Page 65 of Sizzling Nights

"We don't know what the cartel is doing right now. And it'll give you time to make plans for what you want to do moving forward. Do you have any ideas?"

He watched her swallow as she stared across the room. "I've been thinking about it a lot, of course. But I don't have definitive plans. For instance..." She turned to look into his eyes. "Are we..." She took a deep breath. "Good?"

He grinned. "I think we are. Do you?"

"I do. I mean we haven't had a normal courtship as it were. We've had more longing from afar than many folks. But being here, we've gotten to know each other a bit better and I'm hoping for more of that while we're here. What do you want?"

Marco agreed. "I want that too."

He looked into her eyes. "I mean, what do you want to do from here? As far as work. As far as living arrangements. All of it."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stared at the computer screens as she spoke. "I've been thinking about that. I wondered if I should buy a condo where you are. It's safe there. At least safer than I've been previously. I could likely have more security added to my place. I have savings. I think if I knuckle down and write that book I can get it published and start earning money on it before my money runs out. And I could always get freelance writing jobs for newspapers where I can work remotely. That will generate money." She looked into his eyes. "I don't think I can work at the restaurant anymore. I'd feel terribly exposed, and I don't want to bring anything bad to Jace and Margo. They've been so good to me."

He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "That all sounds good. I was thinking of something a bit different though."

She swallowed and he felt her stiffen up. "It's not bad, babe."

"Okay."

"I was thinking of renting this place from Wes for a year. You can write from here. When I go to work, you'll have security. It'll give the authorities time to investigate the Celtics. And from there they can figure out if you'll be safe moving forward. I also thought we'd contact an attorney and have him or her reach out to the Celtics and negotiate a plan. You give up some of the information you have set aside for their promise to leave you alone."

"Marco, are you sure? That's uprooting your life."

His arms tightened around her waist. "Theresa, in the best way possible you have uprooted my life. I'm not sorry. I'm happier with you than I've ever been. I want to explore that more. I want to give us time to really get to know each other and we'll only do that by living normal lives. At least as normal as we can be given the circumstances with the Celtics."

"That's what I mean. Your life won't be normal with me in it."

"My life won't be happy without you in it. And who says normal is the only way to live life? Remember I used to be a SEAL. I'm likely not all that normal anyway."

She laughed. "Oh my God."

"What do you think about staying here? Write your book or books. You'll be safe when I go to work. We'll learn to live with each other and see if we like it."

They stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Her eyes glistened and she sniffed lightly. "If you're sure, I'd love to live here with you. As a regular couple."

He kissed her lips. "I do the cooking, you clean and do laundry."

"I can live with that."

She leaned in and kissed his lips softly. Her arm snaked around his shoulders. Her lips moved from his to his jaw, then she kissed her way to his ear. She whispered near his ear, "I love you, Marco."

He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. His arms tightened around her again. "I love you, Theresa."

42

Theresa unpacked the last box Marco had brought to the cabin. He'd decided to rent out his condo and therefore had to pack up all his personal belongings. As for her things, she'd packed most of everything she had when she was initially leaving the house she'd rented out of town. She had that stuff here already and had unpacked it. This place was beginning to feel a bit more like home. Not her home, but their home. She looked at a photo album Marco had in a box. She'd set it on the coffee table to look at later. It was now later.

There were pictures of him in BUDS. Pictures with his fellow trainees. In uniform, and he was incredibly handsome. There truly was something about a man in uniform. Some pictures were of places that she wasn't aware of. When he got home, she'd ask him where these places were. She turned the page and saw him standing in front of a tank next to a woman. They both stood with their legs shoulder-width apart, arms behind their backs. It was how military training required a person to stand. It took a long time for that to go away. Sometimes, she still stood that way when waiting for instructions from Margo or her boss prior, Carolyn, at the newspaper. Carolyn used to laugh and tell her to relax.

There were several more pictures of this woman with Marco at various places. They never looked to be more than friends and she wondered how anyone could just be friends with him and not develop more feelings. She'd felt something different about him the instant she met him. Had her life been different, she'd have pursued things with him long ago. She hated thinking about the lost time.

She flipped through the photo album, half interested and half afraid of what she'd see. Though he said he'd never told anyone else that he loved them, and she took comfort in that. How did a person get to be forty-something and never fall in love? Some of her friends from the military fell in love every week with someone new.

She set the photo album on the coffee table and made her way to the kitchen. She emptied the dishwasher, wiped the counters down, and hung the damp rag on the faucet to dry. She squirted hand lotion onto her hands and rubbed it in as she sauntered to the dining room table where her laptop was waiting for her to be productive.

She'd thought all day about how she'd start her story. It had finally come together in her brain. As soon as she pulled up her notes her fingers began flying over the keyboard at warp speed. She let them flow, those words she wanted to get out. She'd self-edit later and clean it up. She wrote about Keely and how she so naively married someone she thought was a strong man and would be good to her forever. Her dream man, she'd said a couple of times during their conversations. How dismayed she'd been the first time he hit her. Then apologized and promised to never do it again. Then he forcibly had sex with her, apologized, and promised he'd never do it again. Then things happened more frequently but without the apology. And finally, she thought she'd leave him, only to be told he'd kill her if she ever tried that again. She then wrote about the day Keely contacted her and said she had information Theresa may like to have. Thus began Theresa's foray into the world of the Celtics.

A while later, the security camera pinged and it took her a moment to realize it was the camera. She rushed to the desk and her heart raced. She saw an SUV pulling into the driveway. Her heartbeat sped up at the sight of the vehicle, her breathing took on a shaky quality. It took a bit for her to realize it was Marco. She swallowed the knot in her throat and the door opened. Marco stepped in, the smile on his face disappeared when his eyes landed on hers.

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