“I am, too.” For such a strong man to admit that sent her joy so high, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever touch the ground again.

“I love you, too, you know,” she said as her legs finally gave out and she sank down to the floor with him. He took her cheeks in his hands and gazed at her with so much love she was blown away.

“I’ve messed up so badly, I wouldn’t blame you if you sent me away, but if you give us another chance, I promise you that I will love you more than anyone else ever could. I promise to take care of you and tell you how much you mean to me for the rest of our lives. I don’t want another single day to go by without you in it. I’m imperfect in every single way, but with you by my side, I want to make myself a better man,” he told her.

“Oh, Nick,” she sobbed as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. Her heart was overflowing. “No one is perfect, that’s what makes us all so unique. But I love you so much. It’s been hell without you. I’ve felt so much guilt about how hard I tried to pull away from you, and about not fighting more to keep us together. I thought it was hopeless, and I gave up because I told myself I wasn’t good enough for you. It was just more of my father’s words whispered into my ear. But I won’t allow that man back in my head ever again,” she promised.

He pulled her face back so he could look at her again, and he smiled before he reached down into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. She shook as she gazed down upon it.

“When I decide on a course of action, I never go back,” he said as he ran his fingers over the velvet. “I know I’ve been an idiot, and I know I have no right to ask you this.” He stopped as he opened the lid of the box. A beautiful, round diamond sparkled up at her. “But I love you, Chloe, and I want you forever. As much as I know I’m not good enough for you, I won’t leave your side until you agree.”

That spark of will that turned her on so much shone in his eyes. He was determined. He’d chased her relentlessly the entire time she’d been at his house, and now that single-mindedness made her smile.

“Then I’d better say yes,” she told him.

Hope shone in his eyes.

“Yes?” he gasped.

“Yes,” she told him.

With shaking fingers, he slipped the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. Then he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her so softly, she melted against him. She sighed into his mouth and felt truly at home for the first time ever. She was his, and he was hers, and it was exactly where they should both be.

When he finally pulled away, they were both smiling stupidly at each other. That’s when Chloe heard the clearing of a throat.

“I didn’t want to interrupt. That looked hot.”

Chloe flushed as she looked up and found Dakota in the doorway grinning at her impishly. Nick jumped to his feet, ran to the door, and surprised the heck out of Chloe when he leaned down and kissed her best friend’s cheek.

“Thank you for all you’ve done. Now go away,” he told her. Then he pushed her out the door and shut it, locked it, and turned back toward Chloe.

“Now, back to where we were,” he said. He rushed over and lifted her off the floor. Neither one of them made it back down to the family get-together. And no one missed them.

EPILOGUE

Ace Armstrong’s adrenaline was pumping as he wandered through the large mansion where his case was finally going to come to an end. It was almost over. He was afraid to even believe it.

For the past eight years, he’d been away from his family, making them believe he was a monster so they wouldn’t get hurt. He couldn’t do it anymore. Of those eight years, four of them had been working on one case—the biggest undercover operation ever performed with the CIA.

He’d been flying for a drug cartel gang for years, getting information back to his team whenever it was safe for him to do so, and integrating himself within the organization’s ranks until they trusted him as one of their own.

Now he was at the home they thought was his, and all of the leaders were going to be in one spot for an operational meeting. Ace was cool as ice as he looked over everything, making sure not a single detail was out of place. All of them had to arrive so this case could be closed with zero loose ends. It was the only way he’d get his freedom back.

Trucks pulled up, carrying crates of alcohol and party supplies. The scene was being staged, the prison bars closing in on the monsters who were responsible for the loss of too many lives to count, hooking kids on drugs, murder, extortion, and so much more. This case reached all the way up to the executive level of the government.

Ace had been disillusioned in his years as an undercover CIA agent. When he’d walked out on his family so many years before, he’d been angry at his father’s will, angry at his brothers for giving in so easily―but he’d planned on coming back. Then his life had led him on a different path.

The CIA had saved him and destroyed a part of him at the same time. He no longer trusted anyone, and his heart was cold and barely beating. Now that returning home was within reach, he wasn’t even sure he could. His brothers wouldn’t recognize him―hell, he didn’t recognize himself when he looked in a mirror.

Moving over to the entryway, he did just that, staring at the unsmiling reflection of himself. Who was he? The green eyes were void of emotion, the jaw was set tight, his dark hair closely cropped and uncared for. It was his lips that surprised him most of all. They hadn’t smiled in so long, he wasn’t sure he knew how to work those muscles anymore.