Free You Again by Carolyn Scott Page B

next to him, her profile silhouetted against the passenger window.  Her breathing sounded erratic and her fists were balled up on her thighs. 
    “So this really is your car?” she asked.
    “No.  I hired it for tonight under a false name.”
    She nodded but didn’t seem all that interested.  Small talk.  Great.  The kiss of death to any relationship.  He reached for her and she drew away.
    “Luke,” she said.  “I really am grateful.  For everything.  What you did was ... well, it was amazing and generous and wonderful and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
    “You don’t have to thank me.  I wanted to do it.  For you.  For us.”
    “Ah.  Well.  That’s the thing.”  She chewed her lip.  “Us.  You see, tonight we worked as a team.  We were good together.  But tomorrow you’re going to go back to being a cop and there will be no us anymore.”
    His insides clenched.  “Lily, it doesn’t have to be that way.”
    “No?”  She huffed and although he couldn’t quite make out her expression in the dark, he could tell she wasn’t happy.  “Luke, the reasons you broke up with me are still there.  Dad may have gone but the rest of my family hasn’t.  I can’t distance myself from them for you.  I won’t—.”
    “I don’t want you to.  Damn it, Lil, I want us to be together again.  I don’t care about your family."
    “Don’t you?  You still have a few more rungs to climb at work.”
    “Lil.”
    “I know how important your job is to you.  I know you want to go all the way to Chief Commissioner one day.”
    “Lily.”
    “And although it’s unethical for a senior detective to date a member of Melbourne’s first family of burglary, it would be downright impossible for a Chief Commissioner, or even a deputy.”
    He caught her hands, forcing her to look at him.  “Lily, will you stop!  I don’t care about that anymore.  I don’t want to be Chief Commissioner, or deputy or anything else.  I’m happy where I am.  Well, I would be if you were with me.”
     
    Lily tried to keep it together.  She really did.  But her lip wouldn’t stop wobbling.  “Oh.”
    He leaned forward and kissed her oh-so gently.  “I made a very stupid mistake and I’ve spent the last two years paying for it.  I’ve been miserable without you, Lily McAllister, because you are the love of my life and always will be.”
    “Okay,” she said then cringed even as the tears flowed down her cheeks.  She sounded so lame but she couldn't think straight with her head so full of fog. 
    He loved her.  He loved her.  He loved her.
    “I love you too,” she added hastily in case he thought her lack of response meant she didn’t.
    His teeth flashed white in the darkness and he drew her into a kiss so fierce it knocked the air out of her. 
    “Lily?” he said, drawing away but not letting go.
    “Yes?” she said on a sigh.  Enough talking already and kiss me again.
    “You know how you kicked me out of your house last night?”
    She shrugged.  “Yes.”
    “Are you going to do that again tonight?”
    She smiled.  “No.  You can stay the night.”
    He wasted no time leaping out of the SUV.  “Good, because I’ve got plans and they might take a while.”  He came round to her side and opened the door for her.
    “Got your handcuffs on you?” she asked as he helped her out.
    He grinned.  “Of course.  Want to play cops and robbers?”
    "Only if get to be the cop."
    He kissed her hard.  "Whatever my Lily wants."
     
    THE END
     
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