Crazy Hearts Page 10
God, she was beautiful. No wonder he loved her. The truth had been staring him down for weeks. Smart, funny, gorgeous women were hard to find, but he’d done it, and he wasn’t going to let her go.
He wasn’t going to rush things, though. He wanted to give her plenty of time to figure out she was crazy about him, too. So he’d gotten her something special to let her know how he felt. This morning’s phone call had cinched it for him.
“I heard from a friend of mine this morning, the guy whose house I was staying in while I was stationed in Panama.”
“J.T. Chronopolous, right?” She threw her line back in, casting it into the weed beds lining the bank.
“Yep. Seems he and this group of guys he works with out of a place called Steele Street in Denver tracked down a shipping container full of stolen shoulder-launched surface to air missiles at a port in Yemen.”
That got her attention.
She turned to face him so quickly, she almost dropped her pole.
“They found the Stingers?”
“And the Mistrals and the Russian SA-18s.” There had been doubts. The encryption on the cigarette case hadn’t been as definitive as Nikolayevich had promised. “It’s all thanks to you, babe. You saved a lot of lives.”
She was beaming, the sunlight caressing her skin and turning it that peachy golden color that made her look good enough to eat. “They found the SAMs.”
Oh, yeah. He was in love.
Pushing himself upright, he rolled to his feet and padded down to her end of the dock just to drop down next to her and take her in his arms. She snuggled in close, and he kissed the top of her head. She was warm, and he was in love, and the time was right for the box in his pocket.
“J.T. has a sister-in-law who’s an artist, and I had her design and make up something for you.” He reached into the pocket of his shorts.
Lani leaned a little ways back, and he opened the box between them. Nestled inside was a necklace, a silver chain with three charms hanging from the middle, two in gold and one in silver.
“Oh, Jack,” she whispered, reaching out to take the necklace and hold it in her hand. “It’s beautiful, but what . . . ”
She was a smart girl, she’d recognize the charms in a minute.
It took less than that.
“Missiles?” She looked up, her expression a fascinating mix of confusion and delight. “You had somebody design little missiles for me?”
He just grinned. Yes, he was the man who knew how to deliver.
“Ohmigosh.” A rapturous smile spread across her face. “This is so awesome.”
“One of a kind, sweetheart. Just like you. But a couple of the girls down at Steele Street—”
“The place in Denver,” she clarified.
“Yes. They liked your necklace so much, they’d like to have a couple more made. I told them I would check with you. What do you think? Would you mind if Skeeter and Red Dog had necklaces like yours?”
Her eyes widened a little. “I think any woman who would wear missiles on a chain ought to have exactly what she wants. And Skeeter? Red Dog? Cripes, babe, do names even get cooler than that?”
“They’re cool, all right. Cool like you.” He reached over and took the necklace out of her hand and clasped it around her neck. “Maybe you’ll get to meet them someday.”
“I’d like that.” She looked down and ran the tips of her fingers over the three charms.
“Yeah, I think you would.” He leaned in closer and kissed her cheek, and her forehead, and the tip of her nose. “Can we go back to bed, now. Dawn is long gone, thank God, and the fish won’t start biting again until noon.”
“But, sweetie-pie, it’s a gorgeous day out here. What in the world are we going to do in bed?”
His grin broadened. Right, he thought. Like that was a mystery.
In answer, he scooped her up into his arms and started back up the dock. “Oh, I’m guessing we’ll figure something out.”
She laughed and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “You know I love you, Flipper.”
Yeah, he knew, and my, oh, my, wasn’t it really just a damn fine day.
Want More…?
Heart-stopping adventure and breathless passion? Then don’t miss...
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~ RIVER OF EDEN ~
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“One of the most breathtaking and phenomenal adventure tales to come along in years! [Tara Janzen] has created an instant adventure classic. Make tracks and get your hands on a copy of this book today!” ~Jill M. Smith for RT
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A LOST WORLD
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In the heart of the rain forest lies a prize Dr. Annie Parrish is willing to risk her life for…if she can find it. All she needs is a captain with a boat heading upriver. With a dangerous load of illegal contraband weighing her down and time running out, she’s only got one name left on her list, and it’s at the bottom. The good thing is, he’s right where she’d expected to find him – the last, ramshackle dive bar on the waterfront.
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A ROGUE SCIENTIST
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Will Travers has macaw feathers in his hair, a week’s worth of beard, and a shaman’s crystal hanging around his neck, convincing Annie that even the wildest stories she’s heard about him don’t tell the tale. A Harvard-trained botanist, the once world-renowned professor lost his reputation – and some say his mind – when he vanished from his camp on the Rio Cauaburi and disappeared for a year in the rainforest. Now he’s back, in a seedy waterfront bar with a beer in his hand and a mulatto woman doing the lambada on his lap – and against every ounce of common sense she has, Annie’s about to make him an offer.
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ONCE THEIR JOURNEY BEGINS, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK
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The last thing Will needs is a woman whose secrets run as deep and dark as his own. A renegade in her own right, the legendary Amazon Annie is a magnet for trouble – and he’s already got plenty. He’s out to destroy a devil named Corisco Vargas before he can unleash his nightmarish forces on the whole of the Amazon. Trapped between a shaman’s mystical visions and the violence of the real world, their journey quickly becomes one of desperate danger. But which force will rule their fate – the yearning for vengeance, or a power as potent and seductive as the heart of a singular, magical orchid?
About the Author
TARA JANZEN is the New York Times and Nationally Bestselling Author of eleven Steele Street novels and one Steele Street novella, thirteen Loveswepts, a medieval fantasy trilogy beginning with The Chalice and The Blade, and the stand-alone adventure romance River of Eden. She has won numerous awards from Romantic Times and a RITA award.
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See you there! TJ xoxo