Page 55 of With You

“You don’t like it. That’s okay. It was a stupid idea, buying something without asking you. I’m sorry, Sam. I’ll call the realtor and we can go and look for a place together. Something you like better.”

She was shaking her head, loose hair waving back and forth with the movement. “No, don’t call. I love it.” The vice around my lungs eased.

“Then why are you crying?”

“You bought this house…for us?”

“Well, yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure where this was going. She’d said she loved it so that was good.

“It’s perfect. The best gift that I’ve ever been given in my life. A real home.” She laughed and threw her arms around my neck, tucking her face against me and soaking my shirt with tears that I now knew were of happiness.

My arms closed around her and I hugged her tight. “Fuck, kitten. You almost gave me a heart attack. You really like it?” Her voice was muffled but I distinctly heard the ‘yes’ and sighed in content, dropping her to her feet when she pushed against my shoulders.

“Ask me.” She wiped the tears from her face and her eyes shone with love so brightly that they practically glowed.

I swallowed against the lump that formed in my throat and I dropped to one knee, taking her hands in mine.

“Samantha Hebert, you are the love of my life, you are my dream, my purpose, my future. You’re the only woman I’ve ever been with, the only woman I ever want to be with.” Her eyes lit with surprise, then joy. “That’s right baby, it’s only ever been you. I’m already the luckiest bastard in the world but I’m hoping to push my good luck one more time. Will you marry me?”

She was already nodding but I waited for her ‘yes’ before I jumped to my feet and gathered her into my arms once more.

“Say it again.”

“Yes.”

“Again.”

She held my face between her hands, blue eyes staring into mine. “Yes, Monroe Ross. I will marry you. Now kiss me, damnit.”

I lowered my lips to hers and took her mouth with every ounce of love I felt between us. Chasing after her that day in boot camp had been the best fucking decision of my life. My kitten, my Sam, all mine. Fucking finally.

BONUS SCENE

GAGE

I sat in the back corner of Brooks’ Bar and Grill. Though it was the usual table for Falls Security, I was the only one occupying a seat.

Another cheer went up through the bar and I glanced to the middle of the dance floor where Roe had Sam bent backwards in his arms while they kissed. He’d finally done it. Somehow, he’d convinced Sam to marry him.

A tugging sensation pulled at my lips and I realized I was smiling again. Fuck. That had been happening more frequently. For years, I’d been a part of the team but separate. Now I found myself in a room with people that I’d call my closest friends, actually…celebrating. Had I gone soft?

My gaze drifted, as it always did, to her. Mia Delgado. She looked tired tonight but no less beautiful. Was she working doubles again? If so, I’d need to talk to Brooks.

The chair across from me scraped the floor and a smug looking Roe sat down.

“You’re supposed to talk to other people at parties.”

I grunted, wondering for the thousandth time what I was doing there in the first place. Oh, right—friends, engagement, attempt to look normal and not like a serial killer with a dead soul.

“Congratulations.” There, that was a normal thing to say. The therapist I’d been forced to see after my discharge would’ve been proud.

“Thanks, man. Happiest fucking day of my life.” He stared at Sam and his dumb smile got even dumber if that was possible. “Anyway, I’ve got something for you.” His finger tapped a folder, the kind we used in the office, that was sitting on the table between us.

“What’s that?” I eyed it suspiciously. If it was a new case, that sort of thing usually came from Gray or Kane. It couldn’t have been confidential or Roe wouldn’t have brought it to a busy public place. He was too proud of the intel he dragged from the depths of the internet. He horded that shit like a dragon.

“Open it,” Roe’s demeanor was serious and I clocked a bit of trepidation before it was hidden away. He slid the folder closer to me and I opened it, too curious not to.

“What the fuck?” I spat at him, angrily closing the folder. My eyes darted around the room but no one was paying us any attention.

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