Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Janet Evanovich. I am only borrowing them. Thank you for allowing us to use your amazing characters for fun! Well, this is it. Thanks for the awesome experience. This is the final chapter. Again, thanks to everyone and a shout out to Heather, you are amazing at this!

-chapter-20

The morning arrives quickly, and we take turns in the shower and much too soon I'm saying goodbye to Ranger at the door. After he leaves, I get ready for work and arrive at my desk early. We have a light week ahead and I use all my free time to do my security work. I complete everything, including my weekly report to my boss, by Wednesday evening. I text Ranger a few times during the week and we make plans for where and when I'm supposed to meet him for the long weekend. We decide that he'll have someone drive a fleet vehicle down to me and drop it off and I'd drive up after work on Thursday and meet him at his house. I can't believe I really get to see The Bat Cave!

I pack my bags and load up the SUV, getting on the road by 5, I and make my way up the coast. It's a nice evening and I hit a little local traffic. Most of the traffic is headed the other way. I follow the address in the GPS and find myself pulling up to a beautiful, gated home that's on a very large piece of land. I enter the code Ranger gave me and follow the circle driveway to the front of the house. I'm speechless. This house is amazing!

I immediately notice the ocean sounds and smell. The warm sunshine is fading but the temperature is still holding strong at 80 degrees. I grab my purse and open the back door to retrieve my bags when the front door opens and Ranger steps out.

"Welcome. Mi casa es su casa," he says, grinning and walking toward me. He lifts me off my feet and spins me around. "I've missed you," he adds before he kisses me. I reach around his neck and settle into him. A few minutes pass and when we break for air Ranger says, "Let's get you inside."

He lifts my abandoned bags out of the backseat, and I follow him into the house. The two-story foyer is large and beautifully appointed in marble and an incredibly delicate crystal chandelier. He places my bags by the curved staircase and pulls me into the main living area. It is an open concept, and I can see all the way through to the back yard. The pool catches my attention for a moment before the ocean can draw it away. Ranger draws me straight back, not stopping for anything on the way. We walk through the large sliding doors that truly bring the two spaces together as one. I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to enjoy indoor/outdoor living.

"I figured you would want to tour the outdoors first," Ranger says, knowing my love for the beach. "If you didn't bring a suit, don't worry. I think we'll have enough privacy to do whatever we want." He gives me that wolf grin. I'm speechless. Everything is so beautiful. It really is paradise. After the tour of the beach and the pool he leads me back in the house and I get to look around the kitchen and living area. It's enormous. The decor is high end but not over the top. It has a Pottery Barn lived-in comfortable feel. I can totally see me being able to relax and feel at home in this space.

He shows me several rooms off the kitchen, including the attached garage, laundry room and a powder room. On the other side of the house, he shows me a home gym that was probably converted from a master suite that had some basic equipment that overlooked the amazing view of the back yard and beach. It had an attached bathroom with a steam shower and Jacuzzi tub. Just what you need after a hard workout or a hard day. An office overlooking the front of the house finishes up the first floor. We go up the back staircase and make our way through the hall to the double doors overlooking the foyer. He sends me in the master bedroom suite as he runs down the stairs to get my bags. He catches up to me as I just stare at the view from the floor to ceiling windows on the entire east wall. From this vantage, you can see the beautiful blue Atlantic Ocean gently rolling into the white sand beach. It is a million-dollar view, for sure.

Ranger sets my bags down and comes up behind me and pulls me into him. "I've always wanted you to be here with me," he says as his breath tickles my ear. The warmth gives me goose bumps along my neck and shoulders. I turn in his arms. "It's so beautiful; it's paradise."

We stay like that for a few moments, and he releases me to get my bags. I follow him into the bathroom and am once again wowed. From the Carrara marble to the enormous glass shower, to the jetted tub, I can't imagine a more beautiful space. "I think I found my happy place," I utter under my breath.

Ranger smiles. "The bathroom is your happy place?" he questions.

"No, this whole place, you included. Oh, and the fact that I have you all to myself until Monday morning," I assure him.

"You haven't even seen the closet," he teases. "Come look. I had Ella order some clothes for you so you would have things to keep here." He leads me into the adjoining closet and my head is spinning. Partly because he is so thoughtful, and partly because it's not all black. I see linen and muted colors. I see cargo shorts neatly folded and flip flops. I see dresses and stacks of pastel-colored shirts for me. I can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a dream. While I'm looking in drawers, Ranger has opened my bag and begun pulling out my clothes to hang alongside the amazing wardrobe that he's provided. I find a lingerie drawer and smile as I pull out a black satin and very revealing negligee and give him an "ahem". He looks sheepish and says, "Ella wasn't the only one shopping for you."

