She shivered, anticipation rolling through her. Oh, how she hoped she knew what it was he wanted to say to her. That it involved talk of a future. And a lot of uses of the word love.

“I’ll meet you downstairs in two-and-a-half minutes,” he said. “I’ve timed your song…that’s how much you have left.”

“You’re on,” she said with a broad smile as she clutched the flowers close to her body and slowly backed away from the edge of the stage. She put the flowers down right in front of the curtain, where she could easily retrieve them.

Nick turned around and walked back the way he’d come. From where Izzie stood, she could see every man in the place turn to watch him go. Most were regulars who had to have recognized him. And probably all of them wanted to know exactly what he’d said to her…and what he meant to her.

That was easy to explain. Everything.

Nodding toward the crew member on the side of the stage, Izzie waited for her song to resume. Now she danced joyfully, the way she hadn’t in a very long time. And she smiled during every moment of it.

As soon as the last notes of the music played, Izzie grabbed her flowers and darted toward the wings, pausing only long enough to stick her arms in her robe before tearing toward the staircase. She took the cement stairs two at a time, almost stumbling. But even if she had, it would have been okay. Because Nick was waiting at the bottom of them, staring up at her.

He would have caught her. She knew that, from now on, he would be there to catch her.

“Come on,” he murmured, taking her hand. He twined her fingers in his, then lifted them to his mouth to press a soft kiss on them. “Let’s talk privately.”

She followed him, easing against his body, her curves fitting perfectly in his angles, as if they were two pieces of a puzzle. When they reached her dressing room, Nick opened the door and held it for her, then followed her inside.

“Thank you again for the roses,” she murmured as she put them on the makeup-strewn counter. They’d already begun filling the room with their heady perfume and she inhaled of it deeply.

“You’re welcome.” He immediately added, “You were right.”

“About?”

“Everything,” he admitted evenly, making no effort to hedge or share blame for what had happened between them. Even though Izzie knew she bore some of the responsibility.

“We both…”

“No, Iz, let me finish, please. You were right to accuse me of living the same double life I’d accused you of. You had legitimate reasons, with your father’s health and your, uh…”

“Being a stripper?”

He grinned. “Yeah. That.”

“I told Gloria and Mia.”

His eyes widened. “Really? How’d they react?”

“Better than I expected.” Much better. But she’d fill him in on that later. “It’s a first step, anyway.”

“I know. I made that same step. I told my father and Tony that I wasn’t interested in the business. And what I am interested in doing.”

“Being a bodyguard?”

For the first time since he’d walked up to her during her dance, Nick looked a little hesitant. He glanced to the side, and scrunched his brow. “Well…not exactly.”

Immediately on alert, Izzie crossed her arms. “What did you do? Tell me you’re not going to be a cop like your brother!”

He shook his head, as if appalled at the idea. “Not a chance. As it turns out, Harry’s going to need to take a step back from this place to deal with Delilah’s legal situation.”

Not a surprise.

“And he asked me if I’d manage it.”

Izzie couldn’t prevent a shocked gasp. “What?”

“There’s more.”

Still stunned at the very concept, she waited, mouth agape.

“He needs an infusion of cash…I think he anticipates a lot of legal bills. I have money I’ve been socking away during all the years I bunked with Uncle Sam. So I’ve just become a part owner of this club.”

That was so unexpected, Izzie couldn’t help sinking down to her chair in absolute shock. “You’re serious?”

“Very serious.”

“You’re going to work here.”

“Uh-huh. You okay with that? Working with your husband?”

“Oh, I’ll love…” His words sunk in, banging around in her head. “What did you say?”

He smiled. “I thought diamonds would go well with roses.”

Izzie remained still, in a stunned silence, as Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. A gold one. With a big fat diamond on top of it. “I’m going to slide this on your finger, but not until you take that mask off your face.”

Dazed, she reached up and unfastened the clasps of her mask, one on each side of her head. The slow-motion feeling of the moment continued as she drew the red velvet away, letting it fall to the floor at her feet.

He reached for her hand, drawing her up to stand in front of him. “I love you, Izzie Natale. I love you, Crimson Rose. And I want you both in my life from this day on,” he said, his voice serious and unwavering. His expression was every bit as serious-as proud and determined as she’d ever seen him-as if he placed more value on this moment than he had on any other.

She certainly did. Because this could be the moment when her life changed forever. When, as silly as it sounded, all her secret dreams-the ones she hadn’t even acknowledged to herself-might actually start coming true.

“Whether we stay here, or go to New York, whether you work at the bakery or take off your clothes for a living…I’ll follow you. I’ll lead you. I’ll stand beside you.” He reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing his fingertips over her skin in a caress so tender it brought tears to her eyes.

“Be with me. Always.”

Now the teardrops gushed. Izzie seldom cried, but, at this moment, it was absolutely the only reaction she could manage. “I will, Nick. I love you so much. I’ve loved you for so long, I can’t remember what it felt like to not be in love with you.”

Reaching for him, she twined her arms around his neck and drew him toward her. She rose on tiptoe, touching her lips to his in a gentle kiss that gradually deepened. Their tongues sliding together in delicate intimacy, their bodies melted together. They shared breaths and promises not yet made but never to be broken, making a bond in that deep, unending, heady kiss that would last forever.

It was the most beautiful kiss of Izzie’s life. Because she was kissing a man she’d loved forever…and his amazing mouth had just given the same words to her.

When they finally paused, Nick smiled down at her. “Are you really going to wear my ring?”

She stuck out her hand. “Starting now. Lasting forever.”

Once he’d slid it on, she stared at the beautiful, glittering stone and gasped at the beauty of it. “Oh, thank you for waiting for me,” she whispered to him.

“Thanks for pulling me on top of you on that table of cookies to let me know how much you wanted me.”

Izzie glared at her new fiancée. “I did not pull you on top of me.”

“I’d have to say you pulled, Cookie.”

Reaching for the sash to her bathrobe and slowly unfastening it, she smiled a wicked, sultry smile. “Nick? You want to see what’s beneath this robe?”

His eyes glittered in hunger and need. “Oh, you know I do.”

He reached for her, but Izzie put her hand over his, stopping him. “Then I have one piece of advice for you. Don’t call me Cookie.”