Page 133 of The System

“Now, we’re meeting friends at a bar, and we only met a few months ago.” She winked at Carina.

“I’m telling you that you can set up the office now, if you want. I’ll help you. That way, when you do stay over now, you’ll have it, too. I want you to have your own space, babe. You never got that in your old house. It doesn’t have to mean that you live with me. It’s just a desk and some monitors that can be easily moved if you get sick of me.” Carina smiled at her.

“Can I ask you something serious?”

“I don’t know. Am I going to be disappointed or sad?”

“I hope not,” Kieran replied as she wrapped her arms around Carina’s waist.

“Then, ask away.”

Kieran bit her lip and held on to it for a moment before letting it go.

“How soon is it okay to… tell someone that you love them?” she asked. “It took literal years with Diego, and I don’t think that was a good thing, but it might be too soon for us, and I don’t want to scare you or–”

“Kieran?”

“Yeah?”

Carina cupped her cheek and said, “Babe, there’s no right or wrong time. You just say it when you feel it. And I think you have to know that, if I’m over here telling you to set up an office in my house and talking about you moving in with me one day, this isn’t some short-term thing for me.” She smiled because she couldn’t keep herself from doing it. “I love you.”

Kieran’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, I said it.” Carina gave her a challenging expression.

“I was going to say it first,” Kieran replied.

“Well, you didn’t, so I did.”

“I totally gave you the all-clear with my question, though, so I should really get credit here. I mean, come on, Carina.”

“Just say it,” Carina said laughing.

“No, now I’m not going to. You’ll have to wait until I’m in the mood again,” she teased.

“What? Kieran, come on.”

Kieran’s hand went to the back of Carina’s neck, and she pulled her in for a searing kiss right there in the parking lot of the county jail.

“I love you. Better?”

“I am kind of glad we’re not having kids, so we don’t have to tell them we said that for the first time in a jail.”

“Outside of a jail. There’s a big difference.”

Carina took Kieran’s hand, and they headed toward her car. When they pulled up at the bar, Kieran got out first, walked around, and took Carina’s hand. They walked into the bar together just like that and met their friends at the booth.

“Hey. I hear you were victorious in proving your sister was innocent,” Kenna said before Kieran could even sit down.

“Jesus, Kenna. Let the girl at least order a drink before you ask her for the story,” Ada suggested. “And I hear my wife played a pretty big part in closing three cold cases along with another pretty important one to us this year.”

“Busy few months for you, huh?” Hollis noted before she took a sip of her drink and wrapped an arm around Raleigh’s shoulders.

“It’s what I love to do,” Dylan said. “As weird as that sounds.”

“And she’s very good at it, which is why we’re here to also toast to the fact that she’s been made a captain. It’s official and everything,” Ada offered.

Dylan blushed a little and didn’t say anything.

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