I let it fall back in the drawer and say, "Thank goodness. I would feel strange if Ella picked out something like that!"

Ranger has my clothes hung up and stacked and I put my toiletries by the sink. "Well, my dear, let's finish the tour so we can have a drink outside and relax," he says as he pulls me out of the bedroom and back into the hall. "Most of the rooms are pretty basic. I asked the designer to do the bare minimum. I don't have guests here often, just my family. I have a room for Julie, but she's never stayed over. Rachel prefers to have her home every night. Hopefully that will change. Having her stay over for the wedding was a big deal and I hope that continues," he says as he shows me a room at the end of the hall. It's decorated in the same manner as the rest of the furniture but for a teenage girl. The colors are pale turquoise and grey with accents of fuzzy pillows and girly knickknacks. I couldn't imagine a better fit for Julie. Ranger is incredibly thoughtful once you get past his tough outer walls.

We finish the tour by him pointing out the security features of the house. I must say, I am impressed with all the features this house has. From panic buttons cleverly disguised as decorative features and hidden gun safes throughout the house, to the motion sensors and heat signatures that are around the perimeter; I can't imagine a more secure location.

We end up back in the kitchen and Ranger gets two bottles of water out of the fridge. He walks us outside and we sit on a couple of loungers by the pool. "I thought we would hang out here tonight and then hit the beach tomorrow during the day. We have dinner reservations in Little Havana tomorrow and then I thought maybe you would like to go dancing. Saturday and Sunday are open if you have any ideas. I didn't want to plan every minute in case there was something special you wanted to do."

"I think we can find stuff to do around here," I say as I take the water bottle he offers and lean back against the longer. I close my eyes and let my mind think back to the events of the last year. It seems like a lifetime ago that I was in Trenton. I thought I would stay there forever. "What do you want your life to look like in five years? Ten years?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.

"Professionally, I want to focus on Rangeman. Maybe open a new office or two. Personally, I don't know. I've never been in this situation before. I've never considered that I would be in a relationship, and it scares me," he admits honestly. "How about you?" he adds.

"Well, I want you, all of you. I don't want to settle for Ranger when I can have Carlos," I say.

"All those years, I settled for part of you when I sent you back to Morelli. Since I was offering so little of me, that's all I thought I deserved." He sighs. "It wasn't enough. It's not enough. I want all of you."

I figure it's best just to wade in. "What that looks like for me is spending time with you. I don't need to spend every waking moment with you, but I do want to spend much of our free time together. I want to know you, everything you can share with me; all of your hopes and dreams. I want to share in your triumphs and sorrows. I want to celebrate with you and comfort you. I don't need a ring right now, but I need to know it's a possibility down the road. I changed my mind about a baby, though. I was serious when I said I want a baby with you. Not right now, but when things are a little more settled. What do you think about that?" I let out a breath, hoping that I didn't overwhelm him with all of this.

"I want you. I want you however you come. My life is dangerous and unpredictable, and I would be a fool to ask you to share that with me. I don't want you to get hurt. I'm scared something will happen to you..." he begins.

"No. I won't let you do that. I won't let you believe that keeping me away protects me. Can't you see that keeping me away hurts me? That my heart dies when you push me away?" I interject working toward panic mode.

"Let me finish," he says sternly, reaching for my hand to soften the response. "I'm scared something will happen to you, but I can't live like that. I want you and I'm willing to find a way for us to be together. I will do the same for a baby. We may have to make some changes, but we can cross those bridges when we come to them," he says as he pulls me onto his lap. He gathers me into his arms and kisses me, effectively silencing any response I have. After a minute he breaks apart and asks "Do you want to get to know me a little more now or can it wait until later? I seem to have developed a situation," he asks as he presses me to him so that I am fully aware of his situation.

"It can wait. We have the rest of our lives," I tell him as I shift to straddle him on his lounger. "We have some christening to do," I say, as I kiss him for all I am worth.

And christening we do. In between bouts of lovemaking, we chat about our past, our future, our dreams and fears. I learn so many things about Carlos. I can't believe I am calling him Carlos! It feels really personal when I call him that, like we're equals. He's not my boss or my mentor, but my friend and lover. I must say our sex life has improved. We are more comfortable with our demands and the times I have screamed Carlos during an orgasm have really paid off. He really reacts to that. I must say I am really loving this couple thing.

I've just finished my shower and am getting ready for dinner and dancing in Little Havana. I'm excited and can't wait to see all of the places that Carlos wants to show me. It's bringing us closer. He already knows all there is to know about me; I've shared so many stories with him already, he knows me better than I know myself.

