“I’m here, babe.”
“Love . . . you.”
That did it. The tears I’d managed to hold back for days spilled over. “Damn it, you beat me to it. I love you too.”
“Know . . . heard.” Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing evened out.
Oh, my heart. I dropped into the chair I’d spent so many hours in, not releasing her hand, my damp eyes on her face as I waited for her to wake up again. I loved this woman who made me feel so much more than I’d felt in years, and she loved me.
I prayed we’d get the chance to grow old together.
Over the next two days, Eve grew stronger, staying awake longer between bouts of sleep. Once again, we took turns in the ICU with her, neither of us wanting to leave her alone. While Derrick sat with her, I went back to the hotel and slept for a few hours, then showered and called my girls. I’d been keeping them as updated as best I could. We swapped on and off, but these last few days had been exhausting.
After waking up from a short nap, I went back to the hospital, meeting up with Derrick in the waiting room. “How’s she doing? And why are you out here?”
He smiled tiredly. “She’s cranky. They said that’s good. They wanted some space to run a few tests.”
“You need some sleep,” I said, noting the circles under his eyes. He’d been doing double duty, sitting with his mother and ferrying his grandparents back and forth to the hospital to see Eve. “Why don’t you head back to the hotel and lay down?”
“Actually, I need some exercise. I’m not used to sitting around like this. I’m going to go for a run around the harbor. Can I get you anything while I’m out?”
I shook my head. “I’m good. Be careful out there, honey.”
He headed for the door, and when he reached it, he turned. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile so much like Eve’s it made my heart ache. “Yes, Mom.”
I laughed, though it sounded rusty. After a quick stop at the nurse’s station, I went into Eve’s room and was surprised to find her awake. “Hey there, sexy.”
She tried to lick her lips. “Thir . . . sty.”
The nurse who was taking her vitals shook her head. “Sorry, Lieutenant. Nothing to eat or drink yet.” She took a cup and filled it with the tiniest bit of water and a sponge on a stick. She dabbed it on Eve’s mouth, then handed it to me. “You can use this to wet her lips and her tongue. That should help. Not too much, though.”
The nurse left the room. “More,” Eve said.
“A tiny bit.” I dabbed like the nurse had and put the sponge back in the cup.
Eve licked her lips. “More.”
“Nope. Just a little. You heard her.”
“Mean.”
I laughed, relieved to be on the receiving end of her teasing, and dabbed a tiny bit more water. “Bossy.”
She licked the water off her lips again. “Don’t . . . forget . . . it.”
“Like you’d ever let me.” I slid my hand under hers on the bed, and this time, she actually gripped it. Not tightly, but it was a good sign. “I’m so sorry, Eve.”
A tiny wrinkle in her brow. “Why.”
“Because we fought, and over something stupid. You shouldn’t have told Chief Robinson you wanted a transfer, because we talked about that. But I shouldn’t have given you grief about it. I know why you did it.”
“Love you.”
My heart tripped, and I turned my hand over beneath hers and squeezed it. “I know. And I think I knew it then.” I grimaced. “Maybe I did know, and was trying to pick a fight, without realizing I was doing it. It’s convoluted, but it scared me that you would offer to do something like that for me, because I knew what that had to mean. It had nothing to do with the job, and everything to do with being so in love with someone again that you can’t imagine life without them. When you love someone, it hurts when you lose them, and I’ve already lived through that once. But it’s too late. You’re in my heart already. Whether we’re together or not, I’m always going to love you and I’m always going to worry about you.” I waved my hand around all the machines. “Now more than ever. But not being with you is worse than worrying.”
“Love me,” she said, her words slurred as though she was going to drop off to sleep.
“I really do. You put my needs before yours, and it’s what people in love do. I should’ve remembered, because I can think of a hundred times I did that for Seth and he did that for me. I would do the same for you.”
“I . . . know.” She blinked a few times and seemed to rally herself. “Ne . . . ver letting you go.”
Four Months Later
I stepped in the door just past eleven, exhausted and starving.
Work had been a madhouse the last few months, mostly because Eve was still on medical leave and, though I liked Delia, when it came to Community Relations, she was the fish out of water she readily admitted to being. A heavily pregnant and ready-to-pop-at-any-time fish who’d been placed on desk duty, so she’d been the logical person to step in while Eve healed, but because I was more familiar with it, most of the grunt work had fallen to me to handle, making the days long and tiring.
And since it was Monday, I’d had my class to teach at shul, which made for an even longer day.
Eve was in the family room, curled up on the sofa where we’d had our first tentative explorations together, asleep with her book against her chest. I watched her for a long moment, listened to her even breathing. Though she was nearly ready to go back to work—just waiting for medical clearance—there were days I still needed to reassure myself that she was alive. Today was one of those days, when I was exhausted and the worry in my mind took over.
I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Tal.” She blinked awake and stretched, the book toppling to the floor. “I guess I fell asleep. What time is it?”
My anxiety eased, replaced with exhaustion. I yawned. “After eleven. I am beat.” A long growl came from my stomach, and I grimaced. “And starving. I didn’t expect to be this long, but when class was over I got roped into helping for a few hours at the homeless shelter until the regular volunteer got there. He had car trouble. Sorry I didn’t call. My phone was dead.”
