In Bed With the Badge (16 page)

“So how’s your head?” Sam asked as he took her arm.

Riley hated to admit that she felt wobbly at first. But with each step, she became a little more sure-footed, a little stronger.

“Fine. Really,” she underscored, knowing the last time she’d said that, it hadn’t been true. But the bleeding had stopped and the wound sewn up, so by tomorrow, it would be business as usual. Except for maybe a headache.

Instead of going outside, Sam sat her down in the outer waiting area. For the time being, it was empty, but
that was subject to change. “Clear enough to understand things?”

Why were they sitting here? She wanted to go home and put all this behind her. But she wasn’t up to struggling with him, so she stayed where she was and humored him. “As long as you don’t lapse into a foreign language, yes.”

“Now that the cases are solved, I’m thinking of taking a couple of weeks off to spend some quality time with Lisa.”

Why did he feel he had to sit her down to tell her this? “Good idea,” she agreed. “I highly approve.” But as she began to get up, he surprised her by gently pushing her back down.

“I’m not finished yet,” he told her. “What do you think of taking some time off yourself—to spend with us?” Sam added when she made no response at first.

It took her only a second to roll the suggestion over in her head. Riley smiled. “I think that I’d like that.”

Still, he made no attempt to get up.

“You know,” Sam continued, “I’m really glad this is finally over—in large part thanks to you—and we can go back to the way things were.”

He was buttering her up and it was working, she thought, suppressing a smile. “And what things are those?”

“Having you in my bed.” Sam took a breath before continuing, taking her hands into his. “I’d never thought I’d hear myself saying this—hell, I never thought I’d catch myself feeling this way—but I’ve missed you, Riley. Missed being with you.”

She felt herself melting. Still she wasn’t sure where he was going with this. She only knew where she wished he’d go. “We were together every day.”

“Not the way I wanted to be.” Again, he paused and took a deep breath, as if that helped him get the rest of it out. He’d never been nervous around a woman before and it wasn’t a feeling he welcomed. But this woman mattered more than any other ever had. “I love you, Riley.”

She blinked. “Maybe my head isn’t as fine as I thought,” she confessed, her heart suddenly tap dancing in her chest. “I could have sworn I just heard you say you loved me.”

“You did. I do.” He watched the way surprise bloomed in her eyes. That made two of them. He never thought he would ever say those words to a woman. Love was something that happened to other men, not him. “I’ve suspected it for a while but wouldn’t let myself think about it until tonight. Tonight, when I came in and that bastard had his gun on you, I thought I’d lost you. It was like having my gut ripped out with a jagged piece of glass.”

Now there was an image to win over a woman’s heart. “Very poetic,” she said wryly.

“You want poetic?” he asked, then nodded. “I can try that. Might not be for a while, but I can try.” His eyes held hers. “If you marry me.”

She felt as if someone had just jumped on her stomach, making all the air come rushing out. “Did you just ask me to—”

“I did.” He sat there, waiting for her answer.

He was serious, she thought. Actually serious. A myriad of fireflies suddenly materialized inside of her, filling her with light. She smiled at him. “You do drive a hard bargain, Wyatt, but I guess it’ll be worth the trade.”

“So is that a yes?”

An impish smile curved the corners of her mouth. “You need it spelled out?”

“Yes. Definitely. In big block letters.”

She’d hire a skywriter if necessary. “All right. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Is that because you love me?”

Now there was a dumb question, she thought. “No, it’s because I like doing penance. Yes, it’s because I love you, idiot.”

He finally rose, bringing her up with him. “Try it again without the idiot part.”

Riley laughed as she entwined her arms around his neck. Her head didn’t hurt anymore. Nothing hurt when there was this euphoria taking hold.

“Maybe later.” She raised her lips to his. “Got something more important to do right now.”

They both did.