so we're set?" Amber pushed away from the desk and looked at him.
"I believe we are. Control, do you need anything?"
"Negative. We have food, drink and a porta-john outside. Life doesn't get any better than this." Anvi Patel's voice through the earwig made him smile. He was damn glad the woman had their six. She was razor sharp and a great asset.
"Roger. We have a meet and greet with the neighbors at 6:30. You'll see us head to their residence through camera three." Brody waited for acknowledgement before he removed his earwig and put his mic on mute. He pushed away from the desk and stretched.
"You clear?"
She clicked off her mic and took out her comms. "Clear. What's up?"
"Shower time." He held his hand for her and helped her from the chair. "Do you want to check on Gage before we get ready for the night?"
She glanced at her watch. "No, but if we get home in time, I want to call him and tell him goodnight. Get the rundown on his day."
"We can do that." Brody leaned down and kissed her.
The feel of him so close sent a shiver through her. She reacted not only to the sexual chemistry, which they had in spades, but to the emotional closeness that enrobed her in warmth, security and a sense of purpose. His presence in her life filled a dormant need in her soul. She'd closed the door on the hope that the love that had once grown there would ever revive and flourish again. However, life had given her a second chance, a re-emergence of what had once been, coupled with what was yet to be. Together.
"We. I really like the sound of that."
"So do I." He took her hand and led her into the master bedroom. She'd unpacked their toiletries earlier, and she’d made sure to set up his sink the way he liked, or rather the way he used to like it. His razor on the left-hand side. Toothbrush and toothpaste on the right. Comb behind the tap along with his deodorant and cologne.
He turned and enfolded her into his arms. "When we're done here, will you and Gage move in with me?"
Whoa. "What? Are you sure?" A host of thoughts hit in a gale-force slap of reality. She wanted nothing more, but she needed to make sure he was certain.
"I am, and I think you are, too."
He dipped down and took her lips, but she leaned away. "What about your family?"
"I told you Blay was buying the apartment on the second floor."
He lowered again, and she bent backward to avoid the kiss. "But Gage's school, you're not in the same district."
"We can drive him and pay tuition so he can finish the year. Then transfer him next year."
"Dawn?"
"Is a big girl who probably would relish her life back."
Oh. True. She'd actually worried about that for years, but... "I can't. I mean, what is Gage going to think?"
Brody held her with one arm and reached into his pocket. He extracted a dark red ring box from his pocket and flipped it open with his thumb. "He'll think his Mom and Dad have finally figured shit out and decided to get married." He held the box so she could see the ring.
"It's not the same one." Why those words fell from her lips was beyond her, but the ring situated on the blood red cushion wasn't the small solitaire he'd offered her ten years ago. This ring had two sapphires on either side of the square cut diamond.
"I sold the other ring. I thought it was cursed. I picked this one yesterday and had it sized." He took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. "Amber Swanson, will you finally marry me?"
She waited, but none of the terror, none of the claustrophobic loss of freedom, and not a whisper of her mother's voice pierced her happiness. She removed her hand from his and placed it against his cheek. "I'd be honored to marry you."
Brody's smile was huge, "If Gage agrees."
"Gage doesn't get a vote on this one, I'm afraid. If there is one thing I've learned it is when the man you love asks you to marry him, you say yes." She pulled him down and whispered the yes against his skin. The kiss they shared buoyed her heart as it healed and promised, fed and nourished the parched place at the very core of her being. There was no rush, no desperate scramble to find skin;