Buried in Secrets (Carly Moore #4) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,89

just because of the guilt. I wanted him in my life. Always.

“What’s goin’ through that beautiful head of yours?” he asked, sounding worried.

I almost told him nothing, then reminded myself I was going to be honest about my feelings. “I’m scared for you.”

“Carly. I’ll be fine.”

Tears filled my eyes, making my vision blurry. “We don’t know that. Now that we’re together, I wouldn’t put it past Bart to kill you just to spite me.”

“Pull over.”

“What?”

“Just pull over.” He pointed through the windshield. “There’s a turnoff up ahead.”

“You’re gonna be late getting back to the station.”

“I don’t care. Pull over.”

I nearly told him no, but the tears weren’t going away, and I was smart enough to know that driving on this road was dangerous with obscured vision. I turned onto the small dirt road and put the car in park.

He leaned over the console and cupped my face, turning my head gently until I was looking at him.

“I’m scared for you, Marco. I never should have dragged you into my mess. I never should have let myself do this.”

“Do what?”

“Love you.”

A soft smile spread across his face. “Sweetheart, you’ve loved me for months. I don’t think you could have stopped even if you’d wanted to.”

I released a short laugh even as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Arrogant much?”

He grinned, his eyes lighting up. “Loving me and being with me are two different things. And we both know that Bart already knows we matter to each other. Whether we’re together or not.”

He was right. I knew it yet I was terrified for him.

“Carly.” He said my name so tenderly, fresh tears stung my eyes. “We’re gonna get through this, okay?”

I nodded, because what else could I do?

He wiped my tears with his thumb. “Do you want me to drive?”

“No. I think I’ve gotten ahold of myself.”

“Let’s take a couple of days off from the investigation. Let things settle down some.” He gave me a soft smile. “You need rest.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

He leaned over and kissed me, his lips tender, and I lifted my hand to the back of his neck and sank my fingers through his hair.

Pulling back slightly, I said, “I love you, Marco. If anything happens to you because of—”

His lips cut off my words, as they became more insistent.

My whole body flushed. I wanted him naked, but we were on the side of the road, and he was going to be late for work.

He was the one to pull back, but the hunger in his eyes said it wasn’t by choice. “Let’s head back into town.”

“Okay.” But I didn’t let go of his hair.

He grinned. “You’re gonna make this hard on me, aren’t you?”

I lifted a brow. “You want me to make it easy?”

“No,” he said, giving me another kiss as he gently pulled my hand from his head. “I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but good things come to those who wait. Tonight. After you get off work. I hope you’re not too tired, because I have plans for you.”

I sucked in a breath at the thought.

“So let me get back to the station so I can finish my paperwork.”

“Okay, but maybe we can get a few days off soon and go away.”

“I really like that idea. We both know Max will give you time off if he knows we’re going away for a romantic getaway.”

I laughed, because it was true. “Okay.” Happiness washed through me, but it scared me. I kept wondering when it would be snatched away.

I pulled back onto the road and continued on toward town while we discussed where we could go. Marco said he had someplace in mind in North Carolina that was secluded and cozy.

We were almost into town when I finally brought up Ashlynn again. “She acted pretty weird when Jonathon told us Jim’s wife didn’t go to the meetings.”

“She acted weird about him in general,” Marco said. “And she definitely didn’t want Jonathon to think he was the baby’s father.”

“Do you think Jim Palmer’s the father?” I asked.

Because we both knew what it meant, or what it probably meant, if he was.

“I don’t know. We need more information.” He gave me a pointed look. “But I meant what I said. Let’s give it a rest for a few days, then maybe we can talk to some of the kids in the youth group. Or maybe you can talk to her brother again.”

“Yeah.”

“But not today and not tomorrow.”

It felt like we were wasting time, but he was right. We’d been stirring hornet’s