Sunlight streamed through the windows the next morning when I opened my eyes. Ranger's side of the bed was empty. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I headed downstairs to see what the breakfast situation was. Ranger was sitting at the kitchen bar eating granola, a banana, and drinking some sort of smoothie when I arrived. He was dressed in his normal work attire.

"I'm going to be working until one," he told me. "We can check in at our hotel at three and the rehearsal is at five-thirty."

"I thought this was your vacation."

"I still need to work a little while I'm here."

I looked in the refrigerator and found milk, fruit, butter, vegetables, cheese, eggs, and bread. I got out the ingredients for French toast and got to work. Pretend girlfriends didn't need to eat what their pretend boyfriends ate.

Ranger finished his breakfast and put his dishes in the dishwasher. He turned me around to face him and kissed me deeply before leaving. I was slightly breathless from the kiss. He did things to me that no other man had. He was irresistible in a way that even Morelli didn't quite achieve.

After breakfast I showered, got dressed and decided to go walk around the area. I texted Ranger that I was leaving, and he sent me the elevator code for when I returned. I found a mall a couple of blocks from the office and passed the morning away spending entirely too much money at the various high-end stores. My justification was that I was on vacation. I had packed a dress for the wedding but found one I liked better.

I ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the mall before making my way to Rangeman. I imagined Ranger's laugh when he saw me on a monitor in the elevator with my shopping bags. It was too bad being his pretend girlfriend hadn't come with using his real black American Express.

I spent time rearranging my suitcase to accommodate my new purchases until Ranger came back to the apartment.

"I see you found the mall," he commented.

"It was nice. My credit card cried the whole time."

He went into the dressing room to change out of his work clothes. "We'll leave in ten minutes."

I looked down at the explosion that was my suitcase. "I need more time! I can't fit everything in just yet."

A duffle bag came flying out of the dressing room to land next to the bed. "Put stuff in there."

We were on the road ten minutes later driving towards the Keys. The weather was beautiful, the top was down on the convertible, and Ranger didn't have the radio on. What kind of psychopath drove in a convertible in the sunshine without music?

"Boyfriends let their girlfriends pick the music on road trips."

"I thought the driver always chose the music."

"You aren't playing anything."

"Exactly."

I connected my phone to his Carplay. Better to seek forgiveness and all that. I went to the playlist I usually saved for when I was alone in the car. It had all the good songs for singing and dancing. If I had to suffer the emotional battle of being his girlfriend for the weekend, he could suffer my singing and dancing in the passenger seat.

It was probably the first time the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles had been played in his car. He didn't comment on the music, but I would see him smile or shake his head at times. He hadn't driven us into the ocean at least.

"I'm giving you the full girlfriend experience," I said as we drove through Key Largo.

Ranger reached over to hold my hand. "It's fun having you as a girlfriend."

"You're only saying that because you know things will go back to normal on Monday," I replied. "You won't be stuck with me having expectations of you."

"What kind of expectations would you have of me?"

"Normal boyfriend expectations," I answered. "Don't you know what those are?"

"I've only had one serious relationship since getting out of the Army and that was Sarah. She was needy. You aren't."

"Define needy," I asked, having to raise my voice over the sound of a passing motorcycle.

"Demanding my attention whenever I wasn't working and often even when I was. Being jealous if I even acknowledged other women existed. Asking me a thousand questions when I came over to her place when I just wanted to relax and be with her. Demanding that I talk about my feelings instead of letting me tell them to her on my own when I was ready," he said. "I could go on, but that should give you the idea."

"When do you ever talk about your feelings?" I asked. "I rarely hear you admit that you have any, even though I know you do."

"When I'm ready," he replied. "When I understand them myself. I don't want to say things in anger that I can't take back."

I immediately thought about Morelli, whose temper often got the best of him. How many times had he said things that he had to apologize for later because he hadn't stopped to consider things? And how many of the things he said in anger had hung in the air of our relationship through the years, even after the apology and forgiveness?

"I can understand that. Did you ever try to explain that to her?"

Ranger shook his head. "I wasn't as invested in the relationship as she was. I didn't understand myself as well back then either. I've grown in the last six years."