She rose, gave me a quick hug and a kiss on my temple, then drew me to the kitchen and pushed me into a chair. Once I was seated, she grabbed a box from the fridge and slid it my way.
I lifted the lid and groaned in sheer ecstasy. Half a margherita pizza, which was just as good cold as hot. I practically inhaled the first slice, and Eve watched with a sleepy, amused look on her pillow-creased face.
She pushed away from the counter and grabbed a glass, then filled it with water and a splash of juice, exactly the way I liked it. “Drink it all, and I’ll get you another. The pizza was good but salty.”
“Thanks.” I drained it and she filled it again. “I didn’t get anything to drink, either. Nothing since about five.”
“You need a keeper,” Eve muttered, pinching the crust off one of the leftover slices.
“You volunteering?” I asked, sliding the box closer to me so she couldn’t snitch any more. “Hands off my pizza.”
“It was a peace offering because I know I’ve been cranky this last week, but if you’re gonna be like that, I’m taking my pizza back,” she said, swiping another piece of crust and hooking her finger over the box as though to draw it back to her side of the table. “And maybe.”
“Fine. But the rest is mine.” I relented, pushing the half-mangled slice to her. It took a moment and another bite of pizza for that maybe to click in my tired brain. Maybe? What does that mean?
We finished our pizza with a minimum of words, and then after she put the glass in the dishwasher and the box in the garbage, she took my hand. “Did you lock up?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” She drew me down the hall to the bedroom, shucking her clothes until she was in nothing but panties and a cami, and slid into what was now her side of the bed with a groan. “I�
�m going to have heartburn from eating and laying right down, but I’m too damned tired to stay awake. And I know I should brush my teeth, but one night isn’t going to kill me.”
I gave a half-asleep grin, then changed my clothes for a big T-shirt. I used the toilet and climbed into bed beside her. “Brushing teeth takes too much energy, and I have about none.” And since we both had garlic breath, I kissed her softly, and curled close to her, being extra careful not to bump her sometimes still-tender scars.
She cupped my face with her palm, then kissed me back. “I talked to the doctor today.” She paused, swiped a thumb over my lips. “I’m cleared to go back to work next week if I’m up to it. Desk duty only, and then another checkup in two weeks.”
My heart tripped. I knew she’d be going back to work someday, and she was ready . . . but I wasn’t. The thought of her in the line of fire again about killed me. But I loved a cop, and that meant I had to deal with it. At least she’d be on limited duty for the first two weeks. “You think you’ll be up to it?”
“God, yes. I’m going stir-crazy. I’m cleared to start running too. I’ll start in PT tomorrow. Slow going, of course, but I’m crawling out of my skin with all this inactivity.”
“I just need you to be careful. I don’t think I’d survive losing you.” I laced my fingers with hers and squeezed. “I love you, Eve.”
“I love you too, Tal, and I’m not going anywhere. Go to sleep, and we’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.” She yawned, then flipped over onto her side, and we curled together like spoons, our legs entwined.
She fell asleep before I did, but I followed her about a minute or two later.
My alarm went off way too early, especially since we’d been up so late. I burrowed into the pillow and deeper under the covers, only to have the blanket yanked off me.
“Move it.”
I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head. “You are such a tyrant.”
Eve lifted the pillow and waved the mug in her hand under my nose. “You know you want this, addict.”
Mmmmm, coffee. I grabbed blindly for it, but she held it out of my reach.
“Unh huh. You’ve got to get out of bed to get it.”
I dropped my face back into the pillow. “If I’d known you were this cruel, I’d have looked for a different girlfriend.”
The words came out somewhat mangled, but she must’ve gotten the gist because she laughed. “It’ll be in the bathroom on the counter,” she taunted, heading off to the bathroom.
I wanted to hurl the pillow at her, but that might spill my coffee. I glared at her, narrow-eyed. “Mean.”
She laughed again, then tossed her panties and cami out the bathroom door at me. “Just wait ’til I start making you run with me. Move it, Wasserman.”
I banged my head and groaned, then shoved my ass up and followed her to the bathroom. The steaming cup of coffee was right on the counter where she’d said it would be, next to a cup of hot tea. The devil in me considered pouring her tea down the toilet, but even I couldn’t be that cruel.
So instead I turned on the hot water for about a second, sending a shot of cold into her shower. This old house had many things I loved about it, but the fact that the hot—or cold—water could only be one place at a time wasn’t one of them.
She yelped, and I grinned and turned the hot water back off, sending her shower back to a normal temperature. I probably shouldn’t have done it, considering she was still recovering, but her relieved groan made me laugh. And I fully expected she’d get me back for this. Maybe not today, because Eve was wily like that. She had the same devilish sense of humor I did, except that she was good at the long game, and I’d have already forgotten about the payback by the time she’d gotten her revenge.
Which meant I’d have to watch my back.
She stepped out of the shower and stalked close, not bothering with a towel.
“Eep,” I said, backing up with a laugh. “Don’t you dare.”
