The most obvious answer hovered there on the tip of her tongue.
She was afraid to say it and consider what a purchase like this meant.
“Come on.” Kyle held out his hand to her.
She took it and he led her up the porch to the front door with its oval of frosted, dirty glass.
Lights twinkled from inside.
“What did you do?” Bethany asked.
“There we are.” He pushed the front door open.
Two lines of electric tea lights marched away from them.
“Before we go inside, I need you to open your toolbox and get out the box with a one on it.” Kyle’s grin was far too pleased with himself.
She went to a knee and opened up the pink case. A hard, black zipper pouch had a metallic one drawn on it. She opened it and pulled out a pair of safety goggles.
“How’s this?” She looked up at Kyle.
“Sexy.” He slid a matching pair on from his tool belt and offered her a hand up. “Come on.”
She took his hand, and they entered the house. He led her through one room and into what had to be the formal dining room just off the kitchen. A small table sat up against the widows with a white cloth over it and food covered in foil over warmers.
“What is all of this?” She turned in a circle.
Another table sat on the other side of the room and a projector whirred, casting a square of light on the wall.
“What is going on, Kyle?” She stared up at him and prayed his answer matched hers.
“IT’S TIME TO OPEN box number two.” Kyle gestured at the dining table. “Want to have a seat for this one?”
She nodded, her stunned excitement bleeding through that mask of calm she was struggling to hold on to.
It had taken her five or six times bringing up this house before the plan had hatched. At first it was a silly, wishful idea. He’d made the mistake of mentioning it to Faith over wine one night when Bethany was running late. Of course Faith had told Megan, and they’d agreed with this mad plan.
Kyle pulled out a chair for Bethany and she sat, cradling the toolbox. She held their future in that bag. He sat across from her and nodded.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” he asked.
“Right.” She dug into the pink toolbox and pulled out an envelope marked two. Inside were a few pieces of paper. “Is this...? You bought this place? You really bought it?”
“You were right.” He spread his hands. “It’s kind of a perfect fixer upper.”
Bethany gaped around them.
The floors were good, but the walls...
Holes had been punched through some. The others were covered in garish wallpaper by someone who’d had aspirations of restoration without the budget. It was scary to look at on a surface level, but he could see what it could become.
“Oh sweet Jesus, Kyle.” Bethany sat back
“How about we get something to eat, and then we can open three?”
“Eat? You want me to eat now? I want a tour.”
“I remember how our last tour went. Not yet.” He leveled a stare at her. Everything had to happen in order.
“I’m not getting a say?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. Feed me.” Her glare was cute. She was too excited to be truly angry with him.
Kyle dished them up dinner. It was his same Tuscan Chicken recipe they’d eaten that first night together, when their lives changed. He brought the plates back, and she already had box three open and was holding the thumb drive out to him.
He took it from her, plugged it into the laptop and started the slideshow. While they ate he went over the reports about the house and the sketches he’d had made by an engineer covering what they could do with the house.
“You seriously want to open up the first floor?” she asked.
“The problem with restoring the rooms is that these front four rooms are all small. Which is why I thought combining the foyer that sitting room and dining room into an open space with the kitchen would make it all more usable.” He flipped to the slide with the layout.
“That’s a lot of work, Kyle.”
“It is, but it can be done. I figure there’s about five or six jobs we’d need to hire out to do, then we can tackle the rest. Really put our stamp on it.”
“Our stamp?” She peered at him.
It was his turn to swallow and sweat a bit under the collar.
He’d told her a dozen or so times that he loved her without receiving a similar reply. The way she looked at him made him think there was more there. He’d banked on that.
“I thought this could be our project,” he said.
“You think I’m going to be your free labor?” One side of her mouth quirked up, ruining that stern expression.
“Do you want that tour now?” he asked.
“Yes.” She grinned.
“Okay, then I’m going to need four.”
“There’s two more.” She handed over the slim box four.
“Yup. Six boxes.”
It was the last one that made him the most nervous. He was gambling big time.
Kyle pulled the remote to the wireless speakers he’d hidden around the house out and pressed play.
“Let’s go.” He got up and offered her his hand.
She took it and he led her into the kitchen.
“What...?” Bethany stopped just inside the room, staring at pictures pinned to the wall.
Faith had snapped most of these the night they’d tried making pie. It’d turned out more like a cobbler. They’d laughed so hard.
They strolled from room to room, taking in the work that needed to be done and the unending gallery of the last six months. The nice thing about having two female roommates was their tendency to photograph and document everything.