I squeezed his hand. "It's nice to hear you admit that. Too many men won't acknowledge their shortcomings."

We held hands as we continued through Key Largo into Islamorada, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Taylor Swift eventually started singing about how if love doesn't make you crazy, then you aren't doing it right. I heard Ranger laugh out loud at one point and looked over to see what was so funny.

"I must be doing something right," he said. "Because loving you definitely makes me crazy."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

He slowed down to pull into the resort drive and looked over at me. "Yeah, I'd say so."

I felt warmth rush through me. Don't let him get into your head, I warned myself. It'll be over in a couple of days and you'll be a mess.

The wedding was being held at the resort where everyone was spending the weekend. It was a beautiful place that promised to be even more stunning as the sun set on the festivities. We checked in and were given our room key and the weekend itinerary. The wedding rehearsal would be that night, followed by a dinner. The wedding would take place twenty-four hours later with a reception that would last long enough to ring in the new year. There would be a brunch late on Sunday morning to allow the people who partied too hard time to recover before heading home.

"I can't believe they managed to get the resort for a wedding on New Year's Eve," I commented to Ranger as we headed to our third-floor room.

"They've been planning this wedding for over two years," he replied. "They were supposed to get married in May of 2020 at a place in Miami, but the pandemic put a stop to everything."

I guess that was how you snagged a fancy resort. Plan two-and-a-half years out.

"I guess I don't care enough about the wedding to go to all the trouble," I said once we had arrived in our room and I didn't have to worry about offending anyone. "I did the wedding thing once and it was stressful. Then I got divorced less than a year later."

"What was your wedding like?" Ranger asked. "You never talk about it."

I shrugged. "Catholic church, catered reception at a hall, open bar, expensive, uncomfortable dress. All that stuff."

Ranger opened the doors to our balcony, allowing the fresh ocean breeze to blow in. "What would you do the second time around?"

"I'd grab a dress out of my closet and go to the courthouse."

I started to unpack my suitcase so I could hang up different outfits. Ranger pulled his suit out of a garment bag and hung it next to the wine-colored dress I had bought in Miami to wear to the wedding.

"I've got a suit and you've got a dress," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me in close. "Want to go get married?"

I snorted. "I thought you only married women you got pregnant."

That made him laugh. "Only in my twenties."

I smacked his arm and went back to unpacking my suitcase. He was much more relaxed since checking out of work and while I liked that part of him, it also worried me. That was the part that was the easiest to love and get lost in. I had to keep my head on straight.

"Are you okay, babe?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You keep shaking your head and sighing."

I shrugged. "Just thinking."

"We must be having very different thoughts."

I figured we were having the same thoughts, just different perspectives on them.

We explored the resort after we finished unpacking and ran into other people from the wedding party. Julio and Jasmine looked ecstatic to be so close to finally getting married. I had been engaged less than a year and with Dickie for two years when we got married. Ranger told me Julio and Jasmine had been together in high school, broken up, and found each other again five years ago. Maybe waiting for their perfect wedding wasn't so bad after almost a decade apart. Sarah appeared not long after we started talking to Julio and Jasmine and attempted to dominate Ranger's attention. He held onto my hand with a grip that begged me not to let go.

"Can you believe they are finally getting married?" Sarah asked Ranger as we went to check out the beach where the wedding would be held. "It seems like just yesterday they were those kids in high school who were always inseparable."

"I didn't think they would get married," he replied dryly. "I didn't figure they would ever see each other again after breaking up to go away to college. Julio surprised me when he told me they were dating again."

"You're so romantic," I commented. "You should write love songs."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on my head.

I wrapped an arm around him and leaned into him while we watched Julio and Jasmine exploring their venue. I did my best not to pay attention to Sarah, who I could see from my peripheral vision kept her eyes on Ranger. I had the feeling that if I moved an inch she might squeeze between us. I felt bad for her. What had she been through to be so obviously desperate for his love and attention? A bad childhood? An abusive relationship?

"If you ever tell my mother or sisters this, I'll deny it until I die. But I think I could marry you somewhere like this," Ranger said. It was said quietly enough that no one passing by would hear, but it was sound loud enough to make sure Sarah, who was standing only a few feet away, would have heard it.

