The next morning came quickly. Too quickly for the night Alex and the others had. She was eager to get home, but not eager to get out of bed to get there.

The park ranger they told their story to last night was laughing his ass off by the time they’d gotten through the part of Leslie’s attempt to kill her, then Jack’s, and then those two hooking-up, to next have her boss who was embezzling from the company show up. Then to top it all off, Andrew’s deranged, lovesick secretary changing her mind to go back to her husband.

The ranger fully believed it because “someone can’t make up something that fucked up.”

Yeah, Alex hadn’t thought it was that funny at the time. Maybe after she slept for a week—in Andrew’s bed. Make it two weeks.

After packing everything into the back of her car, the three stood over the place where her boss’s body was, or close to it. Even though the man had tried to kill her, she forgave him. Nina had convinced her that except for the bomb and holding her hostage and the trying to kill her with a rifle, Sholes was a really nice guy. She laid a handful of pinecones and pretty leaves on the spot since wildflowers were forbidden to pick.

Nina said she’d take care of the fallout for Sholes’s death. She’d get with Sholes’s wife and determine what to do with the company and funeral. The office would probably be closed for several days, and if not, payroll wasn’t due for another week. Nina told her to not worry about coming in for a while. It wasn’t like she had an office to go to either.

Alex finally got the peaceful alone time she’d needed on the long trip home. Andrew led the group in his black SUV. Alex laughed when she read his license plate. Did he think he was some great baseball player or something? AROB—AROD? The comparison wasn’t even close. AROB was way better than AROD.

Just outside the city, her phone rang.

“Hey, babe. How’re you doing back there?” he asked.

“Enjoying the view from the rear like usual,” she replied. He had one of the best asses she’d ever had the privilege to touch. And because of that, she didn’t mind walking behind the guy all day. By his silence, she knew she had embarrassed him.

She pictured his rosy cheeks and that adorable boyish smile he had when she caught him off guard of his macho man-image. With a sigh, she let her heart swell. Funny how things worked out. All for a reason.

“Yeah, okay. Now I’m almost afraid to ask you the question I called to ask.”

“Oh, yeah?” she said, “What would that question be?”

“What would you like to eat,” he asked.

Alex burst into laughter, big gulping breaths. “You know me so well already, my love,” she replied. “I’d like a big hot dog on a hot body.”

“That’s what I figured you say.” She heard the grin in his voice then clothes rustling over the line.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He snorted. “Readjusting my pants. Someone put naughty pictures in my head of eating wieners, and my wiener decided he liked that idea.”

“Oh, he does, does he?” Alex commented, trying to keep her racing heart in check. Thinking about his cock in her mouth was making her hot and heavy, too. “Where would you like to go?”

“Besides my—our—bedroom, I’d like the little café down from my high-rise. They have great soup and breadsticks.”

Hmmm, breadsticks, Alex thought. She could do that. And she caught that little slip with “their” bedroom. Had the time come to take the next step? Were they ready to live together? She loved him, but was that enough for her to give up her place, her freedom? Yes, it was.

“Alexandra?” She heard her name, forgetting she was on the phone.

“The café would be perfect. I’m starving, now that I think about it,” she replied, trying to play it cool. “Nina turned off, so it’s just us.” She followed Andrew down to the small eatery that didn’t look like much but was to die for. They’d beat the noon rush and found easy parking in the front. That was when she saw the damage to his truck.

“Hey,” she said, taking his hand after parking, “what happened to your truck?”

Andrew turned to study the SUV’s front. “I hit some giant moose on the road when driving around to call 911.” The passenger-side headlight casing was shattered, most of it gone. The bumper was bent in with scrapes here and there. The metal grill had some damage as well.

“Wow,” Alex said, “are you sure there are moose in New York? Looks like you hit a car, not an animal.”

“Maybe it was an elk. It was huge,” he said.

“Did you kill it?”

“Amazingly enough, no. It got up and shot back into the woods.”

“That’s good,” Alex hated to see animals that had been hit and killed along the side of the road. It broke her heart every time.

With a sigh, Andrew pulled her toward the café entrance. “Come on, I’m starving.” They ordered sandwiches and side cups of fruit and sat next to the window overlooking the parking lot.

The food tasted so good. Alex hadn’t eaten since dinner last night and that was interrupted by several uninvited guests.

“So,” Andrew said, “what’s next?”

Alex’s swallow stuck in her throat. Somehow, she knew he didn’t mean after they were done eating, but more along the lines of how their lives were going to come together now that they had professed their love.

Would he ask her to give up all the independence she’d built for herself, give up her self-identity and friends to be with him? She remembered how Jack demanded all her time when she wasn’t working. He wanted to know where she was even when they weren’t together. What she did on her own time was her own business. The man didn’t seem to understand the concept of privacy.

Andrew hadn’t pushed to have her by him 24/7, but she wanted to be. That was the difference between Andrew and Jack. Alex could see herself building a life with Andrew and being his partner. She liked that more than the idea of being alone, of coming home to an empty apartment with no happiness.

Just as she was about to answer, Andrew looked out the window and frowned. She turned to see what he saw and noted a middle-aged gentleman checking out the damage on the SUV. The man hadn’t touched his truck, but Andrew’s vehicle was none of his business.

Andrew put his sandwich down, ready to stand, but when the man headed toward the café entrance, he remained seated.

“Do you know that person?” she asked.

“No, never seen him before,” Andrew said.

“Maybe he owns an auto repair shop,” she said, “and wants to give you a great deal.” He raised his brow at her and she could only laugh at his cuteness.

The man stepped inside, removed his aviator sunglasses and looked around. If she didn’t know better, the man seemed like a detective on one of those cop shows. To her surprise, the guy fixed his eyes on Andrew and walked toward them.

“Mr. Carter?” the stranger asked, his eyes darting to her briefly.

“Yes,” Andrew said.

“Is that your vehicle out front with damage?”

“Yes,” Andrew repeated. “Do I know you?”

The man offered his hand which Andrew took. “No. I’m Detective Hudson. NYPD.”

That explained it, Alex thought. The park rangers must have contacted the local police about Sholes’ death. But why was the detective interested in Andrew when Sholes was her and Nina’s boss?

“Mr. Carter,” the detective continued, “I see you have a lot of damage to the front of your vehicle.”

Andrew glanced out the window. “Not a lot, but enough I need to find a repair shop.”

“What did you hit, Mr. Carter?”

Alex didn’t like the way the detective sounded. Something was up. When Andrew’s eyes narrowed, she knew he thought the same.

“I hit an elk last night,” Andrew said.

The detective’s eyes widened. “Elk. Really? That animal hasn’t been in New York in over 150 years.”

Andrew glanced at her. He said, “Maybe it was a moose then. I’m not a wildlife biologist.”

“You admit to being in the state park area, then?” the detective pressed.

“I never said I wasn’t. Why?” Andrew asked. “Just say what you need to, Detective.”

“All right,” the detective pulled handcuffs from a pocket. “Andrew Carter, you are under arrest for the murder of Jen Ortiz.”