There was a tentative knock.

“Yes,” they both said together, then grinned inane smiles.

“Sorry to disturb,” Madison spoke through the door, “but the forty-eighth ward results are in and it looks like a couple more are about to call it.”

“Be right out.” He gathered his love close and lowered his lips to hers in a kiss that joined their souls and forged that fiery connection anew. Win or lose, he could handle anything, because he had the prize in his hands right now. This inimitable woman.

“You ready for whatever comes next?”

Her radiant smile was filled with love and desire. With hope for their future together, come what may. He still couldn’t believe his luck.

“Whatever happens, Eli Cooper, you’ll always be the tricky, complicated, sexy, devious bastard I love.” She stepped toward the door and held out her hand. I’m here, he heard in his head. I’m not leaving.

“Let’s go give ’em hell.”

 EPILOGUE

E TA 10 mins. Order a Glenlivet in 5.

Alex frowned at the text message from her date. Where had she heard that one before? So damn bossy, but then that was why she loved him.

It was probably foolish to expect that Eli’s first day on the job would end at a reasonable hour, but she still held out hope that he could get here for a celebratory dinner at Smith & Jones before she took to eating the napkins.

Losing the election to Caroline Jenkins—twice, if you included the recount after the vote was so close—had been a considerable blow. But nothing kept a man like Eli Cooper down. Within four months, he had put in place everything necessary to open a private law practice dedicated to the needs of returning veterans. His calling would always be service oriented. He was an honorary Dempsey, after all.

You’re already a round behind, she texted back.

My evil plan. Get you drunk and horny.

Warmth spread through her, and it wasn’t down to her second Macallan. A server arrived at the booth, their regular table at S & J, with a platter covered in one of those fancy silver domes. This place got more and more pretentious by the second.

“Compliments of the chef.” She whipped off the dome and walked away.

Alex stared. Blinked. Stared some more.

At a blue velvet ring box. Just sitting there, at the center of the platter, ostensibly minding its own business, but really demanding every shred of her attention. Furtively, she looked around to see if anyone else was watching, but the hipsters were too self-involved tonight. America’s Favorite Firefighter had finally become a footnote in the city’s history.

Beside the box lay a scroll of paper, like one of those ancient legal documents, tied with a pretty pink bow. Her secret favorite color, which matched exactly the new lingerie she had charged to her account that afternoon at En Cachette. Sexy unmentionables she could feel in a silky, sensuous slide against her skin.

Every girly girl instinct screamed, Go for the bling! but she elected to keep it classy. First time for everything. She untied the bow and unrolled the paper to reveal a letter in Eli’s sprawling, masculine hand.

Alexandra,

She shivered her pleasure. Even in print, his use of her full name curled her toes.

You can see the box, so you know what it means. But it also means so much more. You’ve put me through the wringer already and I like to think I’ve repaid you in kind. I hope you’re ready for a life of adventure with a guy who hasn’t always said it right but has always known what he wanted.

I told you once that I met someone. I also told you that this woman was a pain in my ass, sexy as hell, foul-mouth ed, absolutely gorgeous, and that I was obsessed with her. What I didn’t say then was that I had fallen in love with her, probably that first moment I saw her in this restaurant. Likely the moment she told me I was a patriarchal, woman-hating asshole. Definitely the moment she destroyed the four-hundred-thousand-dollar car of one of the city’s most prominent citizens. Because that was the moment she destroyed my heart and any hope I had of resisting her.

You know I don’t believe in fairy tales, but I believe in writing my own story. It wouldn’t be much of a yarn without you in it, chewing the scenery, providing cliff-hangers in every chapter, and ensuring that each precious day of our lives together is a page-turner. I want to travel with you to wild and untamed places, in the world and in my heart, scale jaw-dropping cliff faces, and descend into dark alleys where no doubt you’ll rescue me like you’ve done from the start.

So, my beautiful Alexandra, will you take my hand and be my love from here on out?

Eli Cooper, Esquire

P.S. Go Cubbies! (You now know everything about me.)

Hot tears filled her eyes and fell in fat drops onto Eli’s note. His proposal to love her despite the fact she was difficult, foul-mouthed, and a pain in his ass seized her heart with a cutting joy. And she still hadn’t seen the ring.

Instinctively, her hand moved toward it, but a big, dominant paw got there first. She raised her gaze to the face of the man she adored. My, he looked handsome in a charcoal gray suit with a blue-and-silver chevroned tie. She couldn’t wait to rip that tie off and let him use it as a blindfold or restraint or . . . hmm, one thing at a time. There was another kind of proposal on the table.

He slid into the booth and curled his strong arm around her shoulder. His assessing glance at her cleavage confirmed she’d made the right purchase that afternoon.

“Did you order my scotch?”

“I got distracted,” she said, laughing as she swiped at her tears. She wanted to kill him for getting her all worked up like this. “And you’re late.”

“Traffic from the bar to the table was a bitch.”

“You were here all along.”

He grazed his lips against her earlobe and nipped gently. “You know I like to watch.”

Heated pleasure bloomed across her chest and up her neck. They’d gotten a lot of use out of that floor-length mirror over the last few months.

“Weirdo, stalker, jagoff—”

“You planning to kiss my cock later with that mouth?” He stopped her litany of insults with a searing kiss that rearranged her gray matter. She would never get enough of him.

Cupping his lantern jaw, she broke the connection and inhaled a fortifying breath. “Tell me about your day.”

“Alexandra—”

“I need to know.” Guilt over her man’s incredible sacrifice still gnawed at her. She had to know he’d be happy with this new life. With the woman who’d upended all his plans.

Understanding dawned on his Hollywood-handsome face. “My client roster is full. I’ll be helping a lot of people who need it. Believe me when I say I have not one single regret, and that you are the hottest, scariest, and best thing to ever happen to me.” He picked up the scroll of paper. “Goddamn it, I’m a lawyer who just put my heart’s desire in writing. Now, say yes, honey, and make an honest man of me.”

Honest? Impossible.

“Is that an order, Mr. Cooper?”

“I think we know you’ve always been the one in charge, Firefighter Dempsey,” adding with a wolfish grin, “Outside the bedroom, anyway.”

She smiled through her threatening tears, pleased with that. Now that she had passed her one-year anniversary in CFD and was a full-fledged firefighter, she was planning her next career move: to become the first woman in Chicago to join squad, the unit that covered dive, collapse, and all manner of tricky rescues. She hadn’t told Eli yet, but she knew he’d have her back. On the mornings she came home from her shift at Engine 6, he hugged her so tight to his body he almost squeezed the life out of her. He might never fully come to terms with the dangers she faced in the job she loved, but he didn’t nag. Just gave her the support and respect she needed.