Page 167 of Mission Shift

The kiss we shared after that was nothing short of reckless—our mouths colliding in a wave of emotion that neither of us could hold back.

Amelia cleared her throat. “I’m still here, you two.”

We broke apart, laughing. My cheeks were flushed, but I didn’t care.

Braxton turned to her. “So…what do I owe you?”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, that’s already been taken care of, Mr. Thorin.”

He raised an eyebrow. “By who?”

“The owner of the security firm that’s kept our store safe for the last several years,” she said. “He made all the arrangements.”

Braxton bounced his eyebrows at me. “See? Nikolai’s not all bad.”

“Just mostly,” I replied with a grin.

He chuckled, then checked the time. “We really need to get moving. Tacoma’s a long flight, and you still need to meet the family.”

I slid my hand into his as we stood. “I think I’ll like Samantha and Anastasia.”

“Oh, I know you will,” he said. “Sam’s a fiery redhead who once made our attending physician back down in the ED, then turned around and melted his icy heart. And Anastasia? She’s Nikolai with longer hair. Thank God Conan’s laid back enough to keep her from burning the world down.”

I laughed. “They sound like my kind of women.”

We stepped out of the private room, and the doorman saw us out. The limo waited right at the curb.

Braxton opened the door for me.

I slid in, immediately reaching down to rub the dog’s giant head. “You were such a good boy, waiting for Mommy.”

Braxton settled in beside me as I lifted my hand to let the light hit the ring. “Look, handsome. Mommy’s got a shiny new ring.”

The dog blinked slowly, then let out a low, approving bark.

Braxton rolled his eyes. “It’s good to know I’ve got the dog’s approval.”

I grinned. “That’s it! Handsome. That’s his name.”

Braxton groaned. “You can’t name him Handsome. That’s not a name. That’s… I don’t even know what that is.”

“It’s perfect,” I said, scratching the dog’s ear. “And he loves it.”

Braxton raised an eyebrow. “So what—you want me to stand in some park yelling,Come, Handsome! That’s a good boy, Handsome?”

“Actually?” I laughed. “Yes. I’d pay money to witness that.”

He shook his head. “You are going to be the end of me.”

I leaned over, kissed his cheek, and whispered, “No. I’m the beginning.”

We pulled away from the curb and headed for Teterboro.

A home wasn’t something I’d ever had. But I realized, right then, that wherever Braxton was, that was where I wanted to be.

Chapter forty-five

We touched down at Boeing Field just before sunset. The sky over Seattle was a muted gray, streaked with cloud cover that hadn’t made up its mind whether to rain or not. Typical. But even that felt good. Familiar. After weeks of traipsing through war zones, running for our lives, spending sleepless nights, and being ocean vagabonds, I didn’t mind a little damp chill.

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