Page 89 of The Mistletoe Mix-up

“I thought something happened to you,” he murmured, his mouth buried in her shoulder.

“No, nothing happened to me,” she said, putting her flashlight away so she could rub his back. Sam was trembling against her, and she realized how it must have looked for him to drive by and see her cruiser abandoned, door open, and neither her nor Duke in sight.

He’s so sweet.

“I got the Christmas lights.”

“Thank God you weren’t hurt. I was driving by on my way back from Clark and Merry’s, and I saw the SUV. All I could think was what if it was your car, so I looked inside for anything identifiable, and I saw your computer. I panicked and was about to start screaming for you when you came back.”

“Yeah, no need for all that. This is what I do.”

Sam held her tighter. “I don’t want you chasing people into the dark alone.” He pulled away, his worried eyes boring into hers. “What if he had been armed or if he had had a friend waiting?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve had that happen. That’s actually how I got shot in the ass.” When she noticed how pale he was, Wren sobered. “Sam, I get you were worried, but this is my job.”

“But you want to be a mom, right? What happens if you are raising our child alone and something happens to you? Once you have someone else to think about, you can’t make decisions that put your life in jeopardy. You have to come home every night.”

Our child. Those two words overwhelmed Wren, making her warm and weak at the same time. He wasn’t telling her to be careful because he was some macho man who didn’t think his girl could handle it. He was worried about her being around for years to come. He was asking her to be cautious and take care because she was living for other people, too.

Like Sam?

Wren squeezed him tight, breathing in his cologne, and the comforting scent washed over her. “I promise, I’ll be more careful, and I won’t do any more foot chases alone.”

Sam released a rough, shaky breath. “Thank you.”

Now that her heart rate and adrenaline had come down, she could feel Sam’s body shaking against hers and realized how truly scared he’d been. Wren didn’t remember being scared when her dad went to work, but then again, her older brothers kept her shielded from anything on TV that might have made her worry. Besides, she’d been under the impression her dad was invincible, even when she was grown up.

Rubbing her hands over his back, she soothed him. “It’s okay.”

Suddenly Sam was kissing her hair, her cheeks, her face, her lips, murmuring, “I just found you again. I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

She realized she wasn’t, either. The thought of Sam not being a part of her life left an empty place inside, a spot he’d claimed nearly twenty years ago, and only he could fill it. He was her support system. Her best friend. Her everything.

She loved him.

A lump lodged in her throat as those three words sank in. This was everything she’d fought against, had tried to avoid, but he’d gotten to her anyway.

“No one is saying goodbye to anyone,” she whispered, finding his mouth and kissing him slow and deep.

We’re just getting started.

Sam broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. “Do you wanna meet up for dinner after you clock out and change?”

Wren smiled, looking up into his eyes, her body radiating with joy. She loved him.

And Wren was almost positive he loved her, too.

Now, how was she going to tell him?

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

You should think of this as an upgrade, Sam,” Victoria Winters said proudly as she placed the Santa hat on his head. “Last time we asked you to cover the float at the Parade of Lights, you were an elf.”

Sam scowled at her from under the hat. He’d come to the parade looking for Wren and had only stopped by the Winters’ float to say hi. That was when Victoria had caught Sam, begging him to be Santa with Holly.

“Technically, Santa is an elf, too,” Sam grumbled.