Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jason had already said at least a thousands prayers for Lilly, but he added another one before he opened the door to her hospital room. He braced himself for the worst, and he hoped for the best.

He got the best.

There she was, not in bed, but sitting on the edge of it, dangling her bare feet off the side. She had a small white bandage on her forehead. That was it. No bruises. No other indication that Klein's bullet had come much too close to killing her.

Things had not seemed so promising during the frantic ambulance ride from his house to the hospital. Then, Lilly hadn't been conscious, and she was losing blood from the head wound. In those moments, Jason would have bargained with anything or anybody just to have her safe.

"You're here." She smiled at him.

That smile warmed the bitter cold that had seeped into his body. "I'm here."

Because he didn't trust his legs to move, he stood there a moment and savored the view. "The doctor said the bullet didn't do any serious damage, just a graze, and that you were going to be okay."

Lilly gave him a contemplative look. "You didn't believe him?"

"I had to see for myself."

Her smile returned. "You can see for yourself if you come closer."

Jason did. No uncertain legs this time. Now that he knew Lilly was truly all right, he made it to her in just a few steps. He leaned down, put his arms around her and pulled her to him.

"I'm fine, really," she promised.

He eased back so he could kiss her. Jason meant for it to be quick and reassuring, but Lilly obviously had other plans. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She lingered a bit and left them both a little breathless. That was fine. Jason preferred her kisses to breathing any day.

Lilly ran her tongue over her bottom lip and made an Mmm sound to indicate she liked the taste of him there. "How's Megan?"

He had to get the goofy smile off his face before he could answer. "She's out in the hall with Detective O'Reilly. I wanted a few minutes alone with you, first."

"Uh-oh." There was suddenly strain in her voice, on her face. "Bad news?"

Some of it, yes. But other parts were very good. "Klein is behind bars," Jason said.

Lilly pumped her fist in the air. "Hallelujah. Did he happen to say why he wanted to kill me?"

Her question had come easily, but Jason didn't have such an easy time with the answer. Every memory of what Klein had said and done would haunt him. "He did. He's talking because he's trying to make a deal to cut down his prison time."

Lilly's relief faded. "He won't be getting out soon, will he?"

"Not for at least thirty years." Forty, if the D.A. had his way. "Thanks to a tough interrogation, Klein admitted to trying to kill you and running Greg off the road that night."

"I see." She cleared her throat and blew out a choppy breath. "So, he killed Greg?" she clarified, wanting to be sure.

Jason nodded.

The relief returned to her face, but it was intensified. She even blinked back tears. Jason understood her reaction. For nearly two years she'd blamed herself for Greg's death. For two years he'd blamed her, as well. That blame belonged solely on Raymond Klein's shoulders.

"They can get Klein for manslaughter for Greg's death," Jason explained. "But they'll charge him with attempted murder and kidnapping for what he did to you." He paused. Heck, he wasn't sure he could say this out loud, but he knew that Lilly would want to know. "Klein wanted you dead because he thought you would eventually remember that he was the one who ran you off the road that night."

She flexed her eyebrows. Paused. "Well, at least it's over." Lilly stared at him. "It is over, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Erica will be arrested as soon as she's out of the hospital."

"She was hurt?" Lilly immediately asked.

"Not badly. Klein shot her in the arm. Like you, she'll make a full recovery, only she'll be doing time while she's at it. For attempted kidnapping, among other things. The D.A. isn't pleased that Erica endangered the lives of a child and several police officers."

Jason wasn't pleased about that, either. In fact, it might take a couple of lifetimes for him to get over the sheer terror he'd felt when he'd realized that Megan could be hurt and that Lilly had been shot.

"More good news," Jason continued so he could lighten the quickly darkening mood. "Corinne surfaced. She got scared and went into hiding when someone tried to kill her."

"Let me guess—Klein was behind that, as well?"

"He was. He wanted to make sure she didn't go to the police with the info she found in some old files. Klein wasn't just altering bids, he was creating false contracts for repairs and maintenance to municipal and state buildings. He was getting paid a small fortune, too. And he's the one who stole her car so he could try that break-in at the security gate. His attempt to kill Corinne will tack on another few years to Klein's prison sentence."

Jason considered that the end of his official update, and he took her by the hand.

"Oh, no. Not more bad news." Lilly groaned.

