She was still smiling, but I could see her fighting back tears now. Even here, Bree was trying to stay tough.
“You know you’re a little crazy, right?” she said. “You know that?”
“If lovin’ you is wrong,” I whisper-crooned to her, “I don’t want to be right.”
“Okay, okay, anything but the singing,” she said, and we both laughed like a couple of kids cutting up in the library. But it was laughter through tears, for both of us.
Bree knelt down with me, put her hand gently over mine, and slid the engagement ring back onto her finger. When she kissed me lightly on the lips, I felt the warmth, and a quiver, all the way down my spine.
“Alexander Joseph Cross, as many times as you want to ask me, the answer is yes. Always has been, always will be.”
Chapter 17
ROMANTIC FOOL THAT I AM, I wasn’t done yet. From Immaculate Conception, I drove us back downtown, where we checked into the Park Hyatt for the night. I had told Nana we wouldn’t be home.
After the bellman left us to our suite, Bree looked around and asked, “Alex, how much is this costing?”
I had a chilled bottle of Prosecco waiting, and handed her a glass. “Well, I’m not sure we can still swing college for Damon after this, but the view’s great, isn’t it?”
Then I sat down at the baby grand — absolutely the reason I’d chosen this place — and started to play. I stuck to old standard love songs, things like “Night and Day” and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” each one with a little message for Bree. And, by request, I mostly stayed away from the singing.
She sat next to me on the piano bench, listening and sipping the wine. “What did I do to deserve all this?” she asked finally.
“Oh, that part’s still coming up,” I said. “Something about taking off all your clothes. Slowly. Piece by piece.”
First, though, we had dinner sent up from Blue Duck Tavern and shared everything — orange and arugula salad, fresh ahi tuna, soft-shell crabs, and a warm-centered chocolate cake for two.
I opened a bottle of Cristal with dessert, and we finished it in the big limestone soaking tub afterward.
“I feel like we’re already on our honeymoon. First a church, and now this,” she said.
“Consider it a preview,” I told her, running a bar of lavender soap up and down her back, then her long legs. “Just a little taste of the future.”
“Mmm, I like the future.” She put her mouth on my shoulder and bit down softly when I abandoned the soap and started using my hands.
Eventually, we spilled right out of the tub and onto the floor. I made a makeshift bearskin rug out of two fluffy hotel robes, and we spent the next few hours trying to get enough of each other.
The first time I brought Bree to climax, her head tilted and her mouth opened soundlessly, while she held on to the small of my back with that amazing strength of hers.
“Closer, Alex. Oh God, closer. Closer!”
It was like nothing could come between us, literally or figuratively. I felt a million miles away from anything but her, and I never wanted that night to end.
But of course it would — and all too soon.
Chapter 18
THE HOTEL PHONE rang at almost exactly twelve o’clock. I’d realize later that it hadn’t been a coincidence. Midnight is also the start of a new day, and the caller meant that, literally.
“Alex Cross,” I answered.
“All this, and romance, too? Tell me, Detective Cross, how do you manage it?”
Kyle Craig’s voice registered like ice water — and just as fast as that, everything changed.
“Kyle,” I said for Bree’s benefit. “How long have you been in Washington?”
She was already sitting up, but as soon as she heard the name, she grabbed her cell out of the nightstand and took it into the bathroom.