Six months later...

Lacey hit the apartment door at a jog. She flung the door open, a list of things to do running through her head.

Shane would be home any moment and she needed to change out of her zoo uniform, double-check the packing list, and record a new vlog. She didn’t know how she’d do all three before he got home, but she had to try.

She sped through her shower, washing off the myriad of smells from the reptile house, and dressed as Shane had instructed, in something travel comfortable. He was picking up her lingo, learning her life, and she still wasn’t tired of being with him.

At the three month mark, she’d begun to panic, wondering if maybe she was broken, if the whole Marcos kidnapping incident had changed her in a way that couldn’t be repaired. Shane had held her hand through the fretting and worry, and in the end they’d taken a trip back to Jamaica so she could face those fears. Looking at that compound, the places she remembered, it didn’t haunt her anymore. She just didn’t have the urge to be on the go constantly.

She took a deep breath and sat in front of her laptop.

As popular as her exotic locations had become with viewers, this new endeavor was just as lucrative. Who would have known that getaways focusing on romantic weekends would be more popular? She was easily bringing in more revenue with fewer hours and dollars spent traveling.

Lacey hit the record button and smiled as the countdown ticked across the screen.

“Hi, guys, Lacey Miles here for a quick update. I’ll be posting to social media this weekend, but I don’t have any idea where we’re going.” She held up her hands and the thrill of excitement unfurled into a full-on body tingle. “That’s right, my Travel Buddy has planned a long weekend trip for us and I couldn’t be more excited. Take a page from this guy’s book, because if you want to surprise your significant other with a trip out of town, he’s mastered the art.”

Lacey ran through her top five list of tips for the mysterious weekend. She left off some of the more personal touches Shane had put into the trip, because not all of their relationship was public and there were some things people did not need to know.

She finished off the vlog with a highlight of what she was working on for the future and closed it off with a smile.

Viewers hadn’t seemed to notice much of a change in her from pre-Jamaica and after, which was good.

There were better things to focus on, like where the hell was Shane taking her?

Lacey hit send on the file, shooting it off to her new editor, a friend of Shane’s boss that was another successful YouTuber. No sooner had she clicked on the button than the front door opened.

“Shane!”

She bounded out of her chair and across the living room before he’d kicked the door shut. He dropped his bag not a moment too soon. She hopped, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. He caught her, bracing a hand on the kitchen bar to the right.

“Do I get to know now?” She batted her eyelashes.

His face creased and his smile spread.

“Nope. Not yet.” He carried her to the kitchen counter and set her bottom on the edge. “Look what came today.”

The postcard was bright and the back full of neat, tight text.

“Aanya?” She pulled the postcard from his fingers and skimmed the words.

While Lacey wouldn’t call Aanya and Dev friends, they were linked by a series of events that would forever make them special to her.

“They said this new treatment is working.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yup.” Shane kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go get ready. We leave in twenty.”

Lacey leaned into the kiss while she re-read the postcard.

Life worked in strange ways.

After Marcos’ arrest, there was no one to pay the bills for his son to continue receiving the experimental treatment that was his only hope at a future. The child should have been brought back to America and put into the foster system, since there were no remaining relatives. Instead, Aanya and Dev had seen a child they were uniquely prepared to help, and with Marcos’ begrudged blessing, they adopted their kidnapper’s son.

It simply drove home the fact that good could come from bad.

After all, she got Shane and a lifetime of love to look forward to.

Shane’s insides were knotted so tight. It was a strength of will to keep his knee from bobbing the whole ride to the airport.

Lacey chattered away, doing her best to guess. She had their whole list memorized, but that was the problem. She was working off a list they’d come up with together of places to go for a weekend.

They weren’t going for a weekend.

He’d gone behind her back to her boss and explained what it is he wanted to do. It hadn’t taken much convincing, once he’d pulled out the ring box. He’d all but been tossed out of the office and told to leave immediately, but that couldn’t happen. Trips like this took some planning.

Their taxi pulled up to the curb at the airport. He got out, paid the driver, and took possession of their bags, while Lacey had their carry-ons. She’d fussed about so much stuff, but he’d been firm.

“Do I get to know now?” Lacey tipped her head back and sighed with all the dramatics of a much put-upon toddler.

Her excitement was infectious, and he could neither deny her the knowledge or keep her from it any more.

“You’ll be needing this.” Shane handed over her passport and her brows rose. “Come on. We’re cutting this close.”

He used the self check-in kiosk just in the door to print their boarding passes and baggage tags.

“South Africa?” Lacey practically screeched the words. She smacked his arm. “Are you serious?”

“Ouch. Elder abuse, damn it.” He rubbed his arm.

“Shane!”

He checked their bags while she bounded along next to him. The cat was out of the bag and he could grin now. Almost four weeks of hatching this plan, and he could finally enjoy it.

“But we’re only going to be there three days. We’ll spent most of our time on planes.” Her shoulders dropped, and she stared up at him with a heartbroken expression.

Shane cupped her cheeks.

“About that—we’re going to be gone for ten days.”

“What?”

“I cleared it with your boss. Now you see why I was adamant about bringing so much stuff?”

“Are you serious?” She bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Come on, before we get left behind.” He took her hand and they ducked into the security line.

Lacey kept glancing at him, her whole face glowing.

He liked this look on her. It never got old. Life excited Lacey, in all its forms. She got as excited about South Africa as she did going to the park or spending a night that was just the two of them. She put wonder back into his world and helped him see that there was magic in the every day.

They cleared security without a problem and strolled hand in hand toward their gate.

“What are we doing in South Africa?” she asked.

“Well, do you remember suggesting once that a guy like me could be of use to the nature preserves?”

“Yes.”

“I got in touch with one of your friends and they helped me find a place. We will be assisting with a vaccination project for two days, and then have the rest of the time to explore the park. I figure we can take a look around, see if it’s something we’d be interested in...say a few years?”

Lacey skipped a few steps.

“It would have to be a few years. The Antiguan Racers aren’t even breeding weight yet. I can’t leave that project to anyone else.” She continued to chatter on about her precious pair of reptiles at the zoo, further confirming that this was a good plan for them.

He couldn’t wait for tomorrow night. They’d be jet lagged as hell, but he didn’t want to wait any longer. Spending the rest of his life with this woman was the best decision he’d ever made.

You can stay up to date on the whole Alpha Team crew in , coming this October.

Sign up for the New Release Newsletter at to get inside scoops and free books.