Sighing, I grab a beer from the fridge, open it, and then head outside.
“Hey.” She tips her head back to greet me, and I bend to kiss her before rubbing the top of Bane’s head and taking a seat in the chair next to hers.
“How was work?” she asks as I take a pull from my beer.
“Good, busy.” I take her hand and kiss her fingers.
“Did you get the break you’ve been waiting for?”
“No.” Her expression softens, easing the frustration I feel. My two murder cases have gone cold, which is to be expected when you don’t have a suspect, a witness, or a motive.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” I say with a sigh. I take another pull from my beer before asking, “What did your lawyer say?”
“Nothing new. I just need to decide what I’m doing.”
“You have time to figure that out.”
“I know. It’s just I’m torn. Part of me wants to keep everything out of spite, but another part of me wants to sign it all over to my dad and wash my hands of the whole thing.”
“You’d give it all back to him?”
“Most of it.” She shrugs. “I’d keep a few shares to give our kids, but I have no desire to have so much control over a company.”
Fuck, I like the idea of her having my kids, but I know the first time I asked her if she wanted children, she seemed unsure. “Our kids?”
She looks at me and rubs her lips together. “I . . . I didn’t mean to imply that we’re going to have kids. I just—”
“I want two,” I say, cutting her off before she can take it back and piss me off. “A boy and a girl, but if we have two boys first, I want to keep trying for a girl.”
“You know, people who say that always end up having either nothing but girls or a bunch of boys.”
“I’m good with a bunch of boys.”
“Okay.” She rolls her eyes. “But what if you get all girls?”
“I guess I’ll figure out how to deal if that happens.”
“Right,” she says with a laugh and then sighs, resting her temple against the back of her chair. “You’re lucky I love you, Detective Miller, because you make me crazy.”
“Or maybe you’re lucky I love you,” I say, and her pupils dilate. And I know then that she didn’t even realize she said she loved me and hadn’t expected me to feel the same. “I’d like to remind you that I have to deal with your crazy friends and family and whatever drama you cook up.”
Her eyes search mine before she whispers, “I don’t cook up drama.”
“Okay, you don’t, but you’re a magnet for it.”
“That seems to be true,” she agrees.
I chuckle, then lift her hand to my lips. “I love you, Anna, everything about you, even the things that make me wonder if you might be certifiable.”
Her lips tip into a smile. “I’m going to ignore everything you said.”
“Everything?” I ask, and she sets down her mostly empty wineglass and gets up, only to sit sideways in my lap.
“Not all of it.” She rests her hand against my cheek, then touches her lips to mine. “I’ll remember you said you love me. I like that part.” I smile and slide my hand up her back to thread my fingers through her hair.
“Are you tired?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.” I enjoy the feel of her in my arms, her smell washing over me, and the look in her eyes that says she’s just as content as I am in what we are building.
“Then no.”
“Good, neither of us have work tomorrow, which means I don’t have to rush things tonight.” I stand with her in my arms, and she wraps her arms around my shoulders.
“You’ve rushed things before?” She raises a brow as I open the door and step inside.
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not going to tell you,” I say, and she laughs and then gasps as I lay her on the bed and spend the rest of the night taking my time, showing her just how much I love her.
I jerk awake when Bane barks and paws at the curtains covering the glass sliding door, and I sit up, tossing back the covers.
“What’s going on?” Anna asks as she sits up.
“I don’t know. Stay here.” I stand and grab my jeans from the floor. I put them on before walking the few steps to the door. After opening the heavy dark curtains, I look out at the bright morning. “Heel,” I order Bane, and he falls to his stomach, whining. I open the door and step outside, leaving him inside with Anna, and look around. When I don’t see anyone nearby, I start to head back in but stop when I smell weed. I look over the rail of the balcony and close my eyes, saying loudly, “I’m going to pretend you three are not smoking weed right now!”