Pouring a little salt into the pot of boiling water, she got everything ready to cook when Roger walked in the door. The bread was warming in the oven and the noodles were on the counter, ready to be dropped into the water. The salad was made and ready to go.
She looked up at the clock. Almost six-thirty. Roger had to leave for the graveyard shift at LNF at ten-thirty. They would have four hours together tonight but he was off the next day.
It freaked her out how easy it had been to fall into a schedule this week. As soon as she left work, Roger came over for dinner and cuddling before he had to leave for work. Then, in the mornings, he would bring her coffee from McDonalds before he headed to his own apartment to sleep.
They'd seen each other every day since Christmas, and it wasn't enough.
Roger seemed to feel the same way. They'd started texting each other, and some of the conversations were obnoxiously sweet. A couple of times, Cass had looked down at the phone in her hand and shaken her head at what she'd written. It didn't make sense. It was so out of character for her.
But it made her happy. And it felt right.
She'd also had to upgrade the small text message plan for her cell phone.
Brenda was over the moon that her matchmaking had worked, and tended to gloat when she caught Cass mooning over something Roger did or said. Cass let her, because she was thankful. It would probably get irritating eventually, but for now she'd let Brenda have her glory.
Tomorrow night she and Roger had plans to meet the guys and their significant others at the Frog Dog. She was being reintroduced to the group as Roger's significant other. Her stomach bottomed out at the thought. Even though she'd met them before, she hadn't expected to ever meet them again.
Shit was getting real.
Her quiet life was expanding. Fast.
And though there was some lingering fear in her heart, she would try to be strong, a partner to complement Roger.
What the hell did she do?
There was a tap on her door and she crossed the apartment to answer it. Damn. Would this fluttery feeling in her stomach ever go away?
When she opened the door, she was struck dumb, just looking at him. Roger stood on the other side, of course, heavy coat bundled around him, looking like a damn GQ model. He wore a black skullcap low over his forehead and ears, and his broad mouth was spread in a smile. As soon as he saw her he pulled her in for a hello kiss. Cass reached up to cup his neck, finally able to breathe now that she was in his arms.
When they were apart, anxiety plagued her. In her mind, nothing was as good as she thought. They weren't in love, and they weren't so drawn to each other that they couldn't be apart. Surely she hadn't allowed herself to become one of those simpering women that doted on their men …
Then he walked into her line of sight and all of the poles aligned again. Those feelings that she scoffed at during the light of day rebounded back, and she was so in love with him that she couldn't breathe. And he was, too.
Even now as he cupped her cheek and ran his hand down her body, she could feel the need in him.
"I missed you, baby."
Cass shivered at his words. "I missed you, too."
He pulled her in against him. She gave a little cry as he lifted her up to move her inside the jamb, then he kicked the door shut behind them.
"I've been thinking about you all day and I woke up hard and aching, and craving you."
Arousal curled through her lower body and it was all she could do to keep her feet. Just those few words totally annihilated what she'd planned for the night. But that was okay. Reaching up, she began to unbutton her blouse, but he stayed her hand.
"Not yet, baby. I want to talk to you for a minute."
He tugged her to the couch and sat her down into the cushion, then he angled toward her. Cass tried not to be worried, but something about his tone seemed awfully serious.
"What's wrong?"
Roger cleared his throat and glanced out over the room, as if he needed time avoiding her scrutiny. "You know I love you," he started.
The bottom fell out of her stomach. Dread grabbed her heart with sharp fingers and her breath stalled in her lungs.
No, please no … she would never recover from him leaving her.
"It's about us getting together this weekend with the guys."
Ok, maybe this wasn't what she thought.
"I don't have to go," she told him quickly, praying that that was what the issue was.
He shook his head, pocketing the skull cap. "No, it's not that."
Distracted, he stood up to take his coat off, then dropped cap and coat to the adjoining chair, but he didn't sit down again. Instead, turning to her, he knelt down on one knee in front of her.
