My hold tightened. “No. You’re not. You’re going to sleep right here next to me.”

“Just hours ago I swore to you that I wouldn’t hurt you and look what I did.”

“Mason, you were sleeping. It was one dream.”

I finally convinced him to sleep with me, but when we woke up in the morning, he was quieter than usual.

He studied my face, gently brushing the hair off my cheek.

“When did you first know you loved me?” I asked. “You said it for the first time last night, but I’ve suspected for a while. Was it when you were in the hospital after the Crocker ordeal?”

A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Longer than that.”

“When you came over in September and told me about Savannah?”

His smile fell, making me instantly sorry to have brought up his sister. “Longer.”

I refused to lose our moment. “Then tell me.”

He laughed. “If I tell you, you’re going to think I’m lame. I don’t want you to kick me out of your bed.”

“Now you have to tell me.”

“Fine.” His grin grew. “Sometime between when I found you drunk and about to make out with Skeeter Malcolm in the pool hall—”

“I was not about to make out with Skeeter Malcolm!”

“—and when you showed up outside the courtroom and asked me to help set up a meeting with Bruce Wayne’s attorney.”

“Mason,” I said, flabbergasted. “That was in July.”

He cringed. “I told you it was lame.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“When did you know you loved me?”

It was my turn to cringe. “I’ve been thinking about it for days, but I wasn’t certain until last night. I felt like I had to tell you or I’d burst.”

He smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.” His hand covered my stomach. “When are we going to find out about this?”

“We could just wait nine months?” I teased.

“I’ve heard there are better ways to find out,” he said dryly, but he was still grinning. “They have these newfangled things called pregnancy tests.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t say?”

“You seem reluctant.”

“I’m reluctant for the same reason I was reluctant to tell you about the possibility in the first place. If the test is positive, it will become a sure thing. Right now there’s just you and me, and if we find out I am pregnant, there’ll be three of us. Let’s just give ourselves a little more time before we know…okay?”

“Sure, but how long do you want to wait? Don’t you need to go to the doctor?”

“As long as I don’t drink or take any medication, I’ll be fine. Neely Kate suggested I take prenatal vitamins to be on the safe side.”

“Neely Kate? How long has she known?”

“Since yesterday afternoon. She actually raised the possibility before I did.”

“Of course she did.” He laughed. “But seriously, how long do you want to wait?”

“A week or two, tops.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for being so wonderful about all of this.”

“I love you, Rose. I’m not doing anything extraordinary other than that.”

“I love you too.”

We got up and took a shower, and by the time we got out, Muffy was pacing the bathroom floor.

I headed downstairs to let her out and started a pot of coffee. While I waited for Mason to come down, I mixed pancake batter and fried bacon. I was used to having Sunday mornings off from work, but Mason and I had started going to Jonah’s church together. This was the first morning I’d had completely free in ages.

After Mason came down and we sat together at the kitchen table for breakfast, I watched Muffy pace the length of the kitchen.

“Do you have any work to do this morning?” I asked him, stabbing my fork into my pancake.

His face scrunched. “I do. I thought you’d be working at the nursery.”

“I’m not asking to make you feel guilty, Mason. I told you that I’d never begrudge you your work. I’m only asking because I feel guilty.”

“You? About what?”

“It’s a beautiful day and Muffy’s been cooped up all week. I want to take her for a walk.”

He sucked in a breath and slowly released it. “I don’t know, Rose. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with you going on a walk. In fact, if I didn’t have this bum leg, I’d ask to go with you. But the bank robbers are still on the loose. And while I may fault Joe Simmons for a lot of things, there’s no doubt he wants to keep you safe. I can’t help thinking he might be right in this.”

“Mason. There has been no sign of them. At. All. Don’t you think they would have turned up by now if they had some issue with me? No one’s heard hide nor hair of them. They’re probably long gone.” I smiled sweetly. “Besides, it’s broad daylight.”

He groaned. “All right. But bring your phone. And promise you’ll call me at the first sign of trouble.”

“I will.”

We cleaned up the kitchen together after he insisted he could stand on his leg for long enough to help. When we finished, I gave him a long kiss. “Get your work done so we can take a nap together later.”

He grinned. “Why are we taking a nap?”