Cam had dropped to one knee and produced a gorgeous diamond ring, and she’d gasped. “I’ve loved you for a long time,” he’d said. “You make me smile, you make me feel like a superhero, like I can do anything. But the truth is, all I want to do is be with you. I want to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning for the rest of my life.”

“Yes,” Piper had whispered.

“Jeez, Piper, wait until he asks you,” Winnie had said.

Cam, not taking his eyes off Piper, had smiled. “Will you—”

“Yes,” Piper had said again, softly, past the huge lump of joy and excitement in her throat.

Winnie had shaken her head.

“What if he’s asking if you’ll do his laundry for the rest of his life?” Gavin had joked.

Cam had dropped his head and stared at his own knees for a beat. Probably second-guessing his desire to join her crazy family. Then he’d tried again. “Piper, will you marry me? And to be clear, that doesn’t include doing my laundry.”

She’d dropped to her knees and kissed him. “Yes,” she’d whispered against his mouth.

Remembering this now made her miss him all the more and she moved to the kitchen window, staring out at the lake for a little bit of happy.

Chance, sensing her sadness, whined and licked her chin.

“Thanks, baby.” She hated these forced separations so much. She’d never let Cam know, not wanting to add any stress to his plate, but it was getting harder and harder to be apart. That was when she realized there was an odd silence in the kitchen behind her, and she turned around.

Cam was right there in front of her, and with a gasp of surprise, she threw herself at him. He caught her—and Chance—with ease, and then, without any words, their mouths found each other. His kiss was hard and desperate and hungry . . . everything she was feeling, and it said everything that needed to be said. Love. Longing. Desire. Affection. Everything . . .

When they surfaced for air, Cam looked down at the puppy giving him huge eyes. “Who’s this?”

“Chance.” She held her breath.

“He ours?”

“Yes,” she said softly, hoping he’d be okay with that, that he’d understand she’d been lonely as hell and—

“Nice. He’s cute.” He nuzzled the puppy, looking heart-stoppingly sexy while doing it, then gently set him down. He then picked up Piper and plopped her on the counter, making himself at home between her legs. He was holding her so tight that she couldn’t breathe, but hey, who needed to breathe?

They were alone. Well, relatively anyway, as Chance was sitting on one of Cam’s feet.

“Never again,” he murmured against Piper’s lips.

“At least until they call you, right?” she quipped, trying to make light.