Page 115 of Concealed

This is Rebecca.

She’s my girl.

And there is zero reason to be nervous about making us official.

“As much as I’d love to ask you to go make me a sandwich, I’m asking you to be my wife instead. I love you more than anything, and I truly can’t imagine living my life without you right by my side, making everything better. Making me better. Coming home to you is the best part of the day, and I’m so grateful that you’re my better half.”

Her free hand reaches out and rests on my forearm, squeezing it to say the words that she can no longer manage through her tears.

“My much better, much prettier, much smarter half,” I continue. “I’m in awe of you. Your beauty, your grace, your kindness, your compassion, your humor, and the way that you fit into my life so perfectly in every way. So, even though I’m getting the better deal here, how about it? Will you marry me, Rebecca?”

She jumps into my arms with so much exuberance that we nearly fall over. She’s kissing all over my face until she finally lands on my lips, her salty tears blending with mine.

“Yes, so many times, yes,” she shrieks. “I love you so much!”

I plop down on the ground, the familiar weight of her on my lap. I wrap my arms around my girl and breathe in my favorite scent – her.

“You’re going to marry a cop?” I tease, looking into her eyes while I rub my nose against hers.

We spent almost every day of my six-month suspension together, only apart when Rebecca was supply teaching a couple of times a week. I’ve never been closer to anyone in my life, and I always enjoy being with her, both in and out of bed.

And over the last six months, I was back to work for the Sunnyville PD, which Rebecca handled like a champ. She has friends and hobbies of her own keeping her busy now, and her life is full of people and things that make her happy.

I’m grateful to be at the top of her list.

Rather than respond in kind with a joke, she answers me completely honestly. “The good you bring to the world is worth all the personal sacrifices that I’ll have to make. Just promise to always come home to me in one piece. I’m so proud to marry my sexy cop.”

Words have never rocked me more.

I was worried that she wouldn’t want to be with me when my time wasn’t exclusively dedicated to her. But I’ve done my damnedest to set boundaries at work that keep my personal life as sacred as possible.

And she’s decided that being with me is worth it.

That’s the greatest gift that I’ve ever been given, and I’m not going to blow it.

“Thinking about you keeps me going, keeps me safe, and keeps me making the best decisions, babe. Always.”

“I love you, Wyatt.”

“I love you more.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s also smiling. “You always have to win.”

“That’s the tenacity that got you to agree to be with me. Remember when you used to run away from me?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking when you’re so cocky. I mean, charming.”

I never imagined that what I thought of as penance – living in Sunnyville and joining a small force – would become my peace. I’ll get another shot to make detective, and I’ve come to enjoy the slower pace of life here.

Maybe we’ll move back to LA one day to be closer to Rebecca’s family, but I doubt it. She loves it here. Eventually, we’ll stop renting and plant our roots in a house that’s just as close to the beach and belongs to us.

Sometimes, what you think of as a stupid mistake is a sign from the universe pointing you in the right direction.

Toward her.

Always.

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