“Pretty much.”

“Does your family know? I only ask so I know how to respond if anyone asks a question.”

“They know everything except that I called the other family first.”

She nodded once. “They’ll never hear it from me.” She settled back against him, her head on his shoulder. “You kept him from killing anyone else, Tom. I’m proud of you.”

He shuddered out a breath, stunned by how much he’d needed those words. “Same. You scare me shitless, but I’m so damn proud of you.”

She pressed a kiss to his chest. “We’re going to be just fine.”

“We’re going to be perfect.”

TWENTY-FIVE

ROCKLIN, CALIFORNIA

SUNDAY, MAY 28, 10:45 P.M.

Tom set the pizza box on the bed, not really caring what was inside, because Liza was in his bed, smiling up at him. “Pepperoni, extra cheese, green peppers, and mushrooms.”

She sat cross-legged with the sheet tucked under her arms. All of the interesting parts were covered, but he figured he could persuade her to uncover again later. For now, she looked very happy and extremely relaxed and he felt a little thrill knowing he’d helped with that.

Pebbles trotted through the open bedroom door, her tail wagging.

“Did you bark at the evil pizza delivery man, Pebbles?” Liza crooned.

“She always does. This guy was smart, though.” Tom set a six-pack of Coke on the nightstand. “He brought dog biscuits, probably hoping to buy some goodwill.”

“But?”

“But Pebbles has already forgotten about him.” Because as much as he loved the dog, she wasn’t very smart.

“You’re a fickle girl,” she told Pebbles, who’d surprisingly bypassed the pizza, making a beeline for Liza, who’d leaned over to kiss the dog’s muzzle.

Okay, so Pebbles was much smarter than he’d thought. Tom stripped off the jeans he’d put on to meet the delivery guy and got under the sheet with Liza, more than pleased with the way her gaze raked over his body.

“Do we have to eat?” But then her stomach growled, making her laugh. “I guess we do.”

“We need fuel.” He put a slice of pizza on a paper plate and passed it over to her. “Then we can go again.”

She kissed his cheek. “A man with a plan,” she teased, then moaned when she bit into the pizza. “This is so much better than what Rafe got over the weekend. That was like cardboard.”

He stared at her, his food forgotten, the moan kick-starting his libido.

She saw him staring and laughed again. “Eat.”

He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Which pizza place did Rafe call?” he asked after he’d devoured his first piece, because he’d been much hungrier than he’d thought. “I’ll avoid them.”

She studied the box with a slight frown. “It might have been this one,” she said. “Maybe I just didn’t have any appetite that night.”

He sighed and started to apologize, but she shoved another slice of pizza in his mouth.