"Cassandra, my love, I felt cheated when that ring fell out of that tissue paper. I've been replaying it in my mind and I don't want us," he made a motion with his prosthetic hand, "to be connected because of chance. I want us to be together because we have to be, we need to be, and because we can't imagine not being together. I know I can't. You've become as important to me as my right arm, so to speak." He grinned at her, white teeth flashing. "I can't imagine walking through life without you by my side. So, this weekend when I take you to Frog Dog, I don't want to introduce you as my girlfriend … "
He paused, his gaze connecting with hers.
"I want to introduce you as my beautiful fiancée."
With his good hand he reached into his pant pocket and withdrew a box. Flipping the lid open, he presented it to her.
Black spots swirled in her vision when she looked down at the gleaming ring sitting in a blue velvet cushion.
No way. He didn't …
Oh, yes, he did.
Cass couldn't control her quaking hands or her tearing eyes. Luckily, Roger was handy for stuff like that. He reached out and gripped her left wrist with his prosthetic, drawing the arm closer to him. With the other hand, he slipped the gleaming white platinum ring with the huge diamond onto her finger, right next to the other one.
Cass was speechless, and so in love. There were no words to describe the depth of her love for the man in front of her, or the rightness of it. She'd never seen a relationship like it before in her life, so it had caught her totally off guard.
As he fit the ring to her finger, she folded her hand over his. "I," she had to pause to clear her tight throat, "I would be so incredibly proud and humble to be introduced as your fiancée. Roger, you are every dream I never knew I could have."
Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she blamed it on Roger. The man stirred her emotions like she'd never known and could make her cry at the drop of a hat. She had no defense against him, and she didn't want one.
He laughed deeply and wrapped her in his arms. They leaned back against the couch and he kissed her like he was a parched man.
Cass felt the same desperate need to be as close to him as possible.
Roger peppered kisses across her cheeks and down her neck. "I want you to move in with me. I know it's sudden, but I want to be with you every single moment I can."
That didn't sound bad at all to Cass. "Okay. I'll start packing tomorrow."
He pulled back to grin down at her. "Really? Just like that?"
She nodded once. "Yes. Just like that. You are my life now, Roger Stottsberry. I go where you go."
"I love you more than anything, Cassandra. I will give you a good life. I'll make you happy," he promised.
She shook her head at him. "You already have, you wonderful man. I could die tomorrow and I would have lived a life I'd never begun to hope for. Thank you."
Roger undressed her then and there, leaving her wearing only the rings. They glinted in the light as she cupped his cheek, and he could feel the love radiating from her. Hell, he could see the love radiating from her in every touch of her hands.
The woman had bowled him over with her spirit and tenacity and acceptance.
He would live his life making hers the very best he possibly could.
Gabe
Chapter One
Two Days After Christmas
As he left the Lost and Found office, Gabe wracked his brain, trying to puzzle out what he could get Julie. It was kind of difficult to come up with just the right thing. They were at a place in their lives where if they wanted or needed something, they could just go out and buy it. Maybe he could get her some fabric for the quilting she'd taken up recently. No, he wouldn't have any idea of what kind to get her or what color or anything.
The creative direction had some potential, though. Maybe he would go to a craft store and wander around. Perhaps inspiration would strike.
Actually implementing the plan, though, was a little harder to do. When he parked his truck in the Jo-Ann's Fabrics store parking lot, he was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread. The lot wasn't full, by any means, but something held him immobile. Then Gabe remembered Duncan's words about finding direction when he got stressed. He could do this. He had direction. Julie. Julie deserved a great Christmas and he was going to make it happen.
He slipped out of the truck and headed toward the door, determination strengthening his steps. The pain in his right leg from the gunshot wound disappeared and he forgot about his worries as he focused on Julie. She was the most important part of his day, his life, his world, and he needed to honor her somehow.