I don’t rub it in that Angel couldn’t last a month without wanting to be even closer to me.

She had a few nightmares in her place, and eventually decided she wanted to move after all.

“I thought I’d be better off keeping my own place,” she’d said, “but I miss you too much. Some nights, I awoke from nightmares and no one next to me to remind me I’d just had a bad dream. I’m not saying I’m feeling all dependent or anything now, but I’d much rather be near you all the time rather than not; my apartment wasn’t that great. Perfect for that stage in my life, yes, but this new stage requires something different. Like how arthropods shed their exoskeletons when...”

I let her ramble on, enjoying watching how animated she is when she’s stuck in a twisting train of thought.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked.

“I just love you. That’s all. I’m glad we’ll be together.”

Instead of moving into my condo, however, we’ve both moved into a totally new space—a two-bedroom apartment. She has converted the extra bedroom for her business use.

We both like starting sort of fresh, and I took all possible security measures for the new place from the beginning.

I now rent out my condo.

As for work, instead of the reserves, I arranged to work in a security firm, get official training for this kind of shit.

I can be where Angel is most of the time, and it won’t necessarily be as shitty as I imagined.

I can work in corporate protection, look out for CEOs and other execs.

Oh, and I finally tracked down Butch.

We had a talk, and I’m pretty sure he’s over the whole thing for real this time; he won’t be a problem for me again.

Turns out he deliberately didn’t confiscate Angel’s phone as he was supposed to; he didn’t take it to the agreed-upon location to mislead anyone who could be tracking her.

He’d decided at the last minute not to work against me, giving Angel a shot at being rescued without letting Leonard know he’d been betrayed by leaving her phone near her location.

In the meantime, this engagement ring is burning my pocket.

I’m going to pop the question soon—probably as soon as she gets back from the movies with Kiara.

It’s been just a few glorious months of being together, but why wait, right? Nothing has ever felt this natural.

Being engaged will probably help her feel even better about her decision to engage in cohabitation, impressing upon her how serious I am about her, about making a life with her, spending my life with her.

It’s strange feeling this open, this much for one person.

What power she has over me!

I rehearse the proposal again, trying to find the right words.

It seems like it should be simple—just drop to one knee and ask, right?

I don’t think she’ll turn me down. Why am I so nervous?

The front door opens and closes, followed by the sound of her putting down her keys, her purse.

“Oh my gosh! Both Kiara and I got recognized today—her on the way there, me on the way back. It wasn’t annoying or anything—I mean, we’re able to do what we’re doing because of the fans, but do you have to corner someone in a bathroom? It feels a bit weird, that’s all. She got asked for her autograph, I was asked for a photo…what’s wrong?”

I’ve been walking up to her silently and now I’m just a few feet away from her; she’s within arm’s reach.

I close the remaining gap and grab her hands.

“You know I love you, right? A lot. Maybe too much.”

“I don’t know about that last part,” she says with a smile. “But yes. And I love you too.”

Still holding her hands, I drop to my knees, releasing one of her hands to grab the ring from my pocket.

She sucks in a breath, one hand covering her mouth. “Oh my god,” she whispers faintly.

I take a deep breath. “W…?”

“Hell yes!” she says, helping me slide the ring on.

I laugh, and I’m barely back up on my feet before she says, “Does this mean our kid won’t be a bastard?”

I glance down at the hand she now has over her flat tummy.

It takes me a split second to process her words. “Um…”

“First trimester, lack of a period clued me in. And also, my sudden aversion to certain foods. I took a home test, followed it up with a doctor’s visit a few days ago, and I was trying to figure out a good time to tell you. This seemed like the one!”

She’s still smiling but looks sort of scared, as if she’s not sure how I’ll take the news.

My poor baby. Doesn’t she know how much I adore her? How many times do I have to say it? How many ways can I show it?

I’ll happily spend the rest of my life figuring it out.

“I’m the luckiest man alive,” I say before kissing her hard and long.

Then I pick her up and spin her around joyously, wondering at the many ways she’s able to make me happy, over and over again.

I sure as hell look forward to many more.

* * *

PLEASE NOTE: Some of the other characters have (or will have) their own stories. Derek’s story is currently available in (takes place before Guarded) and Kiara’s love story is coming soon!

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