Page 101 of Second First Kiss

Kat and Tessa hugged for a long moment and then Tessa said, “He’s leaving. Go get him before it’s too late.”

“It is too late.”

“You told me that when it comes to family you’d never walk away. He’s family, Kat. Look what he did for us. Don’t let him walk away.”

Kat thought about that and the longer she stood there, the warmer and larger her heart became until she couldn’t contain it anymore.

“Nolan,” she cried out.

He was at the threshold of the courtroom when he stopped and slowly turned around. Kat didn’t waste a second, she took off in a sprint and raced toward him, launching herself into his arms. He caught her and spun her around.

“Don’t go,” she whispered. “Don’t ever go.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Then where were you going?”

“I was getting the new laptop I bought you out of my car. I figured if a guy were to make a grand gesture, he had to go big, and with you, flowers wouldn’t work.”

“You bought me a laptop? Let me guess, it is hack proof so I can’t get into trouble.”

“Kitten, you are always going to get into trouble, and I am always going to love that about you.”

“Even if it means we don’t always agree.”

“Even then.” He cupped her face. “And I need you to know that I will never, ever put my job above you or Tessa again. You are it for me. No more secrets or moral superiority.”

“Hey now, don’t go changing on me.” She laughed. “You have to keep some of that good guy.”

“You just want to finish first,” he whispered against her lips.

“No. I want to finish everything together. With you by my side.”

“Thank God for second chances.”

“Thank God for drunken barroom dares. Without that awful kiss we never would have made it here.”

“And here is exactly where we’re supposed to be.”

EPILOGUE

Six weeks later…

“And the badge for the quickest finish is, Tommy Kincaid and his mentor Nolan Carmichael!” the Junior Search and Rescue leader announced as he pinned the badge on Tommy’s uniform.

The kid might be beaming, but his mentor was glowing. Kat had never seen him so proud in his life. This, this, was what he’d be like when he was a father, she thought. Not that they were anywhere near ready for kids, but he was proving to her every day that there was a different way to love than what she’d been taught.

As the last of the badges were handed out Nolan and Tommy high-fived and then Tommy raced off the stage to show his mom his new badge.

Nolan searched the crowd and when he met her gaze he didn’t hesitate, he didn’t look away. He just made his way down the steps, the sea of people parting as he moved through, and headed straight for her, not stopping until she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. They kept it PG and family-friendly, but her body reacted as if he’d just stripped her naked and rained kisses down her body.

When they pulled back, she said, “Not bad for a guy who just won a badge for the quickest finish.”

“You want to go test that theory?” he asked, giving her a hard smooch.

“I think we have an ice cream party to go to first,” she reminded him.

“Then you and I are going on that ride along.”

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