by Ranae Rose
“So tell me,” she said. “How long did you have that ring?”
He stared into her dark eyes, his heart still beating hard. “I bought it yesterday. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, and I knew we’d be spending today together, so I went ahead.”
“Well, it was a surprise, to say the least. And there I was, congratulating myself on keeping a secret.” She laughed. “I hope you know you completely upstaged our surprise party.”
He cupped a hand against the back of her skull again, pulling her close until his lips brushed her hairline. “Worth it.”
She breathed a sigh and placed a hand against his chest. “So when are we tying the knot?”
“As soon as I can talk you into it.”
“I always thought fall weddings were nice.”
“We’ll have a fall wedding, then.”
“It’d still be warm enough to get married outside in October. Maybe even on the beach.”
“Whatever you want. I don’t care if we get married by the pool in the aquatic center.”
That made her grin. “I love my job, but not that much.”
“Let’s do the beach, then. It’ll be a good opportunity to get that picture I want.”
“Okay. A beach wedding in two months. I might need your help to pull off the planning in time.”
“Fine by me. I only have one request.”
“What?”
“I’d love it if you got me a wedding present you can’t give to me in front of the guests.”
He grinned and she squirmed, laughing when he squeezed one of her hips.
“Okay, but I expect the same from you.”
EPILOGUE
“This sure beats last time we were here,” Lucia said.
Jeremy looked around the spacious hospital room with its rocking chair and fold-out sleeper couch. It was less comfortable than it looked, but he couldn’t have cared less. It was as if she’d read his mind.
“It sure does.” For once, he was glad to be in a hospital.
“There are no mini fridges in the regular rooms, either.”
He nodded. “Speaking of that, Sasha says she’s coming by around lunchtime today to drop off some food.”
“Really? That’s sweet of her. After trying the food here, I see why they give you a fridge so you can bring your own.” She grinned despite her words.
He’d never seen anyone look so happy and so exhausted at the same time.
Just as he reached out to smooth a stray curl out of her eyes, a sound came from the wheeled bassinette to his left.
Not truly a cry – not yet.
After brushing the curl aside, he turned to the bassinette before she could get out of bed.
Aaron was squirming in his receiving blanket, and managed to get one tiny fist out. Jeremy scooped him up just as he opened his eyes.
They were big and dark beneath a dusting of brown hair that was bound to be curly, between the genes he’d inherited from him and Lucia.
“You’re so good at that,” she said, sitting up higher against her pillows. “Better than I am, I think.”
“I’ve had lots of practice.” It’d been thirteen years, but holding a newborn had come back to him the moment a nurse had placed Aaron in his arms.
“Of course you have.” A sympathetic look flashed in her eyes. It was the only look she could give him that made him truly uncomfortable.
He didn’t need her, or anyone, to feel sorry for him. Not when he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
“Now that you’re up and showered, do you want me to text my mom and have her bring Paige over?” he asked. They’d visited the night before shortly after Aaron had been born, and they’d promised to return in the morning.
“Sure. I’d like them to spend some time with Aaron before my parents and aunts get here after lunch, otherwise we won’t be able to fit everyone in the room at once.”
“You sure all the visitors aren’t too much?”
She waved a hand. “They’re family. It’s fine.”
“You let me know if it gets to be too much, and I’ll kick everyone out.”
She grinned. “You’d have to flash your badge to get my family out of here. Maybe even cuff someone.”
“I’m pretty sure the same could be said about my mom.” A cluster of balloons and a bouquet of yellow and pink roses brightened one corner of the room, evidence of his mother’s first visit. There was also a fluffy blue teddy bear – a gift from Paige to her little brother.
“Well, she hasn’t had a new grandchild in thirteen years, and she probably thought she was never going to get another one.”
He thought back to the way his mother had bombarded Lucia with baked goods when she’d first moved in across the street. “I don’t think she ever gave up hope.”
He brushed a blanket corner away from Aaron’s face, and Aaron grabbed one of Jeremy’s fingers and held on for dear life.
