“Yours. It’s still decked out for the holidays, right?”
She nodded. New Year’s Eve was only a few days away, but she wasn’t quite ready for the Christmas season to be over. “You don’t mind?”
“Why would I mind? It makes you happy. As far as I’m concerned, you can leave it all up until Valentine’s Day if you want.”
“That would clash with my Valentine’s Day decorations.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You have Valentine’s Day decorations?”
“Well, not anymore. They’re somewhere in the bowels of Dennis’s house. But I don’t want any of that stuff. I’m going to get new stuff that I can make new memories with.” She grinned up at him as the possibilities unfurled in her mind. “Maybe I’ll even buy some sexy lingerie. Would you like that?”
A wolfish smile warmed the angles of his face and elicited a pulse between her thighs. “Lingerie is always nice, but I’d much rather see you naked.”
Epilogue
Monthslater…
Jury selection began today for the trial of an Avalon Springs police officer accused of blackmailing Florida Senator Benjamin Trask. If convicted, Dennis Heckler faces up to fifteen years in prison. Reporter Taylor Roberts is on the scene in downtown Orlando, where the trial is expected to last a week. Taylor, I hear security has been tightened around the courthouse in anticipation of this high-profile—
Pinto switched off the television and went back to the kitchen, where a pan of shredded beef enchiladas was baking in the oven. It amazed him how quickly the wheels of justice turned when a powerful person was the victim. The senator was slated to testify at the trial, which, in addition to a mountain of bank records and a shakedown phone call that went viral online, should all but guarantee a guilty verdict for the now-former police officer.
Heckler and his cop buddy were also under investigation for the beating of an unarmed motorist. The video, which also went viral, triggered a public outcry, and three other people had come forward to share similar experiences. The motorist, whose face was blurred in the video, had yet to be publicly identified, and thankfully no one in Pinto’s family had recognized his car.
When the oven timer dinged, Pinto set the pan of enchiladas on the counter to cool.
The senator hadn’t escaped unscathed. To the contrary, calls for his resignation had been growing ever since the police body cam footage aired on every major news outlet. And when the woman in the video came forward to share her side of the story, the calls had grown even louder. Whether his political career survived the firestorm was anybody’s guess, but he’d already been stripped of his committee assignments and his wife had filed for divorce.
Pinto stepped to the pantry, took out a bag of chips, and filled a basket. He set it on the table with a bowl of salsa. Now that the news coverage of Heckler was over, he expected Fiona to come down to his place in five…four…
He smiled at the knock on his door.
After wiping his hands on the dish towel, he crossed to the foyer. He’d given Fiona a key to his place weeks ago, but she still insisted on knocking. If he had his way, that would change soon.
As always, the sight of her took his breath away. Tonight, she wore a blue jacket over a red sweater and those black stretchy pants that hugged her body like a second skin. The black boots made her a few inches taller, while her silky blonde hair hung loose past her shoulders.
Wasting no time, he pulled her inside, nudged the door shut with his foot, and kissed her the way he’d been fantasizing about all afternoon.
“Hello to you too,” Fiona said, sounding breathless, when they finally came up for air.
It was all he could do not to kiss her again, but if he did, it would lead to a lot more than that, and the rice would end up burnt. “Dinner’s about to go on the table. Would you like beer or wine?”
She glanced over his shoulder at the pan on the stove. “Beer; I can get it while you take care of the food. I assume you’d like one as well?”
“Yes, please.”
While he got busy loading plates with food, Fiona got two bottles of beer from the fridge and popped the caps.
“Smells great.” She gave him a smile as he set two plates of enchiladas and rice on the table.
Pinto took the seat across from hers and raised his beer bottle in a toast. “To justice being served.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Fiona clinked the neck of her bottle against his.
As they shared a meal, they also shared their day, trading bits and pieces of what happened in their lives since they parted ways that morning. He loved hearing about her experiences with her students, and she seemed to enjoy the latest news about his friends and colleagues at Six Points.
Pinto waited until they finished their meals to bring up a topic that had been on his mind for the better part of a week.
“I’ve been thinking. Relax, it’s nothing bad,” he added when concern flickered over her face.
