up because it’s something we should talk about.”

“Okay,” he whispered.

“I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what happens next, and yes, it’s true that we both have jobs to do. I’ll have other clients I need to protect, and you will be in the governor’s seat, but that’s just work, Topher. None of it matters if we don’t have someone to come home to at night or to make love to all weekend long. That’s what I want with you. I want to be able to talk about our days while we cook dinner together and I want us to take Charlie for walks when the weather’s nice. I want to watch movies together and lie in bed, hearing you breathe next to me. I know we’ll each have to travel with our jobs and sometimes we’ll spend weeks apart, but I love you and I want to be with you as much as humanly possible.”

Topher’s eyes filled with tears and I wondered what I’d said wrong. “You love me?” he whispered.

“Yes, I do. I always have,” I answered honestly.

Topher leaned up on his toes and crushed his mouth to mine. “I want all those things too because I love you. I love you with all my heart, Greg Wright.”

Smiling so big I thought my face would split in two, my chest filled with so much love and warmth for him that it couldn’t be contained, and I started laughing. Topher joined me and the two of us stood there in the bathroom, kissing and laughing like a couple of loons. It was the happiest moment of my life. I’d had a lot of those since Topher had come back into my life. Each one of them, I’d felt certain couldn’t be topped, but then he’d do or say something that would make me even happier. Maybe that’s what I had to look forward to. After a life filled with heartache and loneliness, maybe it was finally my turn to be happy.

“Come on then. We better get you to the debate on time so you can become the best governor in the history of governors,” I told him.

Topher rolled his eyes and snorted. “Easy there. I have to get elected first and that’s still anybody’s game.”

“I have faith in you, and whatever the outcome of this election is, I’m proud of you and the work you’ve done. You’ve proven that politicians can carry themselves with honesty, class and integrity.”

A blush turned Topher’s cheeks pink, but the small smile showed me how much my words had pleased him. “Thank you,” he said softly.

“You’re welcome,” I responded, taking him by the arm and leading him out the door.

A half hour later, we pulled into the event parking lot. The debate was being held in the grandstands of the Mason county fairgrounds since it could fit the most people of any place in the town of Bowen. Jared had promised Topher a full house and as I stared up at the hundreds of empty seats, I felt my tension escalate. As Topher and Jared settled on the edge of the stage and began going over the list of possible questions and ironing out plans to make sure everything would run as smoothly as possible, I wandered around the area, doing a thorough inspection.

I hadn’t been happy when Topher told me where the event was taking place. The thought of him standing up on a stage, outdoors, in the middle of a grandstand, with countless entry points and no way to thoroughly vet each person that came in, was a security team’s worst nightmare. In my opinion, the venue left too much to chance, and coupled with the growing pressure of Election Day drawing near, the whole thing had me feeling on edge. My instincts told me that if someone wanted to make their move, now would be the time to do it.

I could understand why Micah preferred that we didn’t get involved with our clients because the stress level was so much higher when you were trying to protect someone you cared about. Although, in many ways, loving Topher had made me even sharper, more focused. While I worked hard for all of my clients, there was no one in the world that I cared more about protecting than Topher. I would literally do anything to keep him safe.

Thankfully, I had extra help that day. Carlos had come along, while Josh stayed back to keep an eye on the house, and Brandon, who had just finished an assignment, had called the night before to say he’d be there as well. Having part of my team with me had gone a long way in settling my nerves, but I wouldn’t feel completely better until I had Topher back home, safe and sound.

I’d just finished checking the area under the grandstands where the audience would be sitting when I heard my name being called. I looked up and smiled as I saw Carlos and Brandon walking toward me. “Hey, guys. Thanks a lot for coming to help out. The security team they hired is used to dealing with drunks and the occasional fist fight. They’re not prepared for something of this magnitude. I gave them instructions to be on the lookout for anything suspicious and stationed them here and there throughout the venue, but I feel a lot better knowing you guys will be here to give me a hand.”

“Of course. You know we’re here whenever you need us,” Brandon assured me, squeezing my shoulder.

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