life. I want to wake up with you every day and sleep with you every night.”
“Even if I steal the covers?” she teased.
“Especially if you steal the covers,” he assured her, “because that’ll give me a reason to snuggle closer to you. I want to work with you. Play with you. Make love to you. I want to climb mountains with you by my side. I believe in me because I believe in us. Together. I love you, Sydney Harper Revere. I want to marry you and have forever with you. Do you want to marry me?”
Her smile was like warm sunshine radiating to his very soul. “I love you so much, Dash. I want to marry you and have your babies and live a life together with no regrets.”
He smiled. “I like how you worked in that ‘no regrets’ part.”
She grinned. “That was pretty slick, huh?” Her hands cupped his face. “My answer is yes, Dash DeLauria.”
Dash kissed his fiancée deeply. The soul-shattering kiss confirmed just how right things were in his life.
Suddenly, he became aware of applause and broke the kiss. Bruce and his team surrounded them, along with two squad cars. Even Tim had gotten out of bed, his arm around Brenda as they looked on.
Herc jumped up and down, clapping away.
Dash motioned Herc over and he came running. The three of them held on tightly as they embraced.
“Are we going to be a family, Dash?” Herc asked hopefully.
“We are, Herc. We sure are,” Dash confirmed.
EPILOGUE
One year later . . .
Sydney looked out from their high perch on the top of the Arc de Triomphe and gazed down the beautiful Avenue des Champs-Elysees. She and Dash had walked some of the boulevard yesterday when they left the Louvre, stopping in the Jardin des Tuileries to sit in chairs beside a fountain. An hour had passed as they sat quietly, holding hands, happy to be in one another’s company.
Today, they started at the western end of Place Charles de Gaulle, studying the names inscribed on the monument of valiant Frenchmen who’d fought in the country’s revolution and in the Napoleonic Wars. Sydney was impressed by the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which honored the memory of the unknown dead lost in both world wars. History had always fascinated her and she’d learned over the past year the same held true for Dash. They had planned several trips to take in the future in order to feed their passions for it.
Their shared interest in history was nothing compared to the passion they held for one another.
The past year had been the best of her life, even if the occasional nightmare about Wake woke her from a deep sleep. When it did, Dash’s muscled arms and legs would wrap her in a blanket of warmth and security. Her husband was the most caring man she’d met—with an insatiable appetite for making love. Sydney had learned hers equaled his and they continually discovered new wonders about each other.
“Ready?”
She nodded. They returned to the inside of the monument and proceeded back to ground level. Dash threw an arm around her shoulders as they began the journey back down the most famous street in Paris.
“Let’s cut through here,” Dash said, leading her into the Jardin des Champs-Elysees.
They strolled through the public park and found a remote area along Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt called Vallee Suisse. The quiet section of the public park seemed far from the busy boulevard. Sydney loved when they stumbled upon a stream that passed under a weeping willow tree and Dash led her to it.
“Wanna cop a squat?” he asked, referring to a line in Pretty Woman, one of her favorite movies.
Sydney had never expected the fairy tale—but she’d gotten it all the same—just as Julia Roberts’ character had. Millionaire Edward Lewis had seen something in streetwalker Vivian Ward and made her an offer that finally included marriage and living happily ever after.
Sydney and Dash were doing just that.
They claimed a spot on the ground, the green grass thick beneath them. Dash leaned against the weeping willow while Sydney sat between his legs, her back resting against his chest as his arms came around her and held her close.
“I could sit here all day with you,” he said. “This is a perfect day. Because I’m with you.”
Dash threaded his fingers through hers and softly brushed his lips against her temple. “Glad we’re spending our birthdays in Paris, babe?”
“Of course. You promised we would. I knew