He was in uniform, gun at his hip, expression dialed to Dirty Harry, and just looking at him had something pinging low in Chloe’s belly.

Looking at him, she saw her future and felt all the ragged tears in her heart heal themselves. "I fit," she whispered in marvel, stepping into him. "I fit with you." He nodded and wrapped his arms around her. "Perfectly."

I'm done waiting. Done doing things the easy way and letting things happen as they will." Her heart caught. "What does that mean?" "It means this is too important to let slip away again. You're too important." He leaned back against the truck with a low grunt of effort, eyes dark, jaw clenched. "I love you too, Tara.

For some unknown reason, success usually occurs in private, while failure occurs in full view.

A small part of her secretly hoped she caught him in bed. But that really was a very small part. The bigger part hoped he was in the shower.

Tag opened the door to his knock, and with a look of disappointment, peered behind Wade. "You got someone better coming over?" Wade asked him. "Pizza," Tag said.

Sugar," Tara said in a voice that was pure Pissed-Off South. "You need to go far, far away." A few weeks ago, he'd have taken that to mean she didn't want to see his face within a six-hundred-mile radius. Now he knew the truth. He distracted her. He could live with that. "Came to see if I can help." "I think I know how to make burgers," she said smoothly. "But bless your heart." In other words, f*** off and die.