She didn’t listen and came forward, trapping me between her lusciously wet body and my robe hanging on the bathroom door. After lacing her fingers with mine and pressing our hands back against the door, she dipped her head, claiming my mouth in a fierce kiss that set my heart pounding and made my head go light.
She tasted of toothpaste and mint tea, and when she finally broke the kiss I took over, bending my head to lick the droplets of water from her neck and shoulder. We’d made love since she’d been released from the hospital, but always carefully, and this morning was no different. I sucked lightly on her collarbone, and she shuddered.
Her arms dropped as though her muscles had gone limp, and I took the opportunity to spin her so our positions were reversed, my mouth sucking on one stiffened nipple and then the other. I sucked lightly there too, and she rubbed her shower-wet thighs together. I smiled against her skin. “You let me know if anything hurts.”
“I hurt,” she said, brushing the back of her hand over her mound. “Right here.”
I laughed, then dropped to my knees and buried my face between her legs, licking the water droplets from her thighs. I urged her to put a leg over my shoulder, which opened her even further to me. Then I licked right down her center, tonguing her until she came unglued, sagging against the door, her legs trembling.
“That . . . God.” She put her foot back on the floor and I grabbed behind me for a towel. “What you do to me.”
She went to take it but I held it out of her reach, staying on my knees as I dried her off, working from her feet up to her torso, kissing the same path the towel did, being especially careful around the puckered scars on her chest and her arm, the scars that always made me realize just how close I’d come to losing her. When she locked eyes with me, the heat in them was nearly my undoing. I wanted her again, and someday soon we’d get back to the mattress marathons we’d had before she got hurt, but I could tell that one round had tired her out. And besides, one round was all we had time for. “Don’t give me that face. I’m late already.”
She ran a finger along my cheek. “Officially, you don’t start until eight. I know you’re usually there early, but . . .”
She was right, but I shook my head. “I have a school visit today, remember. But later tonight? I’m all yours.” I stood, then finished toweling her off, paying extra special attention around her breasts.
Her breathing hitched, and she laugh-moaned and grabbed the towel from me. “Tal. You’re not helping.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. “I gotta shower before I change my mind.”
She laughed again and kissed me hard, shoving me toward the shower.
I took a quick one, then hurriedly dried myself and dressed in khaki pants and my Community Relations T-shirt, which was no longer as tight as it had been when Eve had given it to me. I’d lost about fifteen pounds after the shooting and during Eve’s recovery. I didn’t mind the lost weight, but I hoped never to be in that situation again.
When I got to the kitchen, Eve had breakfast ready on the counter.
I frowned. “I should be taking care of you, not the other way around.”
“It’s a bagel and an orange. Pretty sure I can manage that.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I wish I was going with you.”
“I know.” I kissed her cheek and snagged a bagel half slathered with veggie cream cheese, exactly how I liked it. “Soon.”
She leaned against the counter next to me, nibbling on the granola cereal she liked. “Derrick called last night.”
“He did? What’s up?” I’d spent a lot of time with him while Eve was in the hospital. When he’d first gone back overseas, I’d talked with him daily, keeping him updated on Eve’s progress. Now that she was better, we texted and talked often, sometimes about her, sometimes about Gabriela and their wedding plans, and sometimes about nothing in particular. He was the son I’d never had, and I loved him very much.
“He said Lila sent him and Gabriela another care package. One of the guys in his unit loves her cookie
s and wants to meet her.” She grinned, paused, and studied me. “He also wanted to know if I was going to sell my duplex.”
I stilled. While she’d stayed with me after she’d been released from the hospital, once she’d started driving again, she’d also been spending time at her own place, claiming she needed some space. I understood it, but I wanted her to move in with me, fully. I hated being apart from her. “What did you say?”
She looked at me over her tea, then flashed me that devilish grin I loved so much. “I told him I was waiting for my girlfriend to make an honest woman out of me, and once that happened, then I’d make a decision.” She dropped a square box on the counter, pushed it toward me. “I’m tired of waiting. Open it.”
I blinked, and opened it. Inside the box were two identical necklaces, each with intertwined hearts, one gold, one silver. My heart thudded and my eyes swam. “Oh, Eve.”
Her eyes were suspiciously bright too. “I love you, Talia Wasserman. I know I should’ve waited and done this right, but I want to be with you the rest of my life. We’ll figure out the house thing but I don’t want to wait anymore. Marry me?”
I lost the fight and a few tears fell over, but they were happy tears. Never, ever had I imagined I’d be this lucky twice in a lifetime. “Yes, yes, yes.” I hugged her tight, kissed her, then leaned my forehead against hers. “I love you, Eve Poe, my badass cop. And we can live wherever you want. Here, your place, or somewhere new. I don’t care, as long as we’re together.”
She picked up one of the necklaces and put it around my neck, and I did the same for her. We grinned at each other like fools, and then we kissed again.
“So I was thinking maybe we should get married when Derrick and Gabri do,” Eve said.
I smacked her uninjured arm.
She rubbed it, glaring at me. “Ow. What was that for?”
I rolled my eyes. “You are not doing that to our future daughter-in-law. She and Derrick deserve their own day.”
Twice in a Lifetime Page 17
