Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

I tried your cell but you weren’t answering your phone and I thought…well, never mind what I thought.”
    “The phones must have been out because of the storm.” A warm curl of delight started in the pit of my stomach and spread out, head to toe.
Derek
had been worried about
me.
Always nice to know.
    “Right,” he said, shoving one hand through his perfect hair. “But that wasn’t my first thought. I figured I’d angered you so much that you weren’t taking my calls. Then I realized you were in the mountains and the lines might be down. I raced here, drove as far as I could get by car. They were only allowing SUVs and trucks through the pass, so I rented a Jet Ski and came by land the rest of the way.”
    “You got here by Jet Ski?”
My hero,
I thought with a happy sigh.
    “And where do I find you?” he asked, and laughed. “In the middle of a murder scene. Naturally.” He shook his head, laughed again, pulled me into his arms, and held me there. “Damn it, Brooklyn. I missed you. I was beside myself trying to get here to tell you…”
    “To tell me what?”
    “That I’ll never stop trying to prove how much I love you.”
    “Oh.” And there went the tears again.
Gee whiz. Is there some kind of surgical procedure to get rid of the damn things?
    “Darling Brooklyn, look at me,” he said. Tilting his head, he saw my wet face. “Ah, you’re sweet.”
    “I’m a sap,” I muttered.
    He ignored that. “After turning Thomasina over to the authorities and while racing back to you like a man possessed, it occurred to me that I’d never really made a clear commitment to you.”
    “Commitment? Of course you have. You—”
    He pressed his finger over my lips. “No, don’t say anything. Let me speak. When I came back to town a while ago to open my new offices, you were there for me. You were always there for me. You took me into your home and shared your life and your family with me.”
    “Well, of course,” I said, gazing at him, unsure where he was going with this.
    “Yes, it’s that simple for you. Isn’t it? I value that about you, Brooklyn. I’ve told you that I love you, but I’ve never had to work for your love and affection. You’ve always made it easy for me, accepting me into your life, always trusting me no matter what. Always so loving.”
    I swallowed, but couldn’t speak. I really didn’t want to ruin his homage to my trusting nature with tales of how worried I’d been about him and the thieving Thomasina.
    He continued. “So when I finally realized that I might have allowed that trust to be broken, I was frantic to see you. I rushed back to assure you that I needed your trust back. Needed it more than I’d ever needed anything in my life. And I needed to let you know that I trusted you completely with my life and with my heart.”
    “Oh, Derek, of course I trust you. I missed you. I love you.”
    “I missed you enormously. I cherish you and I love you.”
    He kissed me then, and all my silly fears melted away. Someday I would regale him with what I’d gone through while I was here and maybe I’d tell him what a psycho girlfriend I’d been, but not today. And probably not tomorrow.It would take me a while to get to that place, but I would get there.
    He pressed his forehead to mine. “Are we good?”
    “Oh yeah,” I said with a big smile.
    “You guys are the greatest,” Suzie said, wiping away a tear.
    “Oh! You have to meet Lily,” I said, taking Derek by the hand and walking him over to Vinnie, who carried the baby close to her chest. I introduced Derek to the little angel and explained everything that had happened.
    “Congratulations,” Derek said, and kissed Vinnie’s cheek. “She couldn’t have two more wonderful, generous, loving parents than the two of you.”
    “You are such a lovely man,” Vinnie said. “Thank you.”
    “Damn it,” Suzie said, wiping away more tears. “What is up with the waterworks?”
    “I feel your pain, sister,” I said, and handed her a tissue.
    Vinnie touched Derek’s arm. “You have missed quite a bit of excitement this week. Why don’t you two come over for dinner next week and we’ll bring you up to date?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it.” He glanced at me, then said, “We’ll be there.”
    “Would you like to hold the baby?” Vinnie asked.
    Derek grinned. “I was hoping you’d let me.”
    She passed Lily over to Derek, who laid her on his chest. He closed his eyes and smiled as he rocked slightly on