“In here is a guest room. We can skip it if you like.” He pushed the door open, their way still lit by more tea lights with electric flames.
“Of course I want to see it.” Bethany stepped into the guest room and stopped barely a few feet in.
This room was the one he’d debated.
“In a perfect world, this would be where your parents might stay if they decided to visit.” He wrapped his arm around her waist.
Bethany had met with her parents twice since the events that brought them back into her life. They weren’t necessarily good interactions. Anthony was far too dug into their lives to leave easily, but Bethany could see them on her terms if she wanted.
Kyle knelt and grabbed box five from her tool box, producing tissues.
The truth was, they accepted each other with, baggage and all. The only difference was that they could still fix the major problems in Bethany’s life. Over time, he hoped that they could build a better relationship with her parents.
Bethany took the tissue and swiped at her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.
He kissed her forehead.
She accepted him with all his demons. This, helping her face her past, was only fair.
Bethany peered up at him, tears clinging to her lashes.
They’d been through a lot together, and he hoped they’d get to enjoy more time together.
“I love you, Kyle,” she said.
He let out a breath at the unprompted statement. He’d waited so long to hear that and worried she wouldn’t feel the same, and here it was.
“Did you hear me?” She jostled him.
“I did. I was soaking it in.” He bent his head and kissed her lips. “I love you, too. Come on. There’s more to see.”
He led her out of the room and toward the master bedroom.
This was it.
No backing out now.
Kyle opened the door and led her into the large master suite.
“Holy shit...” Bethany gaped at the massive four poster bed. He’d spread a few rose petals around it and covered the ancient mattress with a sheet until he could dispose of it.
“I’m pretty sure this thing is as old
as the house. They must have put it in here before it was done because it doesn’t come apart.” He let go of her hand.
She walked forward and turned in a circle.
The place wasn’t livable in its current state, but it would be.
“Was this your plan? Buy a house and woo me with it?” She stopped to face him.
“Kind of.” He bent and grabbed box number five. “I want to do things with you. I want to grow old with you. And for that kind of thing, we need a place to live. Don’t get me wrong, I like Megan and Faith, but...I think we’re going to want our own place.”
Bethany’s gaze was on his hands.
The box was a suspect size and shape.
He knew he was asking for a lot, but he had to try.
“Do you want to see what’s in box five?” he asked.
This was her one option out.
“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes wide.
Kyle crossed the floor and knelt in front of her. The rose petals provided a fragrant distraction from less pleasant smells they’d have to deal with later.
He opened the ring box and held it in his hand.
She covered her mouth with her hands.
The ring wasn’t a traditional engagement ring. He’d taken his mother’s favorite ring and had something new and unique made for Bethany. They shared a love for making old things new again. It was why all those renovation shows appealed to them. They were similar in a way that Kyle had never shared with anyone else.
“I’m not kidding when I way I want to grow old with you. When we met, I was a broken man, and you showed me I could be better. You make me whole, and I want to be there for you the way you’ve been there for me.” He took a breath and tamped down on the nerves. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She chuckled and nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Yes, I will marry you.”
You can stay up to date on the whole Alpha Team crew in Dangerous in Love, Dangerous in Action, Dangerous in Transit and Dangerous in Motion.
Sign up for the New Release Newsletter at www.SidneyBristol.com to get inside scoops and free books.
Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...
It all began with the Aegis Group.
Dangerous Attraction
Dangerous in Training
Dangerous Games
Dangerous Assignment
Dangerous Protector
Dangerous Heat (coming 2018)
In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.
Beauty and the Geek
Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek
The Jock and the Geek
The Gamer and the Geek
The Adorkable Girl and the Geek
The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek
When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.
The Origin Story
Alpha Prince
Her Prince
Bad Boy Prince
Noble Prince
Within Aegis Group, special teams take on special jobs, beginning with the Alpha Team.
Dangerous in Love
Dangerous in Action
Dangerous in Transit
Dangerous in Motion
Dangerous in Charge (coming 2018)
Other specialized teams exist under the Aegis Group umbrella, including Lepta Team.
Dangerously Taken
Dangerously Involved (2018)
Dangerously Deceived (2018)
Dangerously Broken (2019)
Dangerously Entwined (2019)
Stay tuned for the appearance of the Troy Team and Omega Team.
For short reads, tune in this December for the Body of Danger novella series kick-off.
Heart for Danger
Mind for Danger (2018)
Soul for Danger (2019)
Coming in 2018, Texas SWAT: A Small Town Suspense Series.
