Reaching for him, Cera’s weak hand fumbled in his hair as she tried raking her fingers through his disheveled locks. He woke instantly, nearly tipping the chair backward when he shot straight up in a disoriented state.
He blinked, then looked at her again. The blues in his eyes became glassy with emotion. “Cera!” Ivan stood and leaned over her in a loving hover. “You’re awake.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Told you before, and I meant it.” He brushed some hair from her forehead. “I’ve got you. But…”
But?
“But…what?” Oh, god. Had he had time to think? Did he change his mind about her? About them?
“You’re free now, Cera. Free to go wherever you want. Free to be whatever you want. And free…” His voice cracked. “Free to love whomever you want.”
“I want to be a cop,” she announced. “I was thinking about maybe applying at the DPD Academy during the next round of courses.”
A flicker of hope flashed behind his haunted gaze. “Yeah?”
She nodded.
“I can talk to Dec. I’m sure he’ll put in a good word for you with the—”
“Thanks, but no.” She shook her head. “If I do it, I want it to be on my own merit.”
A smile filled with pride and something else lit his weary face, but he didn’t say anything more.
So she did. “Aren’t you going to ask me about the other?”
“The other?”
“I told you where I wanted to be when I mentioned the DPD Academy, and I told you what I wanted to be.” She swallowed. “The only one left.”
“Who you want to love.” He stared back at her as if she hung the moon.
“It’s not a matter of want, Ivan.” Cera shook her head. “It’s too late for that.”
A curtain of disappointment fell over him almost instantly, and she realized he’d misunderstood.
“What I meant was, it’s too late to choose,” she clarified. “Because I’m already there, Ivan.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I love you, Ivan. I never thought I’d ever be capable of loving anyone, but—”
“A girl walked into a bar.” He gave a slight dip of his chin. “In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d be capable of loving anyone the way I love you. You make me want things, Cera. Things I’d given up on a long, damn time ago. Then I met you, and God help me, I want all those things and more. But only with you.” He leaned in for a gentle kiss. “It has to be you.”
“Why me?” She needed to hear the words. Just once.
And then she’d know.
“Because I love you,” he said those words. “I want you to move in with me and marry me…eventually. I want kids, and a house, and a yard, and—”
“Okay.”
Ivan blinked those wide, brilliant blue eyes. “Okay, as in…”
“Let’s do it.” Cera smiled up at him. “I want to do it all.”
EPILOGUE
“I don’t know, Iz,”Olly Garcia gave his sister a non-answer. “Backyard barbecues really aren’t my thing.”
“I get that, but this isn’t just some cookout with a bunch of strangers, Olly.” Izzy did her best to persuade him. “It’ll just be me, Grady, Dec and Skye. And maybe the other detectives in their unit. But you’ve already met all of them, so it’s no big deal.”