“When I think about what might’ve happened.” He raised his head, met her sparkling blue eyes and was grateful. So very grateful. “I know this is all so new, but the thought of losing you…again… I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“They could take a shot at you right now. We’re totally exposed standing out here.”

She reached up to caress his face. “You can’t do this. If you’re going to be with me—”

“If?”

She smiled. “I get hurt every now and then. I have close calls—not like I did today—but stuff happens. You can’t let fear rule you. That’s no life for you—or me.” She hesitated, as if there was something else she wanted to say.

“What?” He sensed her tension before he felt it. “Babe. What?”

“When I was married,” she said haltingly, “Peter obsessed about my safety, my whereabouts, my cases. It wasn’t healthy, and while it wasn’t the only problem we had, it made a bad situation much worse. It was totally suffocating.”

“I hear what you’re saying, and I understand. I really do. I’ll do my best to give you room to breathe, but you’ve got to give me some time to adjust, okay? I’m not used to the woman I care about being nearly blown up in my front yard. It’s going to take me a while to get used to the dangers that go with your job.”

“Fair enough.”

He brushed his thumbs over the deep, dark circles under her eyes and pressed a gentle kiss to the lump on her forehead. “You’re whipped. Do you think you could sleep for a bit?”

“I guess I could try, but my mind is racing. I want to get everyone here later when Freddie gets back to start all over again. We’re missing something. I know we are.”

“You won’t be any good to anyone if you run yourself into the ground. How about a nap to recharge?”

She flashed that coy smile he’d come to love. “Only if you join me.”

“Here? With your dad in the house?”

“He can’t shoot you.”

“That’s not funny. He can have me killed. Easily.”

“I was married, Nick. He knows I’ve had sex.”

“Not with me.”

“I’ll bet he doesn’t think we were baking cookies last night.”

“That’s what we were doing. If he asks, that’s exactly what we were doing. Baking cookies—all night long.”

Laughing, she took his hand to lead him inside. “We’re going to crash for a bit,” she said to Celia. “Freddie is due back later tonight. If we conk out big time, will you wake us up when he gets here?”

“I sure will, honey. Can I get you two something to eat?”