Was he nervous? The idea warmed her with a soft delight. “We’re making a deal?”
He nodded and focused those amazing green eyes back on her. “Yeah. We haven’t known each other very long, so this is the plan. We’re going to date for a while. Get to know each other. Get you used to the outside world in your own time.”
“My own time,” she murmured.
“Yeah. Then maybe we’ll move in together. Test the waters.” He cleared his throat. “After an acceptable time, I’ll ask you to marry me in some crazy way, and then you’ll say yes.”
Her heart lurched. Even the monitor buzzed.
“Do you want kids?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Okay. We’ll have a boy and then a girl, and then maybe a couple more. I’ll keep working with Force for a while, and then I’ll figure out what I want to do. I mean, we’ll figure it out.” He swallowed, and that foresty gaze seemed to bore right into her heart. “Okay?” Then he seemed to hold his breath.
Delight burst through her, brighter than any color she could imagine. “I’m not sure you can plan all of that, especially the order of kids.”
“I can try.” His eyebrows lifted.
“I have a counter proposal,” she murmured, so warm she couldn’t believe it. “How about you move in right now? I’m tired of not living. So let’s live together.”
His grin held a sweetness he rarely showed. “Good line.”
Yeah, it was. It really was.
“I accept your proposal,” he murmured, leaning in to gently kiss her lips. “In case I forgot during all that planning, I love you. Always will, no matter what.”
Her breath caught. Was it possible to be this happy? “I love you, too.”
“It’s gonna be a good life, Pippa. That I promise.” He kissed her nose and leaned back.
She nodded. Yeah. He was right. She’d make sure of it.
Epilogue
Malcolm West walked into the bull pen of the HDD and stopped short. A tarp covered the desks, which had been shoved to the middle of the room. Bon Jovi blared from a speaker pod in the corner, and Roscoe was dancing near it, shaking his furry ass like his life depended on it.
“The dog has issues,” Wolfe said, not looking away from the wall he was painting a soothing beige. Kat peeked out of his pocket, looked around, meowed loudly, and then snuggled back down.
Pippa laughed next to Mal, and the sound filled his chest. She’d been released from the hospital two weeks earlier, and anything that made her happy was a good thing as far as he was concerned.
Angus stood on a ladder and painted the top of the far wall while Raider painted along the base; there was a strip of paint down the back of his dark T-shirt. Apparently, there had already been a paint fight.
Brigid walked in from the computer room, paint all over her T-shirt and even on her chin.
Mal grinned. “Did you paint the wall or yourself?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes, grabbing a couple of paintbrushes off the tarp and heading his way. “I hope you’re here to work.”
He nodded and accepted a brush before handing one to Pippa. They’d both worn old clothing, and she looked adorable with her hair in twin braids. He couldn’t help but tug one.
She playfully slapped his hand and took her brush over to Raider to paint where she could reach.
Malcolm watched her, wondering when he’d lose the hypervigilance he always experienced with her. Ever since he’d seen her with a bomb on her back, he hadn’t been able to let her get far from his sight. The good news was that she seemed to like spending time with him.
The bad news was that he’d probably need to talk to the shrink for a while. He rubbed his aching ribs. It had been two weeks, and his torso still hurt.
Brigid rocked back on her heels. “Still in pain?” Her slight accent warmed her words.
