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“She went home with Easton.” She raised her eyebrows when he huffed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing.” Everything. “He’s just not the man I want for my sister.” He might trust the cowboy with Julia’s life, but her heart was another matter.
“What you want has nothing to do with it. Relax and let someone else fuss over her for a change. However, the woman you want, and I know you do, is in there.”
“Yeah, I do want her.”
Irene pushed open the conference room door. “Then go get her.”
He kissed her on the forehead and stepped inside. Rosalie stood by the window with Paul, her arm in a sling. The team from Denver that wasn’t hospitalized, including White and Clark, who’d suffered a couple of broken bones and burns, ate pizza with Grady, the IT staff, and Rosalie’s family. He couldn’t help but grin from the infectious joy in the room.
His smile widened as he locked eyes with his snow angel across the table. Her grin sent his hopes soaring.
Yeah, they could make a relationship work. He loved her. While she hadn’t said she loved him, he knew she cared deeply enough to sacrifice herself for his sister.
That was a start, right?
It had to be enough. He planned to bring her back to his cabin and convince her it was plenty, even if it took a week. The hospital had survived a ransomware attack, a shooter, and a kidnapping. It could survive a few days without him.
Making his way around the table took forever, with everyone stopping to shake his hand and ask about Julia and the injured agents. Someone called him a hero, but he ignored it. He’d never wanted to be a hero. Just a good man, a good brother, and now a good partner to the most thrilling woman he’d ever met.
Just mere steps away from her, Jimmy stopped him.
“I got to hand it to you, Ford. You did good out there.” Jimmy clapped him on the shoulder. “Did you hear that the terrorist we apprehended after Aidan’s rescue is awake and asking for asylum in exchange for intel?”
“No, that’s great.” He eyed the woman he planned to spend the rest of his live with.
“I bet Zenner can’t wait to get her hands on him and…”
Paul cleared his throat. “Can I have everyone’s attention?” He looked at Rosalie. “I learned a few minutes ago that the special agent in charge position in LA is yours. Congratulations.”
Rosalie’s smile spanned wider than the crack in Cannon’s plan.
Paul kissed her cheek. “Your father would be so proud of you. I know you won’t let him down.”
"I won't. I promise." She turned her tear-filled gaze to Cannon. He held his breath, waiting for her to speak. His heart sank with every silent second. Were those happy tears because she’d gotten the big promotion? Or sad because she planned to leave Colorado and him?
“Cannon, we need to talk.”
He released his breath. The effort to pull in another hurt his head. He knew what it meant when a woman said those words.
This was her triumph, and it didn’t include him. He’d just begun to learn that Julia didn’t need him as much as he’d thought. He’d always known that Rosalie didn’t either, but he’d let himself hope she needed him in a way that had nothing to do with survival and everything to do with her heart.
He cleared his throat. “Congratulations. You deserve it. I’m happy for you.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the blank screen. “Excuse me. I’m needed in the ER.”
He didn’t look back when she yelled, “Wait.”
Bella slapped Rosalie’s shoulder.“Could you be any more stupid? Or cliché?”
Rosalie pressed her fingertips to her lips. “I can’t believe I just saidwe need to talk.” She stepped toward the door. “I didn’t mean… oh God, I am so, so stupid.”
Bella gripped her elbow. “Wait. I’m not letting you leave without making sure you don’t say something else foolish. Listen to me. You go find your man, and when you do, the only words I want coming out of your mouth are,I love you, Cannon. I can’t live without you, Cannon. Marry me, Cannon.”
Her mother appeared at Rosalie’s side and wrapped an arm around her waist. “While you’re at it, say,Take me to bed so we can start making babies right away, Cannon.”
Rosalie held up her hand. “Slow down, you two. Especially you, Mom.”
She had a promotion to consider.
