MIA STARED OUT the window at Caden’s once-bare yard, now filled with dozens of plants and a large greenhouse that hadn’t been there two days ago. He’d worked his ass off to give her this surprise. He asked her to move in with him a week ago. Yesterday, the moving crew brought all her things here. It may be quick, but he intended to make her want to stay forever.
“Caden, what did you do?”
“Well, the plants probably won’t last the next month according to the guy at the nursery, but I wanted you to have something nice to look at for a little while, now that you’re moving in here. Giving up your beautiful garden must be hard. I know you’ll turn this place into something worth looking at next spring, but this is for you right now.”
She leaned over and kissed him. “You didn’t have to do this. You know I love your place.”
Caden reached up and touched her face, so damn happy to hear her say that this is where she wanted to be. “That’s just it, honey: this is our place now.” He really wanted her to feel at home.
In a matter of a few weeks, they’d become closer than he’d ever been to anyone outside his family. They so easily fit into each other’s lives because all they wanted to do was be with each other. He—the guy who stood up Mia, not once, but twice—couldn’t get through the day without missing her. They barely got through a few hours without texting, calling, or seeing each other.
Some of it had to do with his worries that Guzman would come after them again. The DEA had put the pressure on Guzman and his crew, making multiple arrests, but Guzman remained out of reach.
They’d get him soon.
Caden wanted to ensure Mia and Beck’s safety and wouldn’t stop until he took Guzman down for good.
He loved Mia. He didn’t know when it happened. The second she walked into the restaurant for their first date and asked him if he really wanted to be there, or when she broke several of their kidnappers’ noses, the night he sat watching over her in the hospital, or when she bashed that guy on the head with a copper pot and saved his life. The first time they made love, or the twentieth.
Maybe it happened the night he found her outside their Hawaiian beachside bungalow haloed in moonlight, the sea and stars spread out before her, her long golden hair down her back. She’d turned and smiled at him, and it was like a punch in the heart that stunned him. The same way the realization that he loved her struck him standing in her restaurant’s dining room after another near-death experience left them both alive and so damn happy to have each other.
Didn’t matter when it happened, how fast it happened, he loved her and he wanted her here with him. Always.
Caden opened the truck door and held his hand out to help her down. The biting wind pushed at his back and blew Mia’s hair away from her face.
“Storm is moving in fast,” he commented, slamming the truck door and leading Mia up to the house.
She glanced up at the darkening sky. “We’ll be snowed in by morning.”
“Since we don’t have work tomorrow, we can stay warm and snug inside while you unpack.”
Mia gave him a seductive smile. “Is that what we’re doing tomorrow?”
He liked the way she thought. “No.”
Mia laughed and walked up the porch steps and stopped short in front of the door and the present he left her.
“What’s this?” Mia leaned down and picked up the red gift bag.
“Open it and find out.”
Mia eyed him but opened the bag. She gasped when she saw what he’d tucked inside. She pulled out the velvet box, dropped the bag on the mat, and held it between them. “What is this?”
“Open it,” he repeated.
She flipped the lid on the box and covered the next gasp with her fingers at her mouth. “Caden?”
He cocked his chin toward the diamond engagement ring. “If you’re not ready for me to ask and to put that on, it’s okay. I just wanted you to know you’re moving in here doesn’t exclude that and all it means. If it takes you a day, a week, a year, ten to want that, I’ll wait because I want everything with you. I love you, Mia.”
Her eyes softened and glistened with unshed tears even as she smiled.
“I don’t want you walking into our home today or any day and not knowing how much I care about you, how deeply I love you.”
She pressed her hand to her heart. “Caden, I love you, too. So much. While I want to enjoy what we have right now for a while longer, like you, I want you to know this is real. This is us forever.” She held the ring box out to him.
He didn’t hesitate. He plucked the ring from the box, knelt in front of her, took her hand in his, and stared up into her sparkling blue eyes. “Mia Martin, will you do me the greatest honor and agree to be my wife?”
“Yes. Oh my God, yes, I will.” Her hand trembled in his as he slid the ring on her finger. He kissed her knuckles, then stood, picked her up right off her feet, hugged her close, and spun her around, kissing her long and deep.
He set her back on her feet and stared down into her bright and happy eyes. “Welcome home, honey.”
He opened the door and let her go in ahead of him. She stopped short in the entry, staring at the bouquet of pink roses and white chrysanthemums next to the picture of them on the beach in Hawaii, sitting side by side on lounge chairs clinking the neck of their beer bottles together. They’d asked the waiter to snap the shot. He loved seeing her carefree smile, especially after all he’d put her through days before they took the picture.
“I love it, Caden.”
Caden entered the code on his state-of-the-art security system. Another reason he wanted her here, protected. She had such faith in him; he didn’t want to let her down and would do everything in his power to keep her safe. Both of them, because he wanted a long and happy life with her.
Boxes sat stacked in the living room, but he’d managed to unpack a few of her favorite things and put them around the house. He’d put her favorite coffee mug that read “Choose Your Weapon” below a bunch of knives, spatulas, and spoons next to the coffeepot in the kitchen. Her favorite pillows and blanket were already on his leather sofa in the living room. He tugged her hand and pulled her to their room. She smiled at her cream bedspread covering their bed.
“You’ve been busy since the moving company dropped everything off while I was at work.”
“Do you like it?”
She turned to him. “I love it, but not as much as I love you.” She hooked her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down. He expected to kiss her, but she fell back onto the bed and brought him down with her. Happy to fulfill her every desire, he leaned down and kissed the sultry smile right off her lips.
“I guess we’re not unpacking,” he teased.
“I’m starting with getting you out of these clothes.” She put action to her words, pulling his sweater right over his head.
