“So, I was going to talk to you about me moving here to Pittsburgh… to be closer to you. My plan was to maybe try to get on the police force here, or at the very least, I’m sure I could do some type of private investigative work. Not sure how you feel about moving in together… that would be my preference, of course, but I’d respect you if you wanted to take it a little slower. I wouldn’t be able to come right away. I’d need to give some good notice to Nags Head, and then find a job, but I’d bet within a few months, I could make the move. And now… now you tell me about Quantico, and that’s even better because it’s a lot closer to the Outer Banks, so I could get back frequently to visit.”
At this point, I’m staring at Wyatt with my jaw hanging open, a deluge of emotions filtering through me. He’d be willing to move here… or to Quantico to be with me? He’d give up his career, his family, his home and his friends… to be with me?
“I’m sensing this might not have been the best idea I’ve ever had,” Wyatt says quietly, and I can see disappointment on his face.
“Wyatt,” I say softly, squeezing his hands. “I wasn’t going to take the job at the BRIU. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Brows furrowing inward, his head tilting to the side, he asks, “I don’t understand. I thought that was your dream?”
“It is,” I say, but then I correct myself. “Or, at least, it was my dream.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he says dismissively. “I was willing to come to Pittsburgh and still am if you want.”
Again, I don’t say anything because he’s thrown me for such a loop. I still can’t believe this amazing man is willing to give up everything for me.
“You’ve got that look, baby,” Wyatt says as he chucks me under the chin so I look at him. “Talk to me.”
I sit up on Wyatt’s lap, change position, and fling one leg over so I can straddle him. When we’re face to face, I place my palms on his cheeks and look right into his eyes.
When I’m sure I have his attention, I say, “You’ve said a lot. Now I’ve got some things to say to you, okay?”
He nods, his blue eyes sparkling… his lips curled up in a patient smile.
“I love you,” I tell him.
His smile gets bigger.
“And while it was my dream to work at the BRIU, I’ve recently come to realize that a person’s dreams can change.”
I take a moment to kiss him lightly and say, “Mine have changed.”
“Oh, baby,” he breathes softly.
“What I wanted to talk to you about was an idea I had… one that would let us be together. I was thinking about leaving the FBI and taking the North Carolina Bar Exam. Maybe setting up a law practice in Nags Head. I thought I could move there to be with you.”
Now Wyatt is the one whose jaw drops and his eyes go dark. I can actually tell that he’s going to nix this idea, so I keep on. “It’s not something that would happen overnight. I’d need several months to study for it, and the next available exam would be February. I’d have to keep working here until then, but I would think by next spring, I could make the move. So we really wouldn’t have that long—”
Wyatt places his fingertips over my lips to shut me up. He gives a slow shake to his head. “You are not giving up the BRIU. You’ve wanted this since you were a little girl.”
Pushing his hand away, I say, “I’m not letting you give up your career and your home. You have family and friends there. I’m the more mobile of the two of us.”
“Forget it,” he says. “You join the BRIU and I’ll move to Quantico. That’s only about four hours from Nags Head. We’ll keep my house and visit there on the weekends.”
“But seriously, Wyatt,” I say… maybe with a bit of a whine. “That’s not my dream anymore. You’re my dream. I want to be with you, and this is the best way.”
“Not going to argue with you about it, Andrea,” he says gruffly.
“Of course you’re not,” I snap. “Because there’s nothing to argue. I didn’t accept the position.”
“You didn’t turn it down yet either, did you?”
“Well, no,” I say in a small voice. “But only because I wanted to make sure that you wanted to be with me.”
“I do,” he says. “More than anything. So it’s Quantico for both of us.”
Jumping up from his lap, I plant my feet on the floor, hands to my hips, and stomp my foot. “No, no, no, no. I’m not going to Quantico. I’m going to study for the Bar and then my ass is moving into your cottage with you, and that’s final.”