Page 83 of Heat Exchange

“I do, too. And being a firefighter is more than your job. Itisa part of who you are, and I love who you are. All of you. You were right, before. You’re not my ex-husband and you’re not my dad. I believe in you, and when you look at me, I know you love me.”

He squeezed her fingers. “Promise me, if you ever feel like the job is coming between us, you’ll talk to me about it and we’ll decide our future together. Me and you.”

“I promise.” She smiled up at him. “It feels right, you and my brother being together. Having each other’s backs. And Danny, too. And Ashley and I will be together at the bar. We’ll have a good life together.”

“So you’ll marry me?”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Yes. I’ll marry you. God, yes. Today. Tomorrow. As soon as we can.”

“No!” They both looked up at the top of the stairs, where Ashley was eavesdropping with tearstained cheeks. “You’re having a wedding and I need time to plan it.”

“Can you wait?” Lydia asked Aidan, tipping her face back to smile at him.

“I’m not stupid enough to argue with two Kincaid women, and I like the idea of you in a wedding gown. And that garter thing. You’re going to move in with me right now, though, right?”

“I’m already packed. We’re not getting cows, though.”

He kissed her again. “How about a cat? Oscar was kind of cool, you know.”

“Maybe. What should we do to celebrate? I feel like we should do something.”

He slid his hand under her hair and kissed her until her toes curled in her sneakers. “How about we go to this little place called Kincaid’s Pub and I let you buy me a drink?”

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