All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes are solely mine.

Before Ranger could get his workday underway, I just hit him with it.

"Will you marry me?"

"I believe that answer was decided on even before we each got a ring, Babe."

I shook my head. "No, I mean will you marry me today? Or as soon as the paperwork's legal?"

"We can get married whenever you'd like, but can I ask why you want it to be right now?"

And now I feel stupid. More importantly, I don't want Ranger to think I view our marriage as revenge. I'm marrying him because I love him like I didn't think I had the capacity to love anybody. Plus, I can't picture my life without him having the starring role in it.

"That would be a two-part answer."

He slid his hands over my hips and used them to pull me flush against his.

"You expect me to talk when you're close like this?" I had to ask.

His head lowered and I felt his lips graze my neck. "Yes."

"Ooookay. You asked for it. And it's your fault if I don't make sense because I'm feeling you more than anything else."

"I'm liking this train of thought. Keep going."

Easier said than done.

"I love you," I told him.

"You do. And?"

"And I think it'd be poetic justice to be living my best life while Morelli's is being flushed straight down the toilet."

"You'd like to get married at the courthouse before he's arraigned in it?"

"Yes and no."

"Explain."

"I'm trying. You said I shouldn't feel responsible for exposing all the trouble Joe got himself into …"

"You shouldn't, Steph."

"I figure I also shouldn't pause my life because of him. I want to put the Stephanie Plum chapters behind me and start working on the Stephanie Manoso saga."

"Saga?"

"Yes. Our marriage is gonna be a long and involved story, and my life will always be considered a series of incidents."

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile. "Mary Lou? Or Lula?"

"Connie. Last time I was at the bond's office, that was a clue in the crossword puzzle she was trying to finish. So … are you with me?"

"Always. If you want us to get married today, that's what we're doing. But I'd like to give Julie a head's up if you don't mind. I got an earful for not telling her ahead of time that we'd be moving in together and getting engaged right after."

"In our defense, we had no clue we'd be doing that. Can I do the honors?" I asked.

His lips settled across mine for a couple mind-blowing seconds before he dug out his cell and placed the call. "Yeah, it's me. If you have a minute, Stephanie wants to speak to you."

"I wanted to do more than talk," I told Julie. "I want to ask your permission to marry your Dad."

"Uh … Steph? You're already engaged to him. Marrying Dad is sorta the next step after your engagement."

I sighed. "Not you too. I literally just had this conversation. Yes, we were planning on getting married, but I'd like to do it soon. Like today. I love your father and don't see the point in waiting. But we don't want to upset you by rushing it. I thought instead of spending money on uncomfortable clothes we'll only wear once and killing time standing in a claustrophobic church or uptight venue, we could do a quick 'I do' at the courthouse now and when you have school vacation … you, me, and your Dad can go somewhere fun and have a scaled-down family reception."

Julie proved she can happily roll with the punches in this case. After discussing potential 'reception' destinations, I hung up and faced Ranger's raised eyebrow.

"You failed to mention a family vacation in your initial plan."

I shrugged. "I'm not stupid. Julie likes me, but I REALLY want her to love me. Plus, I'd prefer to be out of contact range when all the husbands, fathers, boyfriends, and gang friends of people Joe has sexually harassed, ratted out, blackmailed, or set up learn who was behind it. It's possible he won't make it out of a courtroom alive."