"I hope not. I'm hoping you'll consider it good news." He rethought that. "Or I at least hope you'll consider it."

Because he was so close, he could see the pulse jump on her throat. "Okay, you have my attention."

"Don't say no until you've heard me out." Jason gathered his breath and his courage. This was really going to hurt if she said no. "When Klein had his gun on you—"

"This doesn't sound like the start of good news," Lilly interrupted.

"It is. Trust me. When I realized your life was in danger…" He had to take another moment. More breath gathering. Another prayer. "I also realized that I wanted you to marry me."

She blinked.

Not exactly the reaction he was hoping for.

"Did you hear me?" he asked. "I want us to get married."

Still no answer. She waited for what seemed to be an eternity before she finally spoke. "For convenience? Because of Megan?"

He made a deep sound of frustration. "No way. In fact, I can promise you that being married to me will be anything but convenient. I can also promise you that I'll do anything to make you happy."

Another blink. No smile. Just a blank stare. "Anything?"

"Anything. And I mean that. Groveling, foot massages, great sex—"

"How about love?"

Oh.

Jason tried to sort through what he'd already told her, but there was a big jumble in his head. He blamed it on the nerves and the total lack of sleep. "Didn't I mention that I'm in love with you?"

She shook her head. "No."

Oops. That was a biggie. "Well, I am."

No blink this time. But her breath trembled and her eyes watered.

"Oh, man." Jason pulled her into his arms. "You're crying."

"They're happy tears, I promise."

Happy tears, he mentally repeated, and it took several tries for it to sink in. The relief he felt was overwhelming, and he hoped he didn't disgrace himself by crying, too. Since he didn't want to risk that and since she still hadn't said yes, he kissed her. Really kissed her. He took all his feelings, all his love, and poured it all into an intimate show of affection.

"Yes," she whispered against his mouth.

"Yes?" And he hoped he hadn't misunderstood her.

"Yes, because I'm in love with you, too."

Okay. He mentally repeated that to himself, as well.

Jason's first reaction was to whoop for joy, grab her and swing her around in circles. Since she might not be ready for that, he laughed. Hugged her. And kissed her. This was what he wanted, and until a few short hours ago, he hadn't even known it.

"I do have some…news," Lilly said, inching just slightly away from him.

Because of all they'd been through, his first thought was that this wasn't going to be good. Lilly's puzzling expression only added to his reaction. "You're not changing your mind about marriage?"

"No. It's not that. It's this whole pregnancy thing."

"Excuse me?" he asked, certain he'd missed something. "You're pregnant?"

She shook her head. "No. I talked to the doctor about our unprotected sexual encounter, and he did a few tests. Turns out that I wasn't in the whole ovulation zone." She paused. Stared. Moistened her lips. "This is going to sound a little crazy, but I was actually a little disappointed."

So was he. A real shocker of a reaction. "We can try again when the time is right. Hey, I'm always up for a round of unprotected sex."

She smiled. "Against the door of your office."

"Anywhere. Anytime," he promised, smiling with her. His mouth came to hers again. A kiss. And that kiss might have lasted for hours if there hadn't been a knock at the door. "Are you ready for a visitor?" he heard Detective O'Reilly say.

Jason looked back at his fellow officer and spotted not just O'Reilly but Megan, who was already making her way toward them.

Since Megan was a little wobbly, Jason went ahead and picked her up and brought her to the bed. O'Reilly, probably sensing the need for privacy, stepped back into the hall and shut the door.

Lilly wiped away her happy tears and reached out for Megan. "You know what, your da-da and I are getting married. That's a great deal for all of us."

Jason didn't let go of Megan just yet. He whispered in her ear what they'd been practicing on the drive over. Megan looked up at him and beamed with one of those precious smiles.

"Ma-ma," she babbled.

Since the first attempt was aimed at him, he turned Megan in Lilly's direction. "Ma-ma," Megan repeated. Not just once. But she strung those syllables together, giggled at her accomplishment and made a dive for Lilly. She landed in her mother's arms.

More happy tears came, and Jason had to choke back a few of them himself.

"Da-da," Megan said, snuggling against him.

"Jason," Lilly whispered, snuggling, too.

And Jason knew that this was the life he'd always wanted. He reached for both of the ladies that he loved, gathered them into his arms and held on.