Page 17 of Fugitive Flirtation

My heart skips a beat, but I play it cool. “Well, as it happens, I have a bottle of Macallan stashed away for special occasions. I know it’s not Bourbon, but you think you could make an exception?” I bite my lip, waiting for his response.

Ace’s eyes light up, and he leans in closer. “For you, Alicia, I’d drink just about anything if it means spending more time together.”

My breath catches in my throat, and I nod, unable to hide my smile. “Then it’s settled. Take me home, Ace.”

Ace drives us home, navigating the noon traffic until we reach my condo. He parks his car in the adjacent parking lot and we walk to my building hand in hand.

The doorman nods as we walk to the elevator bank and we ride to my floor with a bunch of college students who must have found a seasonal rental for spring break. Thankfully, they’re not on my floor.

I lead Ace down the hallway and open the door. We step inside and I wave toward the sofa. “Make yourself at home,” I say. “I will get our drinks.”

While I take out glasses and the bottle from the open kitchen, he first walks to the window to check out the view and the mementos of my life on my shelves. His eyes soften as he takes in the family pictures. He pauses, a hint of curiosity in his expression as he nods to the wall of framed photographs of my adult life. Finally, he reaches the couch and trails his fingers across the wooden coffee table.

“I see. You’ve got a lot of smiling faces here. Lots of memories.” He glances at me, a gentle smile on his face.

I nod, a lump forming in my throat. “Yeah, my childhood was bliss until cancer struck. First my mom and then my dad.” I take a deep breath, pushing the pain away, focused on the present. “But that’s the way life goes.”

Ace takes the glasses from my hands, sets them on the coffee table, and steps closer to me.

“It’s time for you to finish healing, and get to pick a new family,” he says.

“Is that what you did?” I ask.

He nods and brushes my forehead with his lips.

“Tell me,” I whisper. “Tell me more. We barely know each other.”

“I know enough,” he says, looking into my eyes. “I knew the second I saw you. That’s why I went fucking crazy when you tried to run.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I was being an ass.” He sits on the couch and lifts me so I straddle him. “You see, when the family you’re born into turns out to be a shitty family, you bide your time and, as soon as you can, you move on. It’s not your fault; it’s just the luck of the draw. But it’s different when it’s the family you picked.”

Lightly, he kisses me again, a simple brush of his lips that moves me more than I can tell.

“And I have picked you,” he says. “Just like I picked the Iron Tornadoes when I left the police. They are my brothers, and because they are my family, if you come with me, they’ll be your family too.”

“If I come with you?” I ask unsure about what he’s asking.

“Is there anything holding you back in Miami?” he asks. “Do you want to go back to work for Blackwell?”

I shake my head. I hadn’t thought about it yet, but he’s right, there’s no way I’m going back to my old job.

“You could start over in Point Lookout,” he says. “You could do anything you damned please. I mean, you’ve got a fucking million dollars as seed money.”

I close my eyes and think about it: start my own construction company? Flip houses? Go back to school to learn something new?

Mistaking my silence for a refusal, Ace sighs and adds, “But if you want to stay here, I know we can find a way to make it work. After all, Point Lookout is not so far from Miami. I could…”

I cut in. “Yes.”

“What do you mean yes?”

“I mean yes, I’ll go with you. Yes, I’ll move to Point Lookout. Yes, I’ll figure out what I want to do… with you.”

“I swear you’ll never regret it,” he says pulling me tight against him.

Ace’s lips meet mine, and the intensity of our connection ignites a spark deep within me, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through my veins. His hands roam my body, exploring every curve with a hunger that leaves a trail of fire in their wake. I’m lost in the moment, consumed by the passion that has been building between us like a wildfire since I first set eyes on him.

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