Page 74 of Bed of Roses

Frowning at her, I add, “We won’t be staying long. She needs to rest.”

“I’m fine,” she grumbles.

“You are not,” Tori interjects, patting Tegan on the shoulder gently. “Normal people aren’t fine after they are shot in the back.”

Tegan wrinkles her nose at her best friend, and Derek chuckles a little. Then, he digs into his pocket and pulls out two envelopes. I know exactly what those are, and I suppress a grin as the rest of Tori and my plan unfolds.

Derek hands her one envelope and me the other. “What’s this?” Tegan asks as she takes it.

“The reward,” he grumbles as though passing over that amount of money was painful for him. It probably was.

“For?”

“Catching Smith,” I answer.

Derek sighs and rests his chin in his hand while he glances at the envelopes longingly. “You both caught him; you both deserve it. I split the reward in half.”

She blinks rapidly, opens the envelope, and her eyes go wide as she reads the amount. “Holy shit.”

“I know,” he whines.

I chuckle under my breath and then look at Tori. “Is it done?”

Her grin is wide, and Tegan swivels her gaze between Tori and me. “Is what done?”

Tori holds up a finger then digs into her back pocket to grab a folded piece of paper. She opens it, flattens it against the surface of the table, and slides it to her. As Tegan looks it over, Tori explains, “It’s the house you loved. The one I showed you at the shop and you said you couldn’t afford? Well, now you can. The owners are waiting for your bid.”

I didn’t think it possible, but Tegan’s eyes grow even wider as she glances up at me and then at Tori. “It’s mine if I want it?”

Tori nods, grinning ear-to-ear. “Just give the word, and I’ll make the call.”

At that moment, Derek’s phone begins to ring. He excuses himself, and I slip out of the booth to let him out. As I sit back down, Tegan sheds a tear. She looks at Tori and says, “Yes. Yes, I want the house.”

Tori claps and squeals a little. “Okay, I’ll call them right now.”

She quickly exits the booth with her phone in herhand, leaving Tegan and me alone. She studies me for a moment before asking quietly, “What about you?”

I raise an eyebrow. “What about me?”

“What are you going to do with your money?”

I shrug a little. I hadn’t thought about it. “Save it, I guess.”

“Are you still going to work?”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “Derek hired me to overlook all of his rentals as well as finish the renovations.”

“And . . .” She looks down at the house again. “Where will you live?”

“The trailer, most likely.” I’ve never needed anything more than what I have.

She looks at me again, twisting her lips to the side, and I can tell she wants to say something. Finally, she blurts, “Move in with me.”

My eyebrows raise high into my forehead. “Move in with you?”

“I know it’s soon,” she begins quickly, grabbing the paper’s edge and swiveling it to face me. “We haven’t been dating long, but Cole . . . we’ve literally walked through death together. I died. I was dead. And I don’t want to waste this second chance. I want to spend every minute with the man I love. I want to go to sleep and wake up with you. I want to joke and argue with you, under one roof. Please, Cole.Pleasemove in with me. Please say yes.”

It’s a no-brainer for me, which is surprising because, if anyone would have told me a month ago that I’d be sharing my life with someone, I would have rolled my eyes. But now? Now, everything is different. I’m different. I’m a better man, thanks to the woman across from me. She’s given me my life back. She’s given me reason to live. Of course I want the same things she does. So I nod and say, “Okay.”

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