“If the roles were reversed—if you had been the one asked to go undercover—Kelly would not have called me first to see how I felt about it. I’d have to learn it from you.” She propped her bare foot on the edge of her seat and then folded her hands around her shins. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re not.”

Ellie sucked air deeply through her nose as she shook her head. She had been one of the best shooters in her class and, while only five foot eight and weighing a little more than 130 pounds, she had shied away from nothing—not a single goddamn thing the academy instructors had thrown at her. Whatever came her way, she had handled it without bitching and moaning the way some of the male cadets had. And to top it off, she had handled her shit today in a real-life firefight, done everything correctly and by the book while under pressure, and—and—she had helped identify two victims. And yet the police commissioner had called her boyfriend to get his permission and blessing. Hey, Cody, it’s me, Mr. Police Commissioner. Need to speak to you man-to-man about the special girl in your life. I’m going to ask her to go undercover for us, but I want to see how you feel about it first, one privileged white guy to another.

Cody sighed. “Ellie,” he began.

“You don’t get it. You don’t understand because you’re not a woman.”

“You’re right—I’m not. I’m a white male, which allows me all sorts of privileges—and all sorts of blind spots. I told Kelly he was talking to the wrong person.”

She turned to him.

“I told him that you don’t answer to me—that you’re your own person. That the decision, ultimately, is yours, and yours alone. I probably should have added that I wouldn’t hold any sway in your decision, because you are, without a doubt, the most stubborn person I have ever met, which is why I fell in love with you.”

“That’s the only reason? My pigheadedness?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Cody grinned, messing with her, and brought the glass to his lips, Ellie feeling herself relax a bit, having what was probably the first normal moment in the past twenty-four hours.

“Whoa,” he said, his eyes widening.

“How’s it taste?”

“Like burning.”

“Have some more. It’ll help you grow hair on your chest. You could use some.”

Cody leaned back and crossed his legs. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my brothers lately. About how all three of them married women who are perfectly content, fulfilled, what have you, staying at home and raising the kids. You’re the complete polar opposite. You’re . . .”

“What?”

“You’re . . . uncharted,” Cody said. “I could spend the rest of my life with you, and while I would never be able to discover everything about you? Every day I would discover something new, and I love that. I love the all of you, and I—” He cut himself off and snorted. Smiled. “You know, this sounded so much better in my head.”