Did he mean that or was it said for Sarah's benefit? I wasn't sure, but the comment bothered me in multiple ways.

"Like I said, I'm a courthouse kind of girl these days," I said, trying to take the temperature down. "This would be so much work."

I'd rather die than admit it, but I also thought it seemed like an amazing place to get married. The idea of walking down the beach towards Ranger, who would be standing in front of the ocean waiting to become my husband made my heart skip a beat.

I flicked a glance towards Sarah, who had turned her attention away from Ranger and onto her cousin. She looked sad, and it made me want to kick Ranger.

We continued to walk around the resort for another hour before Jasmine declared it was time to get ready for the rehearsal. We all parted ways in the elevator, where Jasmine, Julio, and Sarah all got off on the second floor.

"Why did you say that?" I asked Ranger once the elevator began moving again.

"What?"

"About marrying me in a spot like that. Did you say it just to hurt Sarah?"

We stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall towards our room. "I said it because it was true, and I wanted to make sure she understood she had no chance in hell with me."

"Why not just tell her that? She isn't exactly hiding the fact that she's interested in being with you again. Just be straightforward with her. Why hurt her feelings?"

Ranger opened our door and stood aside for me to go in first. "I'm not trying to hurt her feelings."

"Well, you are. It's sad. I don't know what she has going on, but it's deeper than just wanting to sleep with you. You haven't seen her in years. Who knows what she has gone through."

"I know she has gone through two husbands and several boyfriends," Ranger replied. "She married some guy she met in a bar two months after we broke up. They were married six months and got divorced. Julio told me she got married again two years ago to a colleague, then left him and their company three months later without explanation."

"Maybe he was a monster," I said. "Did you ever think of that?"

Ranger had been stripping out of casual clothes and changing into a button-up shirt and dress pants. He looked up at my reflection in the mirror. "No, I didn't. Because I know how she is."

"You know how she was when she was with you," I corrected him. "You told me you've changed in the last six years. Why can't the same be true about her?"

"Whose side are you on?" Ranger asked.

"My own. I'm not going to intentionally make Sarah feel bad. I'll be here to help you have an excuse to avoid spending a lot of time with her, but I'm not going to be cruel."

"You think I'm cruel?"

"Making that comment just loud enough for her to overhear was cruel," I said. I reached into the closet for the dress I was wearing to the rehearsal. "And to be perfectly honest, it was kind of cruel to me too. You don't seem to understand that this is hard on me. You make comments like that and my mind starts to wander into the what-ifs. Then I have to remind myself not to go there because you'll throw up a wall as soon as we leave the resort and I'll just be disappointed."

I took the dress and my make-up bag to the bathroom and closed the door. I needed space to get ready and clear my head. I didn't want to go to the dinner angry at Ranger, but I also wasn't going to be a bitch to Sarah. The image I had in my head of being Ranger's girlfriend was relaxed, confident, and most importantly, kind. I wanted to come off as the sort of girlfriend who was so comfortable in her relationship that I wasn't worried about a woman like Sarah. And I wasn't worried about her because I knew no one stood a chance with Ranger, no matter how hard they tried.

I was just finishing my make-up when Ranger knocked on the bathroom door. I opened it and found him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't want to hurt her or you," he said. "I want to enjoy watching my friends get married and spending time with you."

"Me too," I said.

He pushed a piece of hair away from my face. "You look nice," he said. I was wearing a dark blue dress with a floral print. I had bought it on sale at the end of summer and never worn it. I had paired it with a pair of silver heels.

"Thanks. You always look nice," I said, fixing the collar on his shirt unnecessarily.

I felt the pull of wanting to kiss him, so I stepped back and put the finishing touches on my make-up. I had finished it already but felt the need to break up the moment. He was still standing in the doorway when I finished. I stepped towards him, expecting he would move out of the way, but instead he reached out and pulled me close. He lowered his lips to mine and kissed me so tenderly that it made me want to cry. It felt like an apology and so many other things that had been left unsaid were passing between us. I put my arms around his neck and let myself have the moment. When we parted a minute later, I felt relaxed and warm all over. I couldn't help by smile when I saw my lipstick on Ranger's mouth. I stepped back into the bathroom and grabbed a make-up wipe.

