A Date with the Other Side (Cuttersville #1)(64)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Relief had him hanging his head before he kissed her hand.

“Now stand up, you look foolish down there.”

That was the woman he loved.

Shelby watched Boston stand up and thought that she was the luckiest woman alive to have a man willing to sacrifice so much for her. But while she could and would marry him, she could also make it easier on him.

He was trying to kiss her, but she tugged his hand and started for the stairs. “Let me show you something.”

“Your bedroom?” he asked with a grin, grabbing her about the waist and managing to sneak in a kiss.

Shelby savored the taste of him for a split second before reason ruled. “It’s in my bedroom, but it’s not what you’re thinking. My grandmother is around the house somewhere, you know.”

“So?”

She laughed, running up the stairs while he followed. Shelby stood in the doorway of her bedroom and gestured for him to go on in. He stopped in the middle of the room, turning around. “You moving?”

“Yep. Check the label on the boxes.”

He shot her a look of amusement, before leaning over. He stiffened and the smile fell off his face. “Shel, this is my address in Chicago.”

“I know that, you goof. I have a plane ticket downstairs in the kitchen, all ready for me to fly to Chicago this afternoon.” Shelby came up behind him and slid her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his solid back. She breathed in his clean T-shirt smell and sighed. “I was planning on begging you for another chance and telling you that I’d live in Chicago. That home is where my heart is, and my heart is with you.”

Boston turned around so fast, her nose got bumped. He cupped her cheeks. “Shel, you don’t have to do that. I love you for it, but I realized that there’s a lot to be said for living in Cuttersville. And it wasn’t fair of me to ask you to give everything up, when I don’t have any real attachments to Chicago. I don’t really have a family or a home and I never have. I can have that here with you.”

Shelby almost choked on the lump in her throat. “Yes, you most certainly can.” She reached up and kissed him. “You really want to stay here? And you don’t mind if I run a kooky ghost tour?”

“How could I mind? That’s what brought us together.” He kissed each of her eyelids in a gesture so tender, Shelby felt like someone had pumped helium into her insides.

“As long as we can work your tour around having a baby or two eventually. I’m getting kind of attached to the idea of raising a little Shelby.”

The idea of having his child, a little black-haired baby, thrilled her. “We should get in plenty of practice before we try and get pregnant, though,” she told him.

His eyebrow went up. “Practice sex? That’s a brilliant idea.”

She had meant babysitting, but now that he mentioned it . . .

“How about now? I’ve still got a key to the White House.”

Dang, the man was full of good ideas today. “Alright, but first you’ve got to say what you think of my outfit. I put this stupid dress on for you, so I would blend in with the city, and you haven’t even noticed.”

“You’re wearing a dress?” He held her back at arm’s length and Shelby squirmed.

She never should have borrowed the damn thing from her cousin Heather. She felt like Strawberry the cow in it, spotted and wide. It was a black sleeveless dress that Heather had said would show off her tan, but if he hadn’t liked her haircut, chances were good he wouldn’t like the dress either.

“You look hotter than hell, and I can’t wait to drag this dress off you,” he said, his hands starting to migrate south.

“Well, enjoy it, because you probably won’t see me in another dress until our wedding.”

But the weight of that gorgeous diamond rested on her finger pleasantly and she figured she was open to negotiations.

Boston resettled Shelby in his arms and pulled the white eyelet spread up over their naked bodies. “Thank you for wearing the emerald green bra and panties. That was a nice bonus.”

“You’re welcome,” she murmured into his chest, nuzzling his nipple. Her thigh started to press closer against him, rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

His own body stirred in response, but he didn’t think he’d actually be able to carry the effort through to completion at this point. He and Shelby had made love twice already, and he didn’t plan on getting dressed for another twenty-four hours or so. Plenty of time for another round in a little while.

“That was nice of your grandmother to offer us this house as a wedding present. I’ve gotten somewhat attached to it.”

“You know, it’s been quiet since you left.” Shelby ran her brand-new engagement ring across his chest, tickling him. “I wonder if things will get noisy again. And if we’re going to live here, I’ll have to find another house to take in weekenders for the tour. I’m going to cash in on all this publicity we got.”

“That’s good. And you know, I have a theory about Rachel. I think she’s misunderstood, and that’s why she haunts this house.” Boston closed his eyes and stroked Shelby’s back, pleasantly sleepy and satisfied. “I think it wasn’t really Rachel at all who killed her fiancé. I think it was the maid, who was caught stealing the silver, or who was spurned by the fiancé. And Rachel was blamed, so she haunts the house looking for her lover, and for justice.”

Shelby’s weight shifted a little on him, and her chin rested on his chest. “I think you could very well be right. And I think when I’m on maternity leave someday, you can run the tour for me and tell that theory. You deliver a story as good as any ghost tour guide professional.”

He laughed and decided that he must have been temporarily insane to walk away from this woman. “Maybe. But I might be too busy sucking up to Brett to ask for a retransfer to Cuttersville.”

“I love you, Boston.” Shelby kissed his neck, tasting the slight salty sweat there. She reached a hand down under the spread. “And I think it’s time for me to finally finish that private tour we keep trying to do.”

Boston groaned when her hand closed over him, changing his mind about what he might be capable of in the near future. “I love you too, Shelby Tucker, soon to be Shelby Macnamara.”

Shelby ducked her head down lower, amazed and so very grateful that she’d found her passion and her heart with Boston.