Fighting Redemption (2018)
Stolen Redemption (2018)
Dangerous in Love
Aegis Group Alpha Team 1
He follows orders.
A good SEAL, Shane York values chain of command. Following the rules means staying alive. All of that is wrecked when his team is sent to Jamaica on a hostage rescue. She’s not the mission, but they leave no one behind.
She breaks the rules.
Travel blogger Lacey Miles lives for today. Thanks to her unexpected rescue from certain death, she has a shot at tomorrow. She wants her mercenary captors to pay, and she has the evidence to ensure it—if she lives long enough to deliver it.
Opposites spark an unlikely romance in the heat of danger.
Delivering the intel and keeping the hostages alive becomes priority one for the Aegis Group Alpha Team. The last thing Shane and Lacey have time for is love. As the team races home and bullets fly, rules fall by the wayside and lines begin to blur. With a traitor in their midst, will love be a distraction or a strength?
Dangerous in Action
Aegis Group Alpha Team 2
He doesn't like complications.
Retired SEAL Shane Cohen believes pleasure and work can coexist. What begins as a typical save the girl and get home job is anything but. Soon it's not the girl who needs saving, it's his team.
Her whole life is complicated.
Playing the part of a madman's girlfriend nearly got Tanya killed. Two years undercover and the death of her partner have taken their toll. She doesn't know who she can trust, until him. The man who catches her when she falls.
Their no strings situation becomes a tangled mess of emotions.
It's a race against time to prove Tanya's story is real. If she's telling the truth, the whole eastern seaboard could be in danger. If not, Isaac could be falling for a woman more deadly than anything he's ever encountered.
Dangerous in Transit
Aegis Group Alpha Team 3
He takes his time.
Retired Royal Navy Lieutenant Felix Larson thought this job would be like any other. Get in, get the girl and get out. But this trust fund princess isn't like any other woman he's met, and she's ready to take on the whole Alpha Team to get her way.
She lives in the moment.
Jackie Davis is relieved when she and her medical team are rescued while on a humanitarian mission in the African country of Mauritania. Her thanks is short lived when she butts heads with a particularly infuriating Viking-like man, intent on telling her what to do.
The magnetic attraction of two lovers might keep a whole country together.
When the Alpha Team is attacked and their team scattered, Felix must get Jackie out of the country to stop a rogue political faction from using her as a tool in their civil war. But when their friends are taken hostage and a deadly secret emerges, it might ruin their budding romance.
Dangerous in Motion
Aegis Group Alpha Team 4
He let her go once.
The last time retired Navy SEAL Adam Novak saw his wife was on their wedding day. His runaway bride has made her life...without him. Resigned to going it alone, he’s not expecting her coworkers show up on his doorstep pleading for him to find her.
She's been waiting for him.
Virologist Heidi Novak is in over her head. Again. Kidnapped while researching a mysterious outbreak, she's forced to work with the enemy. That is, until an all too familiar silent, giant barges in, guns blazing.
Old flames burn twice as hot.
With the threat of pandemic emergency hanging over their heads, Adam and Heidi must face their past if they're going to save everyone’s future.
Book List
Aegis Group
Dangerous Attraction
Dangerous in Training
Dangerous Games
Dangerous Attraction
Dangerous Protector
Dangerous Heat (coming 2018)
Aegis Group Alpha Team
Dangerous in Love
Dangerous in Action
Dangerous in Transit
Dan
gerous in Motion
Dangerous in Charge
Aegis Group Lepta Team
Dangerously Taken
Dangerously Involved
Dangerously Deceived
Dangerously Broken
Dangerously Entwined
Gone Geek
Beauty and the Geek
Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek
The Jock and the Geek
The Gamer and the Geek
The Adorkable Girl and the Geek
Twisted Royals
Alpha Prince
Her Prince
Bad Boy Prince
Noble Prince
Tarnished Heroes
Spy Games
Assassin Games (2018)
Traitor Games (2018)
Texas SWAT
Fighting Redemption (2018)
Stolen Redemption (2018)
Hot Rides
Drive
Shift
Chase
Bayou Bound
Picture Her Bound
Duty Bound
Bound Memories
Bound & Tamed
Other BDSM Titles
Committed
Bound with Pearls
Collar Me in Paris
Festive Seduction
Electric Engagement
So Inked
Under His Skin
The Harder He Falls
His Marriage Bargain
Fighting His Desire
Standalone Titles
Falling for His Best Friend
Dream Vacation (free read)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
It can never be said that NYT & USA Today Bestselling author Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and fostering cats.
COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY Sidney Bristol.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
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