She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. When she started to back away, Colt pulled her in and kissed her the way he wanted to, with all the feelings he had for her he’d never said. When he let her go, tears shimmered in her eyes.
“We better get going,” she said. “We don’t want to keep the jet waiting.”
Colt just shook his head. He didn’t care if the damn plane waited forever. He wasn’t ready to let her go. It occurred to him he never would be. He wanted to tell her the way he felt but he couldn’t seem to find the words.
Then he opened his mouth and they just spilled out. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to see you at some nebulous time in the future. Or maybe never. I don’t want us to be over, Liss. I don’t care what it takes, I want us to be together.”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had.
“You know it wouldn’t work. Long distance relationships never work.”
“Then we won’t make it long distance. We’ll figure something out. We’re both single. Neither of us is too old to change the path we’re traveling.” He set his hands at her waist and drew her closer. “You know we’re perfect for each other. Everything about us fits. At least admit that much. If you don’t believe it, tell me I’m wrong.”
The tears were back in her eyes and they spilled over onto her cheeks. She wiped them away with the tip of her finger.
“You aren’t wrong. I’ve never met a man who suits me the way you do. It doesn’t change anything.”
A warm feeling slipped through him. He recognized it as hope. “It changes everything, sweetheart.” Colt leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, then more deeply. By the time he’d finished, she was clinging to him as if she’d never let him go.
“Tell me you’re willing to try,” he said. “At least give me that much.”
She looked at him and something moved across her features. Resolve, he thought, or some kind of decision.
“I know it’s too soon to say this, but I don’t want to leave without telling you. I’m in love with you, Colt. It wasn’t what I wanted. It just happened.”
The warmth in his chest expanded. “I don’t think time is a factor when it comes to love. I’ve never said the L-word to a woman before, but that’s the way I feel about you.” He gathered her close, her elegant dancer’s body melding perfectly with his larger frame. “I love you, Lissa.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Colt...”
“Say you’ll give us a chance.”
Fresh tears surfaced. “I can’t believe this is happening, but...yes. Let’s find a way to make it work.”
Colt kissed her softly. “Thank God I wasn’t stupid enough to walk away.”
Lissa’s laughter rang sweet in his ears, and Colt smiled, feeling as if the dark cloud over his head had just been replaced by the sun.
“Okay, so you’re flying back to Dallas and I’m driving on to Denver. But as soon as I get things wrapped up, I’m coming after you. We’ll figure out a way to be together. We won’t let anything or anyone stop us.”
Lissa grinned. “One thing I’ve learned about you, Colt Wheeler. When you’re on a mission, you don’t quit until you’ve gained your objective.” She leaned up and kissed him. “I’ll see you in Dallas.”
There was more he wanted to say, but when he turned, he saw Alex and Timmy walking toward them. It was time to go.
Instead of a feeling of loss, a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He wasn’t saying goodbye this time, only a brief farewell.
Colt reached for Lissa’s hand. It felt exactly right in his as they walked toward his Mustang for the short ride to the airport.
EPILOGUE
LISSA WAS BACK in Dallas, back at work at The Max. Timmy was home, back in school, handling the trauma of his abduction with the resilience that only comes with youth.
The day after Lissa’s return, Alex Romero had called to update her on the outcome of the task force raid, letting her know that Ray Spearman, aka El Puñal, had been arrested. He was facing more than a dozen criminal charges, and because the Americans were involved in the arrest, he was certain to go to a high-security prison, and he wouldn’t be getting out any time soon.
Business was good. She’d been able to find the drug dealer who’d sold impure heroin to the daughter of one of her clients. He was cooling his heels in jail, exactly where he belonged. She’d also helped an abused wife get evidence against her no-good husband, which had resulted in custody of her two young children. Life was good.
Lissa looked up as the door whooshed open and a tall, broad-shouldered man walked into the office. Gleaming blond hair, black patch over his eye, roguishly good-looking, Colt was here.
She rose and started toward him. In Laredo, she’d told him she was in love with him. She had only fallen harder in the weeks since that day. This was his third trip to Dallas. He’d been in town since yesterday, planned to stay another week. He was willing to move to Dallas full-time, he had said. Chase had even offered him a job.
But Lissa wanted to wait. She owed it to Colt to consider the possibility of working in Denver. They would be making a trip there soon. It really didn’t matter where they wound up as long as they were together.
One thing was certain. They were sticking. They were going to make a life together. There was no doubt Colt was the man for her and she was the woman for him.
When she reached him, he opened his arms and she walked right into them. It was a perfect fit.
Colt kissed her and she could taste the hunger that always sparked