"That isn't really your color," I said, wiping his lips with the cloth. I fixed my lipstick and we left for the rehearsal holding hands.

Most of the wedding party was waiting for us at the beach where the ceremony would be held. Jasmine was wearing a teal maxi dress and Julio wore a yellow shirt and tan dress pants. The rest of the wedding party dressed in similar colors and styles. Ranger and I were the only two in dark clothing.

"You are already dressing alike," Julio commented. "It's cute."

"Says the guy wearing yellow," Ranger replied under his breath.

The chairs weren't set up yet, but there were markings where they would be. I stood around the seating area with a couple of other people while the wedding party got ready for the rehearsal. Sarah wore a pink wrap dress that stopped mid-thigh. I never had the confidence to wear a dress that short, but she pulled it off with her long, toned legs. She was in high heels that once again put her at eye level with Ranger. They did their practice walk down the aisle and I felt a twinge of jealousy at how attractive they were together.

The wedding party practiced their entry and exit a couple of times, reviewed the timeline for the next day, and then we were dismissed to walk over to the dinner being set up nearby. It looked like there were two separate areas for everyone to help themselves. One consisted of various items for sliders and the other for tacos.

The wedding party was filled with people I didn't know. I listened in on conversations to figure out who everyone was. Jasmine's sister Leah was the maid of honor. Sarah and her sister Melissa along with two of Jasmine's friends were all bridesmaids. Julio's best man was his brother Mateo. Jasmine's brother Tony, Julio's cousin Mike, Ranger, and another friend named Paul were the groomsman. Mateo's kids were the flower girl and ring bearer.

Sarah had managed to get a seat next to Ranger at the table and was talking to him about her most recent work accomplishments. She sounded like she was incredibly successful in her career. It once again made me jealous of her. She had her life together, at least in some big areas. I was still chasing criminals around Trenton and eating dinner with my parents at least once a week. I was happy to see Ranger being more polite to her. I didn't think she had gotten a fair assessment from either him or Julio. She was ambitious, there was no doubt about it, but it seemed like she had to be that way to get something. Attractive women weren't often taken seriously.

The group sitting together wasn't as casual or relaxed as the friend group from the night before. Mateo and his wife were dealing with their kids, who were starting to get crabby. Another couple looked like they had been in an argument. Some of the people hadn't met before or were only meeting for the second time. There was also a time constraint on the gathering, since it was being put on by the resort. Ranger and I were the second couple of leave, following Mateo and his wife who had each carried a crying child back to their hotel room.

"I hope the wedding is more exciting than that dinner," I said to Ranger as we went up the elevator. "It felt awkward."

"There's an open bar tomorrow," Ranger said. "They'll loosen up."

"What about you?" I asked. "Will you be drinking enough to loosen up?"

"I'll enjoy myself," he said, his hand moving from my lower back to give my ass a squeeze. "I'll have you with me."

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying ourselves in bed. Ranger was an incredible lover, and I wondered how in the world I had ever settled for anything less. I lay awake after round three watching him sleep. I had never let myself spend too much time dwelling on whether I could marry Ranger if he ever asked. I figured I had a better chance of being struck by lightning on my way to turn in a winning lottery ticket. He always told me he wasn't marriage material. His life wasn't set up that way. He had been through too much. He would just disappoint. But I didn't see it that way. He was a good person, even if he didn't believe it. He was kind, if not outwardly nice. He was funny, even though only in private. Maybe it was because my own life was unconventional, or because I'd known him for so long, but I felt like I could marry him. I could be his wife, knowing he worked long hours, but that he would be home when he was done and he would be faithful. I would never worry about Ranger cheating on me. He might like to flirt with me and take his chances when I was with Morelli, but I knew it was because Morelli didn't stop it. He looked the other way, and Ranger took the opportunity.

"I wish you knew how easy you are to love," I whispered, so quietly that I could barely hear myself. He didn't stir, nor did I want him to. I didn't want him to consciously hear what I had to say but hoped it would somehow work its way into his subconscious so that maybe someday he would learn to love himself.