Chapter Fifteen
MUCH MORE THAN a few minutes later, they paid for their costumes and ran down the street toward the hotel, laughing and clinging to each other. Carson felt ridiculous dressed as Ronon Dex from Stargate Atlantis in a pair of distressed leather pants and vest, wrist cuffs, and a Chewbacca mask, while Tawny looked like she was made for her Harley Quinn costume, although the alien mask didn’t quite go. He obviously hadn’t been paying close enough attention when he’d grabbed the masks, but they did the trick.
“Thank heavens for wet wipes,” Tawny said. “You just put all my fears to the test.”
“You could have told me no.”
“That’s like telling a crack addict, ‘Just say no.’” She laughed, and they both took off their masks and put them in the bag.
“Hey, at least I thought to grab masks. I knew if we got down and dirty you’d want a way to escape the store without being recognizable.”
“So thoughtful.” She cuddled up to him as they waited to cross the street. “I still can’t believe you got me to do that.”
“What can I say? I can’t keep my hands off of you.”
“Are you into public sex? Was that just the beginning?” she asked in a voice thick with worry as they crossed the street.
When they reached the sidewalk, he stopped walking and took her by the shoulders, gazing into her eyes. “No. I’m not, and it wasn’t the beginning of anything. I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me. I’ve never done anything like that before, but I thought about the commitment we’d just made and…” He gathered her in his arms and kissed her softly. “I’m so in love with you, Tawny, it just happened. I’ll never ask you to do something like that again. I was just as nervous as you were.”
“It’s not like you forced me into doing it, Carson. I wanted to. But you definitely hide your nervousness a lot better than I do.”
He draped an arm around her, walking toward the hotel to get her out of the cold. “My inner voice was saying, ‘Holy shit, she’s going to let me do this!’” He laughed, and she swatted him, her laughter filling the air.
“I thought you were so calm, cool, and collected.”
“Nervous as hell.” He kissed her again. “Told you we were perfect for each other.”
Inside the hotel, people of all ages were milling about, dressed up like science fiction characters. Carson still felt ridiculous in his costume, but the smile on Tawny’s face was worth it. They walked around the banquet rooms checking out artists and new comic books by emerging authors. Tawny pointed out costumes and chatted with vendors and other festival goers. A bright-eyed little girl also dressed up as Harley Quinn patted Tawny’s hand.
“Oh my! Look at you!” Tawny’s smile reached her eyes as she crouched beside the little girl. “Are you the real Harley Quinn? If so, can I have your autograph?”
The little girl giggled. “I’m not. It’s a costume! I’m not even old enough to see the movie!”
“Well, it’s spectacular.”
The little girl’s mother, who was dressed up as Wonder Woman, asked if she could take a picture of the two of them. Tawny touched the side of her head to the child’s, beaming like she’d never been happier.
Carson took a few pictures with his phone. As he looked at Tawny through his phone’s lens, he wondered what kind of magic had to happen in order for two people to find each other after so many years had passed. His mother’s words came back to him. Sometimes all the rational thinking in the world won’t get you what you need. It takes a little magic.
“Thank you,” the little girl’s mother said to Tawny, pulling Carson from his thoughts.
“Would you mind taking a picture of me and my girlfriend?” he asked.
“Sure.”
Carson handed her his phone and wrapped his arm around Tawny’s waist. After she took several pictures and returned his phone, he texted them to Tawny, and they went to watch a costume contest happening in another room.
“I can’t believe you wanted a picture after griping about wearing a costume.”
“I figured you might want to show them to Adeline.” He leaned in for a kiss and said, “It might be the only time you get to see me in a costume.”
“That was so thoughtful, thank you. She’s more of a pink bows and lace type of girl, but I think she’ll get a kick out of them.” Her gaze slid down his body. “And now that I know how good you look in leather pants, I might have to fill my bedroom with costumes.”
“There’s my naughty girl.”
“I wonder if there’s a Chris Hemsworth costume?”
“You mean Thor?” he asked.
“No, actually, I meant Chris.”
He grabbed her ribs, and she spun around, laughing as she dodged a crowd of people dressed up like the crew of Star Trek. He caught up to her in two strides and hauled her against him.
“I don’t share,” he said in the sternest voice he could, but she was so damn adorable, laughing and flashing that smile. Christ. That smile undid him, and he had to laugh.
She waggled her brows. “How about Chris Evans?”
“Captain America,” he growled.
She wound her arms around his neck and went up on her toes. “You’re very hot when you’re jealous. Can I call you Ronon tonight?”
How can I be jealous of a frigging guy behind a costume? “We are definitely going to have a problem if you call me some other guy’s name. No more costumes for you.”
“Darn it. I was thinking you might enjoy me dressed up as the chick in Blade Runner, but if you’d rather not—”
“Wait,” he said, picturing her nearly naked, with a few strategically placed pieces of fabric and sparkles all over her body. “Let’s negotiate.”
THEY GRABBED DINNER in the hotel, poring over the dozens of pictures they’d ended up taking throughout the afternoon and evening, and when they watched the movie, they snuggled and held hands. Carson must have kissed Tawny a hundred times, whispering sweet, important things that told her how serious he was about them, like, We’ll do more of this together and Are you allowed to take Adeline out? We could take her to see Beauty and the Beast. She didn’t think it was possible to fall any harder for him than she already had, but the way he’d begun including Adeline simply because he knew she was important to her brought a sense of bottomless joy.
After the movie, they changed out of their costumes, and when Tawny came out of the hotel restroom she found Carson standing with his back to her at the end of the hall, his phone pressed to his ear. She waited for him to finish his call before joining him. He wrapped her in his arms, his face serious again.
“The time’s going by too fast, Tabs. You’re leaving tomorrow.”
A lump rose in her throat. “I know. I don’t want tonight to end.”
“I’m coming with you. I’ll stay for a few weeks, meet Adeline. We can figure out if you want to open your business. I don’t care what we do. I’m not ready to be without you again.”
She tried to swallow past the lump, but it swelled, allowing only a tight inhalation to pass. Blinking against damp eyes, she forced her words to come. “Your work?”
“I’ve got it under control,” he assured her. “Your flight was booked, so I’ve made arrangements to use the company jet. We’ll leave at the same time as your original flight, around four.”
Her heart beat so fast she could barely catch her breath. “You can do that? So fast?”
“It’s done, baby. Unless you have an issue with it?”
“Are you kidding?” Her costume dropped from her hands and she leaped into his arms. “I can’t believe it! You’re coming with me! You mean for now, right?” She was thrilled that they’d have more time, but she didn’t expect him to move there.
“For now, yes. However long now is. I can’t be without you, baby.”
She kissed him again and again, her head spinning. “I didn’t know how I would survive leaving half my heart here with you.”
“Now you won’t have to.”