“I think –”

“Don’t think,” he growled, his intensity returning. “Hear this. Four years, I watched you be cute and I enjoyed watchin’ your ass move in your tight skirts. But in five minutes at a f**kin’ Stop ‘n’ Go my world was rocked seein’ you with those two kids. Not two hours later, a woman came up to us and told us we had a beautiful family. I didn’t get it because we didn’t have it then but I get it now. She was right. But I also learned I have somethin’ else on my hands. I gotta protect those kids from any more falls and I gotta protect my woman from takin’ any more too and I’ll exhaust myself, bleed myself dry and run myself ragged to see to doin’ that.”

I stared up at him, silent and completely motionless.

Then I burst into tears.

Mitch rolled with me in his arms and I cried in them too.

When I quit crying, Mitch’s hand came to my face and his thumb swept across my wet cheek while he whispered, “Never believed in this shit but now, I’m thinkin’ I fell in love with the promise of you the first time I saw you.”

My body bucked as my breath hitched and the tears came back.

“Mitch –”

“And Bud and Billie mean more to me because they were the catalyst that got me in and gave me you. Just lucky they came with.”

Another hitch another buck another broken, “Mitch –”

“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

I shoved my face in his neck and burst into tears again. These lasted longer.

When they faded, silently, he turned me and curled into my body, holding me close, his face in the back of my hair.

And when the tightness in his arm around me relaxed, I whispered, “You’re my dream man.”

“I know.”

I blinked at my shadowed pillow. “Pardon?”

“Mara, baby, never believed this shit either but now I know you were made for me. So, seein’ as that’s true, it goes the other way too.”

Oh my God.

“I was…I was…made for you?”

“I’m a cop for a reason, honey.”

“So you were made to save me,” I guessed, not sure I liked that.

“No, I was made to protect you and you were made in a way that it would always be worth the effort.”

Okay, that was good. I was definitely sure I liked that.

Too much.

“Oh shit,” I whispered, lips trembling, “I think I’m going to cry again.”

His body shook but his arm got tight as his face burrowed deeper into my hair and I listened to him chuckle.

Which kinda pissed me off.

“Mitch! You don’t laugh during a heart to heart.”

“You do during one that involves Marabelle Jolene Hanover.”

I found myself glaring at my dark pillow. Then I realized I was exhausted from an orgasm, two crying jags and a heart to heart with Detective Mitch Lawson.

So I muttered, “Whatever,” which got me another chuckle.

And…whatever.

I snuggled backwards into Mitch and his arm got tighter. His breath went steady and it got looser.

But I didn’t fall asleep. I stared at the obscure folds of my pillow and played his words in my mind.

Then I played them again.

And repeat.

And each time, my soul sighed.

Then I went to sleep.

* * * * *

That was three days ago.

Now the kids were out of school, it was Saturday, Mitch and I were both off and we were taking the kids to Six Flags Elitch Gardens.

Billy and Billie were beside themselves with excitement seeing as they’d never been to an amusement park in their lives.

I was too, seeing as I hadn’t either.

Mitch was too (in his hot guy, macho cop way), seeing as he got to give that to all of us.

Mitch came out of the bathroom, walked to his pajama bottoms on the floor, tagged them and pulled them up, all while I watched. Then I started to get up, pushing up to a hand but instead of Mitch heading out to go wake up Billy, he came to the bed and sat on the side.

Then his hand lifted, he pushed my hair over my shoulder, his fingers curled around my neck and he drew me near him as he leaned into me.

Then, his eyes holding mine, he whispered, “Best good morning I ever had was the first time you wrapped that mouth of yours around my cock.”

I sucked in breath as my ni**les started tingling but he wasn’t done.

“Fuck, baby, knew I loved that mouth of yours but after that, loved it more. Just like everything about you, the reality is better than expected. Off the f**kin’ charts.”

“Mitch,” I whispered back, my hand lifting to curl tight around his wrist.

I watched his eyes smile as he finished, “Gonna have to work hard to top that.”

I knew my eyes were smiling too because my mouth was doing it when I promised, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Then he changed the subject. “Just to let you know, you’re right about the Spring Deluxe. Your mattress is the shit, baby.”

“Told you,” I reminded him.

He grinned.

Then he whispered, “But I’d sleep on a bed of nails, I was sleeping next to you.”

I blinked. Then tears filled my eyes.

Mitch watched this, his thumb sweeping my cheek then he leaned in, touched his lips to mine, got up and walked out to wake up Billy.

I watched then, when the door closed behind his beautiful back and great ass, I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, deep breathing.

Then I heard Billie screech, “Elitch Gardens!”

Well, I guessed that meant I didn’t have to wake her up.

I heard her little feet beating on the floor, I heard a bang on the bedroom door and then I heard Mitch’s deep voice saying on a lie since I was not in the shower, I was in the bed and naked, “She’s in the shower, gorgeous.”

At this information, Billie switched targets immediately.

“Can we have donuts?”

“We’ll swing by on the way to the park,” Mitch answered.

“Yippee!” Billie squealed.

That was when I smiled at the ceiling.

Let me just say, I liked the real world.

The real world was awesome.

And I was going to stay there awhile.

Hopefully forever.

* * * * *

“T minus two freaking seconds before we’re out the door, baby,” Mitch called impatiently from the front door. Billy and Billie were standing with him, Billie bouncing on her toes and even Billy was fidgeting with excitement.

I was rushing around.

“I need to get sun block,” I told him.