Page 113 of Enemies in Paradise

Bear and I break apart, flying to opposite sides of the couch. I yank the blanket up to my chest right before she opens the door.

But it’s too late. Even if we’d had more warning, a flush covers his face down to his chest, and a quick glance in the decorative mirror on the opposite wall gives me a glimpse of my hair. My ponytail is loose, hanging on one side of my head. I tuck the hair that’s come out of it behind my ear, an effort that works as well as Bear’s attempt to rub the red from his cheeks. Major fail on both our parts.

Georgia doesn’t even try to hide her smile, which her red lipstick makes even bigger. “I knocked. No one answered. I guessyou were—” her smile defies all the laws of physics and grows wider, “—busy.”

Bear and I steal a glance at each other before he scoots off the couch and walks to his bedroom, where he calls back, “Wewerebusy. Did you need something?”

His voice is brusque, and when he comes back out, he’s pulling on a T-shirt. But the flush that still covers him from the neck up gives away his embarrassment.

“I just needed to ask Cassie if she was still going back to LA tomorrow,” Georgia says in a sing-songy, teasing tone.

Bear looks back at me. “Tomorrow?”

I nod. “I told you I was going back to LA.”

“I didn’t know you meant so soon.”

“We didn’t really get to that point in our conversation.”

Georgia clears her throat and backs through the door. “I’m leaving now. I just wanted to let you know the loan is approved. The lender has been trying to call Cassie, but you weren’t answering, so he called Zach, who sent me to deliver the news. You’ll need a little more money up front, but you’ll have enough for all the repairs and renovations. Congratulations!”

“That’s amazing. Let me figure out what I’m going to do and I’ll call you… after I figure out where my phone is.” I have no idea where it could be, but I’m too happy to care if it’s back at the apartment or at the bottom of the pond.

As soon as the door clicks shut behind Georgia, Bear faces me. “Are you still going to leave?”

With the blanket over my lap, I scoot into the couch cushions and cross my legs under me. “I have to.”

His shoulders and head drop. When he looks at me again, hurt fills his eyes. “Why?”

“I have to face Markham. I have to fight for the other officers he’s hurt and make sure he can’t do it again.” As much as it kills me to see the pain on his face, I can’t stay.

“Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

Bear licks his lips and pulls his shoulders back. “I mean, after you win that fight, will you come back?”

There’s a shy hopefulness in his question, but there’s a confidence in the few steps he takes toward the couch that tells me if my answer is no, he’ll do what it takes to convince me otherwise.

He won’t have to.

“Do you want me to come back? Even though you lost our fight?” I lift my chin and send him a teasing grin.

“You think I lost?” Bear kneels in front of me and pulls me so close his forehead almost touches mine. “You’re wrong. I got exactly what I wanted, and I’ll be right here when you get back.”

“Good. Because, even without the shop, I would have come back. But now I have more than one reason to.” I smile, then sink into Bear’s arms and let him cover me with his strength and kisses.

The End

Epilogue

3 Months Later…

Taking deep breaths, I step back from the stack of books I’ve arranged in what I hope is an eye-catching display. I cross the task off my to-do list and realize there’s nothing left to do. After three months of hard work, everything is in place and I’m—I check my watch—thirty minutes away from opening my bookstore.

My bookstore.

I can still hardly believe the words. But as I take one last look around, I can’t help but be proud of what I’ve accomplished. Even though the painted words at the top of the building have been restored to say Sparks Auto Shop as per the historic designation requirements, there’s another sign out front with the official name of the store:The Story Sparks.

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