Page 69 of Cop Blocked

The kitchen time buzzes, and she laughs. “Mission accomplished, Marine.”

Shaking my head, I help her off the counter and pat her ass. “Behave yourself, and there may be more of that after dinner.”

While I washed my hands and set the table, Rachel takes the food from the oven and pours the wine.

“Rachel, this lasagna is freaking amazing, babe.”

“Thanks, my grandmother taught me how to make it.”

“You made this, from scratch?” My eyes widen in shock.

Rachel’s cheeks flush. “I did. Just because I burnt spaghetti once does not mean I don’t know how to cook.” She laughs.

I give her hand a gentle squeeze. “I never doubted you for a minute. Honestly.”

“I’m glad you like it. I don’t get to make it often because weirdly enough, it’s not one of Piper’s favorites.”

“Speaking of, how’s she been?”

Rachel’s eyes light up, and my heart squeezes in my chest. While she recounts what Piper’s been up to over the last two weeks, I sit back and take it all in, noticing the pride and pure joy radiating from Rachel. Piper’s a lucky kid; her upbringing is already drastically different than mine ever was.

I never thought I’d be the one falling for a single mom. Or that anyone would come along and make me want more out of life. It hasn’t been that long, but already I can’t imagine my life without Rachel and Piper in it.

God, I hope when I tell her about this deployment, she doesn’t take off running.

“I do feel a little bad that I didn’t tell her you were back. I selfishly wanted you all to myself for once.” Her cheeks flush again, and I know that this time, it’s not because we’re talking about her culinary skills.

“Ya know. I’ve been doing a whole hell of a lot of thinking since I met you. Since I met Piper. The truth is, I can’t imagine my life without either of you now.” I reach for my glass of red wine and take the last sip. “Which is why we need to talk.”

“Oh, God. That’s never a good thing.”

Anxiety tenses in my stomach. “It’s not bad. At least, I hope not. Okay, maybe it is kinda sucky, honestly.”

“Out with it, then. Just spit it out. Please.”

“Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe I should give you another orgasm first.” I whisper in Rachel’s ear and nip along her neck.

Rachel playfully smacks my chest. “Oh, no, you don’t. You are not going to distract me. Talk first, play later.”

Letting out a huff, I press my forehead to hers. “Fine.” I reach for a lock of her long hair and twirl it around my finger. “I got deployment orders.”

She sits back, putting some distance between us. All I want to do is pull her even closer and never let her go.

“When,” Rachel’s voice cracks. “For how long?”

“I have to leave right before Thanksgiving. Should be back before summer.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” I ask, feeling completely uncertain.

“Okay.” Rachel shrugs. “So, you are deploying. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Are you sure this is what you want? I want you to go into this with your eyes wide open. It can be weeks or months of silence. Like I said…it sucks. I wouldn’t fault you for walking away.”

Rachel stands and adjusts her dress then straddles my legs, so we’re eye to eye. “Do you want me to walk away? Because if you think for two seconds that some little thing like deployment is going to scare me off, you’re mistaken. I have a three-year-old, remember?” She winks, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“Fuck, no; I don’t want you to walk away. That’s the last thing I want, but you sure as hell wouldn’t be the first that did.”

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