“Yes.”
“Yes.” Her eyes lit up.
His heart pretty much burst. He stood and picked her up off the bed.
She shook her head. “Not right now, Wolfe.”
He paused. They probably did need to wait until morning. “Oh. Okay.” He set her back into bed and then followed. “We can sleep late and then go.”
Her laughter was a balm to every ache he had. “Listen, Wolfe. This is way too soon. We are going to take our time, get to know each other more, and then make plans.”
He rolled to his side, facing her. “I’m gonna marry you.”
She smiled and caressed his jaw. “I know.”
“You said you are gonna marry me.” The feeling of her soft hand on him was distracting, but he needed to get this out.
“Yeah.” She leaned in and kissed him.
“Why wait?” He wanted her and the babe to be his now, not sometime in the future.
She chuckled, scooting closer to him. “You make a good point, but I want the whole shebang. Wedding, dress, flowers, cake . . . you name it.”
Oh yeah. Her family. “I guess I should talk to your dad, huh?”
Her chest hitched as she laughed again. “That’s awfully old-fashioned, don’t you think?”
“Yeah.” He ran his palm along her flank to her hip. “I’ll talk to him next weekend if I can get away. He said he wanted to take me fishing.” He should probably buy her a ring, too. Maybe one of her sisters would help him get the right one. Her family was going to be his, too. He could handle that.
Between his team and now his new family, Clarence Wolfe had never been happier. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened. “For what?”
“For everything.” Because that’s what she was—his everything.
Epilogue
Two weeks later
Dana munched contentedly on one of Pippa’s special butternut cookies and then slipped a small piece to a rapidly healing Roscoe, who lay at a healing Jethro’s feet in the middle hub at the office. Both males allowed everyone to shower them with attention, sweets, and admiration. The bandage had been taken off Roscoe’s stomach, but Jethro’s leg was in a full cast, resting on a pillow on Mal’s desk.
Mal sat in his chair with Pippa planted happily on his lap.
Wolfe prowled in from the second case room, holding boxes of outdated materials from cases they’d put to bed; Angus Force was right behind him, his eyes more bloodshot than usual. The leader had been on a mission for two weeks, and he seemed more on edge than ever.
Wolfe cut him a look. “You going to tell us what’s going on?”
Force shook his head. “Not yet. There isn’t anything to tell.” Even his voice sounded exhausted.
“I thought we were going to paint the floor or something today,” Brigid said, emerging from her computer room with Raider on her heels and Kat in her hands.
Nari leaned against her doorjamb, eating a cookie. “I thought that was the plan, too. We really need to brighten this place up.” She looked around the dingy office. “We have some juice since we took down Rockcliff and Theresa Rhodes.”
Theresa had been taken into custody shortly after Rock had died, and rumor had it she’d lawyered up quickly.
Wolfe set the boxes down and frowned, looking sexy and strong. “Dana? You can’t be here if there are paint fumes. I hadn’t realized that was the plan.”
Pippa leaned to the side. “You’re allergic to paint?”