“I don’t remember babies being this strong,” he said.
“Maybe it’s a boy thing.”
“Speaking of boys, Kerry and Grey are supposed to find out the sex of their baby today.”
“I know – I made Kerry promise to text me. Sasha, Alicia and I have a bet going. Alicia and I think it’s a boy, and Sasha thinks it’s a girl. I think Kerry is the only one who doesn’t have an opinion either way.” Her voice softened. “After the way her first pregnancy ended, she says she’s too excited to be having a baby to have a gender preference.”
He nodded. For the past several months, Kerry’s excitement had been obvious to everyone who encountered her, which was saying something, considering her usual quiet demeanor. When she and Grey had gotten married in a small ceremony the month before, she’d worn a white dress that had emphasized her belly rather than hiding it.
“I’m happy for them.”
“Me too.”
He was even happier for himself. In fact, happy didn’t even begin to describe it.
The whole world seemed brighter, and he was unbelievably grateful for his place in it. Life had changed a lot since he’d married Lucia ten months ago, but with her by his side, he relished it. When they’d found out she was pregnant a couple months after the wedding, it had felt right from the get-go.
She shifted in bed, leaning to peer down at Aaron.
“Do you want to hold him?”
“In a little bit. He seems so happy with you right now, I don’t want to take him away. He looks like you, too.”
It was hard to say that a newborn resembled anyone at all, but there were definite traces of his mother in his features. “He’s got your eyes.”
“Too bad he doesn’t have yours – they’re the prettiest I’ve ever seen.”
Aaron blinked.
“I like yours better.”
“Flatterer. You have to say that – I’m your wife.”
“What can I say?” He grinned. “I want to keep you around.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Jeremy. You’d have to cuff me to something and run to get away.”
“I might cuff you, but I’m not running.” He touched the curve of Aaron’s chubby little face, so different from Lucia’s high, flushed cheeks. “I love you, Lucia. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to have you as a wife, and the mother of my children.”
She was a mother to Paige too, no doubt about it. There probably weren’t many people capable of truly loving someone else’s child like their own, but she was one of them.
She smiled. “The feeling goes both ways, you know.”
“I know.”
* * * * *
Men in uniform, suspense and Southern heat…
Thank you for reading Officer on Duty, the final installment in the Lock and Key Series.
If you enjoyed the Lock and Key books, you’ll love the South Island PD Series by Ranae Rose, debuting in October 2015 with Book 1, Dark Blue. Read on for more info!
* * * * *
Other titles in the Lock and Key Series…
Cli
ck title to see in the Kindle Store.
Officer Next Door (Lock and Key, #1)
Officer out of Uniform (Lock and Key, #2)
Officer in Pursuit (Lock and Key, #3)
What did you think of Jeremy and Lucia’s story? Please consider sharing your thoughts via a review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ranae Rose is the best-selling author of more than thirty adult romances and counting. Originally from Maryland, she grew up the daughter of a US Marine and always wanted to be a writer. Today she lives on the US East Coast with her man in uniform, young children, German Shepherd dogs and overflowing bookshelves. Writing and reading are lifelong passions that consume most of her time, and she’s always working on bringing her latest love story idea to life for readers.
www.ranaerose.com
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Love men in uniform? Read on for an early look at Ranae’s new South Island PD Series.
Dark Blue
South Island PD, #1
If Belle is going to get a speeding ticket, it might as well be written by the hottest cop South Island has ever seen. But Officer Jackson Calder isn’t just a daydream in blue, he’s the first man she ever slept with, and the only one she doesn’t regret.
One routine traffic stop, and Jackson’s past is back to haunt him in the most bittersweet way imaginable. Too good for him and too good to forget, Belle became a fantasy after she left the island. Now that she’s home for good in the Lowcountry, she’s a living, breathing temptation he can’t resist.
He was her first, but that was just the beginning. It’s being the last that counts.
Releasing October 12th, 2015
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