Five months later

Sitting outside Hank and Sadie’s house, Lana sipped lemonade and watched as Montana, Swede and Allie tried to teach Mark how to canter on one of their horses. Beside her, Sadie was smiling and shaking her head when Mark nearly tumbled off.

“He’s like a little kid with this stuff,” Lana chuckled.

“It’s awesome,” Sadie replied. “He’s having so much fun.”

“Mark is always a lot of fun,” Lana said shyly, dipping her head a little.

“You gonna give us details?” Mia demanded, her eyes widening with mischief.

“No!” Lana let out a little burst of laughter. “Well, maybe if you ask real nice…”

They giggled together like old friends and a feeling of peacefulness washed over Lana. She hadn’t been this relaxed or happy in a long time. She and Mark had bought a small house here in Eagle Rock, closer to town than Sadie or the others lived, but another compromise that made them feel better. When she was here, she wouldn’t feel so isolated, but it gave Mark a place of his own whenever he had to be here for business.

Montana had offered him the perfect opportunity to work with the Brotherhood Protectors as a type of consultant. He would be available for clients who lived or were going out of state for limited amounts of time, but would also come to Eagle Rock to keep up with the business, train with the other guys and stay on top of things. The rest of the time, he and Lana would be in Las Vegas. She’d been hired as the new Head of Media Relations for the same hockey team Erin’s husband played for, and she officially started next month. The woman who currently held the position, Becca, was a friend of Erin and Kate’s—and also married to Dante Lamonte, the man Mark had thought was better-suited to Lana—and was starting to transition things over to Lana remotely until they arrived next month.

They planned to rent a small apartment until they found a house, and instead of trying to move two households across the country, they’d both sold most of their belongings. Mark’s townhouse had sold and they were heading to Virginia to do the closing in a few weeks. From there they would drive his truck cross-country to Las Vegas and use the travel time as a little vacation. He’d officially left the Marines just a few weeks ago so they’d been living apart the last few months, though she’d visited him regularly.

“You’re going to come visit us, right?” Mia asked, meeting Lana’s gaze questioningly.

“Of course.” Lana nodded emphatically. “I love you guys and, like I keep telling Mark, I have no intention of ever being pushed off a mountain again.”

Sadie shuddered. “That was horrible.”

“It’s fine,” Lana said softly. “If that hadn’t happened, who knows if Mark and I would be together now. We were both stubborn and what happened was the catalyst that made us realize it.”

“Way to find the silver lining,” Mia whispered.

“I’ve never been happier, so yeah, it’s a big silver lining.”

“Have you heard from Aaron?” Sadie asked.

Lana nodded. “We talk every few days. He’s still my client until I officially start the new job and he’s not happy he has to find someone else.”

“He doesn’t like Kate?” Sadie asked in surprise.

“No, he does, but she’s booked—she can’t take on anyone else and he doesn’t trust Leslie yet. We’ve been training her but she’s still young, just 24, and easily intimidated by him, which makes him uneasy.”

“I understand that. I wouldn’t like it if my publicist was unsure of herself.”

“We’re working on it.”

“Hey.” Mark dropped into the seat next to Lana and pressed a light kiss on her bare shoulder.

“Have fun?” She grinned at him.

“It was awesome.”

“Let’s eat!” Montana called out, heading towards the back door.

“You two sit here,” Sadie said. “We’re gonna bring the food out. It’s too nice to eat inside.”

“I won’t argue,” Lana said, leaning against Mark. “I’m too relaxed.”

“I like seeing you relaxed,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck.

“Enjoy it now,” she laughed. “I’m sure I’ll be a nervous wreck when I start the new job.”

“Nah. Every time you get worked up, I’ll just throw you in bed.”

She arched a brow. “What if I don’t want to?”

He cocked his head. “Is that even possible?”

She snickered. “Probably not.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

“Are you as happy as I am?” she blurted out, and then flushed when she realized what she’d done. She’d been more cognizant of doing that now that they were a couple, but sometimes it still happened.

“You have to ask?” Mark didn’t appear even remotely fazed.

“No… I just wanted to be sure because I’m so freakin’ happy.”

He bent his head and captured her lips in the kind of kiss that always made her tingle with excitement.

“Not at the dinner table,” Sadie chortled, coming out with a huge platter of food.

“Sorry,” Lana grinned, meeting her eyes.

Sadie winked and disappeared back into the house.

“We should make babies,” Mark said, trailing his fingers along her arm.

“What?” Lana let out a little yelp of surprise, her eyes growing big and round.

He burst out laughing. “Just a little taste of your own medicine,” he said, kissing the side of her face. “That’s how it feels when you say random things, even though they’re usually legit.”

She swallowed. “You really want to make babies?”

“Maybe not right this minute, but yeah I want to make babies… Don’t you?”

“Yes, but…” She frowned and then held up her upturned palms. “I don’t actually have any arguments, except that we’re not married and that’s important to me.”

“We can get married whenever you want.”

“You have to propose, buddy.”

“You want the real deal, huh?”

“Yup.”

“Okay.” He smiled and stared off at the view of the mountains.

“Okay?” She was a little confused by his short answer.

“Yup.”

“Mark…?”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m going to enjoy giving you a taste of your own medicine. Over and over and over.”

Her lips twitched. “And I’m going to enjoy tripping into your arms as often as possible.”

“Baby, I’ve waited a long time to catch you—I plan to keep doing it for as long as you’ll let me.”

“Eternity?”

“Not long enough.”

She sighed dreamily as she leaned over to kiss him.

“My sweet, beautiful Lana…you can fall into me any time—I’ll always be there to catch you.”

“You make being clumsy sound wonderful.”

“Because it is when it’s you.”

So many emotions surged through her, she was momentarily speechless. He was beyond incredible, beyond sexy, beyond her wildest dreams. She didn’t want to think about how close she’d come to letting him go. “Thank goodness for Montana snowstorms,” she finally murmured.

“You can say that again.”

“I love you.”

“Even better.”