Mia hesitated, her hand still in mine. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure,” I said, squeezing her hand. “You’ll be working with me, and we’ll figure everything else out along the way.”

She let out a slow breath, a small smile creeping across her lips. “Okay. It sounds like a deal. I’ll have to move out anyway since the cabin goes with the job.”

“Exactly.”

As she took a sip of coffee, I leaned back in my chair, letting my gaze settle on her. “You know,” I started, my tone playful, “you did a pretty good job pretending to be my girlfriend at the gala. Now, all you have to do is keep playing the part. Wecould take it a step further—my fiancée and business partner, perhaps?”

She looked up from her cup, a teasing grin on her lips. “Oh, is that so? You want me to fake being your fiancée now?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Not fake, Mia. You’ve already proven you can handle anything thrown at you. And let’s be honest—you’ve been doing a lot more than just helping me with this case.”

Mia laughed, but there was something else in her eyes, something deeper. “I appreciate the confidence, but I have to admit... living in the city, working at Edgewater... What if I’m not cut out for the whole big-city life?”

I rested my arms on the table. “I understand,” I said gently. “I get it. But this doesn’t have to be about moving to Dallas permanently. For now, we can work from here, together. We’ll take things one step at a time. No pressure.”

She nodded, her expression thoughtful, but I could see the weight lifting from her shoulders. “I’ve never been one for the hustle and bustle,” she admitted. “But working with you... it feels right. Even with all of this happening, I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

“That’s all I want,” I said softly. “And as far as living arrangements go—well, it’s official now. You’re moving in with me.”

Mia blinked, a look of mock surprise on her face. “Oh, is that so? You’ve already decided?”

“Yep,” I said, grinning. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice, then.”

“You don’t,” I teased. “Just pack a few things for now. I’ll send a moving van for the rest later.”

Her smile faded for a moment, and I could tell she was thinking about the park, her job, and the life she was leaving behind. “It’s going to be strange not being at the park anymore. Tessa’s going to be laid off, and I really hope Frank will give her my old job. She deserves it.”

“I’m sure he’ll make the right decision,” I said, my tone firm. “And you’ve already made the right one by coming with me.”

She gave me a small nod, but I could see the hesitation still in her eyes. Before I could say anything more, her phone rang, cutting through the silence. Mia glanced at the screen. “It’s Tessa,” she said, a little surprised. “I don’t think she knows what happened yet.”

I nodded, watching as she answered the call.

“Hey, Tessa,” Mia greeted, her voice light but strained. I could hear Tessa’s excited chatter on the other end, asking how things were going with me.

Mia glanced at me before answering. “Liam’s good. But actually, there’s been a bit of a change. I’ve been fired.”

“What?” Tessa’s voice was loud enough that I could hear her shock through the phone.

“Yeah,” Mia sighed. “It’s a long story. But I’m moving in with Liam for now.”

As Mia explained the situation to Tessa, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. She was handling everything with a calm strength, even when it must have felt like her whole world was shifting. She talked about her hope that Tessa would take her place as chief ranger, and I could hear the passion in her voice as she spoke about her friend’s qualifications.

Finally, the conversation wrapped up, and Mia hung up the phone, taking a long breath. “Well, that’s done.”

I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “You’re doing great,” I said softly. “And now, we’re going to figure out this embezzlement mess… together.”

She squeezed my hand in return and blushed a bit. “Yeah. Together.”

The late afternoon sun filtered through the blinds in my home office, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere. Mia sat across from me, Daisy curled up by her feet, while I leaned over my laptop, scrolling through the emails, bank transfers, and documents. The deeper I went, the heavier the knot in my gut grew. This wasn’t just a small oversight—this was a full-blown disaster.

Mia’s keyboard clacked softly, her focus matching mine. The air between us was thick with tension. “It’s all here,” Mia said quietly, breaking the silence. She leaned closer to her screen, pointing at the data. “The payments from Riverstone Hospital to Golden Rock Consulting are infrequent. And the services don’t match up with the money being moved. It doesn’t add up.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the hours of strain. "I didn’t catch this earlier because Derek’s friend at Golden Rock did legitimate consulting work for me every now and then,” I said, scanning the documents again. “But Derek... it looks like he was inflating the invoices. Golden Rock would bill him for their work for Edgewater, and then Derek would pass those invoices to me with his 10 percent fee. But instead of just taking his cut, he inflated the total, only paying Golden Rock what they were owed and keeping the extra for himself.”