"I can make it up your stairs with no problem."
"Maybe with my help."
They moved in silence for a few seconds with Austin hopping on his good leg, leaning heavily on her.
"We make a pretty decent team," he ventured as they left the pavement for the driveway.
"Stands to reason," Bailey agreed. "When you have the best and the second best on the same team—" She grinned up at him tauntingly.
In an unexpected movement, he pulled her to him for a quick kiss, almost upsetting their unstable balance.
"You never did answer my question about whether you meant what you said when you were mauling me," he pointed out as they teetered in the middle of the parking lot.
"I don't say things I don't mean." She hesitated for a moment then asked shyly, "Did you mean what you said?"
"I'll even repeat what I said," Austin replied. "I love you, Bailey Russell. And I'd like to propose a merger, make our team official."
"A merger? You want to start our own law firm? No, I don't think so. I could never work with you. You're too pushy."
Austin threw back his head and laughed, then urged her on to continue their slow trek. "I'm pushy? You're the pushiest person I've ever met. But one day, yes, I do want us to have our own firm. We'll be unbeatable. However, right now I'm just asking you to marry me."
He tossed out the words so casually it took a minute for their meaning to sink in. When it did, her heart rate accelerated, and her blood rushed to and fro ecstatically.
Marry Austin. Roll over in the middle of the night and find him there beside her. Raise children with his incredible eyes who'd be able to run faster than both their parents.
"People who're in love do it a lot, you know," Austin said when she didn't reply. Then, more seriously, "I won't go so far as to say I'd die without you, but the outlook would be pretty bleak. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, loving you, fighting with you—"
"Not fighting," she interrupted with a shudder. "Competing, maybe, but I don't ever want to fight with you again. That was awful."
They reached the stairs to her apartment and sank down on the bottom step. With a groan, Austin stretched his injured leg out in front of him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, his fingers touching her cheek gently. "I promise never to mistrust you again." He cleared his throat. "So what do you say? Are we going to make it legal?"
Samantha chose that moment to squirm from Bailey's armlock and into Austin's lap, rolling over to allow him to rub her stomach.
"There are still a few issues to be negotiated," Bailey said. "You have to adopt Samantha."
Austin rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll adopt Samantha. What else?"
"I'm not going to cook."
"Thank goodness," Austin mumbled.
"What?"
"I said, that's fine. I’ll cook or we’ll eat out."
"Okay," she agreed casually.
"Okay? I offer you my heart, my soul, my name, even agree to adopt your dog, and all you say is okay?"
She laughed and leaned against him, wrapping her arms confidently around him. "Yes, Austin Travers," she whispered. "I love you. I want to marry you."
"That's a little better," he said, grinning, as he pulled her to him.
"Race you down the aisle," she said just before his lips claimed hers.
THE END
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