He took his time stripping her bare, admiring the view and the taste of her on his lips and tongue as he exposed and kissed every inch of skin he bared to his roaming hands and mouth.
The room grew dark as the storm rolled in outside and they got lost in each other’s arms.
The storm passed inside the room, though it raged outside. Caden held Mia close, her head resting on his shoulder, her hand over his heart. He softly brushed his fingers over the back of her hand and the ring he’d placed there an hour ago. He couldn’t believe she’d said yes. Soon they’d plan a wedding, but right now he’d settle into their new life content that he had her promise that she was his forever.
Caden’s cell played the ringtone for Beck’s number. He reached over and snapped the phone up from the bedside table, surprised to hear from his brother. Beck had become quite the recluse out on his isolated property in the last few weeks, especially after Caden told him that Guzman was still after him.
“Are you okay?” Caden asked, concerned. He had reason to be. Beck’s injuries may be healing, but his emotional and mental state hadn’t gotten any better.
“I need your help.”
Caden’s whole body tensed, making Mia rise up and look at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked, reading his upset.
“Is it Guzman?” Caden worried the drug dealer discovered Beck’s true identity.
“Not this time.”
His thrashing heart sank. “Are you hurt? Did you take too many pain meds?”
“No,” Beck bit out. “But thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Caden rubbed his fist over his forehead, frustrated by Beck’s attitude. “If you talked to me more often, I wouldn’t be so concerned.”
“Whatever. Listen, I found a woman and child on my property tonight.”
“Did their car break down? We’ve got to have at least a foot of snow already.”
“Would you shut up and listen? She’s in trouble. It’s safer to keep her here, but I need you and Mia to bring me some supplies, including some clothes for her and the kid.”
“Um . . . ”
“Have you seen the news about that actress who went missing a year ago?”
Caden swore. “Are you telling me you found Ashley Swan? The Ashley Swan. The actress. And she has a child with her?”
“Yes. But I have no idea who the kid is.”
“You have Ashley Swan in your house?” Caden couldn’t believe it.
“Yes. But you can’t tell anyone. I’m still trying to figure out what happened and how the hell she ended up walking onto my property.”
“Wait. What? Your property is miles from anything. You sure she didn’t have a car?”
“I’m telling you she walked. Or ran might be more accurate. Listen, I don’t have all the answers right now, but I plan to get them before I let the world know she’s alive. So can you help me out, or not?”
“Yeah. Anything you need. You know that.”
“Thanks, man.” The depth of relief in Beck’s ragged voice alerted Caden.
“Is she okay?”
“No.” The single syllable held a wealth of regret, worry, desperation, and fear.
Beck’s emotions infected him, too. Maybe she needed immediate help. “Beck, do you need me and Mia to come over now?”
“No. I’ve got them settled for the night. I don’t want anyone else out in this storm. I need groceries and clothes for her and a very skinny four-year-old boy.”
“Okay. I’m sure Mia can help me with that. We’ll be there tomorrow, or as soon as we can get there with the snow.”
“Thanks, man.” The relief in Beck’s voice tightened Caden’s chest.
“I’ve got your back. Always.”
“I know you do. Call me tomorrow. I should have a list of supplies by then. This stays between us. Tell Mia, too. I need you to trust me on this, Caden. No one can know she’s here. Please,” he added, the desperation coming back into his voice.
“You got it.”
“Okay. Thanks. Oh, did you ask her to marry you yet?”
“How did you . . . ”
“I know you. Soon as you figured out you loved her, it was only a matter of time. You like things all tied up nice and neat. I’m happy for you guys. Tell her I said welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, Beck,” Mia called out, overhearing their conversation.
Caden worried about Beck’s shaky state of mind. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I got this.” Beck didn’t sound absolutely sure, but maybe he needed someone to look out for, so he’d have to look out for himself again.
Beck hung up without a good-bye. He did that.
Mia rubbed her hand over Caden’s chest. “I can’t believe Ashley Swan is at Beck’s house. Where do you think she’s been? How did she get there? What happened to her?”
“I don’t know, but I know Beck’s tone. He won’t let her out of his sight unless he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt she’s safe.”
“Looks like we’ve got some shopping to do. And we get to meet a real celebrity. Her face and movie clips have been all over the news these last weeks as the anniversary of her disappearance approaches.”
Caden only nodded.
“What’s bothering you?”
“She’s been missing for nearly a year and shows up in the middle of nowhere with a child who is obviously not hers. Where has she been? Who does the child belong to? Whatever Beck knows or suspects made him go into full-on protective mode.”
“Whatever happened to her, she must have taken the child to keep him safe.”
Possibly. Caden didn’t want to think of all the terrible circumstances that might have put her on Beck’s vast land.
He slid down next to Mia and held her close, her hand in his. He loved seeing his ring on her finger and thought about Beck finding Ashley Swan and the child and what that must make him feel and think after all he’d been through these last few years, and especially after shooting Paula and Marco. One innocent. One criminal. Now he had a lost woman and a child to protect.
Mia kissed him softly, drawing him out of his thoughts about Beck and more trouble. “Beck will be okay.” She kissed him again. “We’re supposed to be celebrating.”
“My favorite thing.”
She kissed a path down his neck, her hand roaming over his chest and down his hot skin. “You’re my favorite thing.” The purr in her voice revved his desire and sent a bolt of heat through his veins.
Caden chuckled. “You can’t be real.”
Mia pushed him to his back and rolled on top of him. She stared down at him, her eyes filled with passion and something infinitely more precious. “My love for you is real.”
Caleb drew her down for another kiss, consumed by his need for her, and lost in the love they shared. He spent the night showing her how much he loved her, how happy they could be together for the rest of their lives, and reveling in their shared happiness, knowing one day soon she’d be his wife, the mother of his children, and always the woman by his side.