His grip tightened. “Don’t ever thank me for that. I…I’m in love with you, Tegan. I know it’s too soon and—”
Her head snapped back and she looked up at him. Emotions flickered in his dark eyes, too many to figure out. “I love you, too. So much it hurts. I love the way you are with your son. You’re such a good dad and that’s crazy sexy. Something I never imagined thinking. You’re kind to everyone and you went out of your way to keep a virtual stranger—me—safe. Ever since then you’ve been a rock, someone I know I can count on no matter what. I…I just love you.”
His mouth curved up in a sweet half smile but it fell as the door to the back opened. The operating room and the other rooms were back there. The vet, not her assistant, was standing there.
For one brief moment Tegan feared the worst until the vet gave her a relieved, bright smile.
“Kali’s through the worst and she’s going to make it.”
Epilogue
Six months later
Tegan used her key to Aaron’s place to let herself in. He’d given her a key almost immediately after Christmas but she rarely used it. Because she was seldom here when he wasn’t.
He’d asked her to stop by his place and pick something up for him before meeting him at his parents’ for their weekly Sunday dinner. They’d spent most of the morning together, but she’d gone home for a couple of hours because she’d needed to finish up some design stuff for her growing business. Soon she was going to have to make a decision about staying on at the coffee shop or going full time with her business. And she knew she needed to make some other decisions as well. Aaron wanted her to move in with him and Dillon but she couldn’t do it. She was an old-fashioned kind of girl. She couldn’t live with him until she had a ring on her finger. It was the way she was wired.
Some people didn’t need that piece of paper, but she needed it. Needed the commitment it symbolized. But she hadn’t told him that, hadn’t wanted to put any pressure on him. She’d just told him she wasn’t ready for that yet, that she was happy the way things were. Which was mostly true.
When she stepped inside Aaron’s place she frowned as she shut the door behind her. The alarm hadn’t gone off and she knew he was vigilant about setting it. Any fear she might have had disappeared when she turned around and saw a piece of paper on the ground with an arrow, clearly drawn and colored in by Dillon. Curiosity replaced concern.
Smiling to herself, she followed the arrow into the kitchen to find a little sign with a painted red heart and a bunch of glitter covering it on a small stand. Underneath it was another arrow pointing toward the back door. The blinds were closed on the door so she couldn’t see what was out there. What are those two up to?
Heart pounding with excitement, she dropped her purse and keys on the counter and hurried out the back door. Aaron and Dillon stood there, smiles on their faces, and Kali beside them, tongue lolling. The back porch was decorated with a string of red heart lights and more handmade items, all Dillon’s art, with drawings of the three of them holding hands—and Kali was in all of them, too.
Kali, who was back to her healthy self, trotted up to Tegan when Aaron patted her head once. A little sign hung from around her neck, attached to a red ribbon. She bent down and rubbed Kali’s head as she read the sign: Pull Me. She tugged on the ribbon and a little box fell onto the ground.
She plucked it up and realized it was a jewelry box. Her heart started pounding even wilder in her chest. When she looked up, Aaron was already on one knee in front of her.
The smile was gone as he watched her with that intensity she felt all the way to her core. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. You’re the best thing to happen to us. Marry me?”
Throat tight with emotion, she nodded. She tried to get the word yes out but tears were pouring down her face.
“I thought you’d be happy!” Dillon’s stricken voice and little face made her find her voice.
“I’m so happy.” She tugged him and Aaron into a big hug. “This is the best proposal ever. I love you guys!”
“You haven’t even seen the ring,” Dillon’s voice was muffled because she was probably squeezing him too tight.
Laughing, she pulled back and brushed a kiss over Aaron’s mouth. “Yes, yes, yes.”
He slid the ring on her finger before she’d even had a chance to look at it. When she did glance down, her breath caught. Instead of a traditional diamond it was a cluster of their birthstones. The symbolism that they were truly a family made her chest tighten. “It’s beautiful.” The word seemed inadequate to describe what she truly thought of the ring. Of what it meant to her. For the first time in her life she felt like she truly was part of a family.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, the heat in his eyes a promise of what was to come later.