She sucked in a shaky breath. “But now I can actually picture a future with room for somebody else in it.”
Emotion shifted through the depths of his eyes like a turbulent sea.
“You made me believe that was possible,” she whispered.
His face twisted, and he pulled her down against him without another word. She melted into his chest and wrapped her arms around him tight.
After a long minute, she lifted her head and met his gaze. “I love you too, Vander. I think I always knew it would come to this.”
He brushed his lips softly over hers, the kiss tender and filled with so much feeling. When they broke apart, his mouth quirked in the bad-boy way that always got her.
“I guess you’re stuck with me now.”
She stifled her laugh but felt a rumble in his chest.
Somewhere deep inside her, all the fear and caution and old hurt she still lugged around had finally leaked away enough to let something else take its place.
Hope.
Chapter Thirteen
When Pope climbed out of his truck, he took a step toward the therapy lodge out of habit. He stopped and turned back toward the Black Heart Security office.
The scents of the mountains and ranch life were familiar, but getting called into meetings as a member of the security team wasn’t.
In his experience, meetings usually meant trouble. More stress stretched between his shoulder blades with each step he took.
He paused at the door, bracing himself for whatever new development came in on Summer’s case.
Or worse—for Summer’s prediction that Pope was being removed from her case to come true since there was nothing new.
Spring was hiding beneath a chill mountain wind that tugged at his hat as he pulled open the office door. Half the team already crowded around the large conference table covered in files and photographs.
Then Pope noticed the unfamiliar woman standing beside Carson.
Dark hair brushed her shoulders in sleek waves, and her camel-colored coat hung neatly over the back of a chair like she planned on flying back to whatever big city she came from the instant the meeting ended.
As she noticed him, her sharp brown eyes tracked him with calm intelligence that told him this woman noticed what everyone else missed.
He dipped his head to her in acknowledgement and shifted his attention to Carson. Judging by his tight expression, he was in for a rough hour.
Carson saw him and motioned toward the woman. “This is Alexandra Navarro. She’s the new profiler for the team. Theo convinced her to take the position.”
She gave a small nod. “Most just call me Lex.”
“Good to meet you.” He strode forward to shake her hand. “Welcome to the team.”
“We’re trying to convince her to move to the area next,” Theo spoke up from behind a laptop screen.
“I’m planning to work from New York for now.” She offered Pope a smile.
“She doesn’t realize yet that Wyoming’s superior.” Carson piled a few papers into a neat stack and set them aside.
Gray glanced up from the end of the table, looking personally offended. “It’s not as if we don’t have culture. We’ve got a brewery.”
Lex’s gaze bounced between everyone, amusement on her face. If any other woman existed in the world for Pope, he might think she was pretty in a polished way, but it was the shrewdness in her eyes that really commanded attention.
“Don’t forget sunrise yoga here on the ranch,” Willow said as she breezed in carrying a coffee mug speckled with little geese.
