“Let’s go inside then,” he said.
He took her hand and led her toward the beach.
He was happy that Natalie joined him on the terrace when he went out to grill their supper. Something had happened out there as they stood in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Some kind of barrier had melted away. The change in Natalie’s manner toward him was subtle, but at the same time…
Miraculous.
Liam felt as if he had somehow gained the privilege of watching a flower bloom before his very eyes. Slowly, maybe…and tentatively, as if she was testing out the environment. But there could be no doubt of it.
Natalie trusted him enough to open up her inner world.
It humbled him a little, that realization.
He closed the lid of the smoking grill and listened as Natalie described the volunteer work she did for the Family Center—the treatment and family support facility for survivors of substance abuse that Mari Kavanaugh had opened last year. Apparently, Natalie volunteered a good chunk of her time in order to do the Center’s books, plus she took on the responsibility of making sure the Center’s licenses and operating guidelines
were up to date and within required code.
“You make me feel like a shirker for just hammering a nail now and then,” Liam said.
“You had that beautiful sign made. Choose hope,” she said softly, repeating the quote Liam had requested for the sign he’d commissioned for the Family Center last year.
He couldn’t have stopped himself for anything. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to her wistful smile. His heart felt like it skipped a beat when he felt her smile widen beneath his lips before she kissed him back; it drummed into double-time when she laced her fingers through his hair.
A sudden blast of smoke in his face was the only thing that stopped him from tossing down the spatula and sacrificing the salmon to the flames.
He’d rather have Natalie for dinner.
“So I guess we’ll both be going to the Labor Day fundraiser Mari and Colleen have been planning this Sunday. Why don’t we go together?” Liam asked after he’d coughed the smoke out of his lungs and hurriedly removed the salmon fillets from the grill before they turned to carbon. He turned off the gas and picked up the plate of steaming fish.
It took him a moment to realize she hadn’t responded immediately. He glanced at her. She wore a strange expression on her face—hesitant, pleased…wary?
“Okay, that’d be nice,” she said, and the flicker of anxiety he’d felt for a second upon seeing her uncertainty vanished. He grinned in satisfaction. There could be no doubt about it this time.
He’d just officially asked Natalie Reyes out and she’d said yes.
The terrace was cast in the pinkish-gold hues of sunset as they ate. After supper, they pushed back their plates and talked almost nonstop until the crimson orb of the sun sank slowly into the dark blue waters of the lake.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said quickly at one point when he glanced up and noticed how set and pale Natalie’s face had become as he described having his cover blown last year when he’d been investigating some corrupt cops. “I knew Tresedi wouldn’t kill me without the consent of Maguire— Maguire ruled the pack—and the chances were pretty good my partner would find me before Maguire ever gave the order.”
“The chances were pretty good,” Natalie repeated, her voice flat with incredulity and anxiety.
“Mike Estes has never failed me before, and he didn’t in this case,” Liam repeated, referring to his former partner.
Natalie picked up her iced tea and took a large swallow. “It’s so scary,” she murmured. “You could have easily been killed at a dozen different times during that investigation. I don’t understand how you did it, living so secretively…so dangerously for almost a year.”
“It wasn’t that bad. For the most part, I was just carrying on with my normal job.”
“You make it sound like your ‘normal’ job was as safe as selling Tupperware. I, for one, am glad you decided to quit the Chicago P.D. and come to Harbor Town.”
“Even a sinner deserves a couple of peaceful years, huh?” he teased.
“I have a feeling life would never be calm around you.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on the table, as if her low voice had tugged at him like a magnet. Dusk had settled, soft and hushed. He stared at the feminine curve of Natalie’s cheek as wisps of her hair fluttered against it.
“Take off your glasses.” When he realized how blunt he’d sounded, he added softly, “Please.”
She removed her glasses and set them on the table. Her face was beautiful in that pregnant moment when the day meets the night, enigmatic…sublime.