I continue to think alone in the bathroom. Carlos is getting ready in another bathroom, otherwise we'll be late, very late. I want to drive by his grandmother's house and his high school, so I kicked him out. I blush as I think about our time on the beach today. I am so glad his beach is private. It brings back a lot of memories of what we did in Hawaii. I can't believe this is real, I think, as I smile to myself. I can't seem to keep the grin off my face. I finish up with my hair and start on my makeup. Because we spent so much time in the sun, I only need a few touches. Done. "Now, let's get this night started!" I say out loud as I head out of our room looking for my man.

I found him in the kitchen drinking from a water bottle. "Gotta keep hydrated. You're insatiable!" he says with wolf grin. I give him a double eyebrow raise.

"Well, you could always get me a Cabana boy," I sass back.

Not the right thing to say. He growls and pulls me hard into him and kisses me with purpose. "Ok, ok," I say as I pull away. "I only want you. Come on, you'll ruin my hair and makeup." I want to tell him that he could be my Cabana boy but think better of it. It would definitely make us late and make me miss the 'Carlos life tour' and there would be time for Cabana boy play later.

Sitting at dinner, I look around and take in the atmosphere. It's so amazing to be a part of his world. I loved seeing the sites and hearing his tales of each, how he became the person he is today. He's so amazing. We order our food and Carlos explains what everything is; the menu is in Spanish, so I'm lost. "This is my favorite restaurant. I didn't come here when I was in high school because it was too expensive. I started coming here after I opened Rangeman. When I was young, I hung out in the seedier part of Little Havana. I would smoke cigarettes and look for girls with my friends. I was a hoodlum."

"I can imagine you were quite successful picking up girls," I say without as much jealousy as I thought I would have. He gives me a rueful smile.

"I was young and stupid. I was only slightly better by the time I moved back to Newark and started Rutgers. At least I stopped smoking." He smiles ruefully. "The Army beat a lot of that out of me and then situation with Rachel beat the rest. I realized I was too old to be that irresponsible. By the time I started Rangeman, well, I was different. I have always been a private person, but I became a machine. I lived to work and had very little free time. I thought that was enough until I walked into the diner that day and met my future. You turned my life, as I knew it, upside down." He grabs my hand as he continued. "I was blown away by you. I love your energy. Your light. I didn't realize it at the time that my life was so dark, joyless. It wasn't until you that I found myself regretting my choices. I didn't like that you were showing me what I couldn't have. I almost resented you for it. I kept my distance. I told myself that my life was fine before and that's all I deserved, but I couldn't stay away. I couldn't figure out how to fit you in my life. The only thing I thought I could offer you was protection and boy did you need it. I was insanely attracted to you. You were such a contrast to me. I thought that if we could just have sex, then all the attraction would go away. I could move on. That's always what had happened before. I wasn't one to spend the night. I was a couple of hours kind of guy. When I woke up with you the next morning, I panicked. I tried to push you away. I tried to convince myself that we could go back to the way everything was before, I would be fine. I was wrong. It was worse. I resigned myself to thinking that I would take whatever you could give me as long as you didn't make any demands on my future. I would give you my time and my money. I had this deep need to keep you safe. I refused to look at what that meant. I kept telling myself that we were not in a relationship, that I couldn't do relationships. I know now that we had a relationship. It was dysfunctional and unhealthy and very unsatisfying most of the time, but it was still a relationship. It wasn't until you left that I had to face that. I was stuck with the realization that when you wouldn't let me help you, that you weren't around, that I missed you. How could I miss you if we didn't have a relationship? I thought you would cave and come back. Then I thought you were better off. I was miserable."

He takes a deep breath and continues. "Then the wedding. When you suggested the truce, I was so happy. The contrast couldn't have been more obvious. Everything that happened, well I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I blew it. I lost any chance I had to get you to come back to me. I really wasn't used to rejection. I'm certainly not used to compromise. After you left, I made my decision. I had to follow you. Try to convince you to take me back. To offer you our Someday. The night of the wedding, I planned to throw myself at your mercy but with Julie there, I couldn't. I couldn't face living my life without you. It just felt empty. I want you. I want us. Whatever that looks like."

I can't believe it! He's talking to me about his feelings. About what he wants. Our future. It's my dream come true. As much as I want everything, I'm tempted to hold back. I'm waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. For the universe to take it back and reveal that me, Stephanie Plum, isn't gonna get her true happily ever after. That this is a trick. I'm tempted to play it safe and not take the leap off the roof. But I'm tempted for only just a second. A smile slowly spreads on my face, and I am determined to take the leap. How can you fly if you are not willing to take the leap? What would Wonder Woman do? I squeeze his hand that he has been holding to emphasize my point. "I want us too, Carlos, whatever that looks like."