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Jack kept one ear on what his boss was saying about the Bratva —the Russian mafia—and one eye on the sweet curves of Gina’s backside as she looked up at the sky. The red shorts and matching halter top she wore were sexier than if she’d been strutting around the yard buck naked.

Blood shot directly to his groin. No matter how many times they made love, he’d never tire of it. Maybe when they got home they should dig out Gina’s skintight catsuit from the closet and play a little game of cops and robbers. With handcuffs.

“ Jack , you getting this?” Deke elbowed him in the ribs.

“ Um , yeah.” He cleared his throat, doing his best to pay attention to what his SAC was saying.

No easy task whenever Gina was around. They’d officially been a couple since the day she’d walked into his office carrying a clownfish to replace poor little John Wayne .

A breeze brought with it the scent of his mother’s rosebushes along the property line.

Some of them were blooming early, particularly the one where he’d buried JW .

Luckily , his new clownfish— Wyatt Earp —and Annie Oakley had instantly taken to each other.

In fact, he’d discovered transparent fish eggs in the tank with tiny eyes showing.

Soon he’d need a bigger tank, and the credenza in his office could only support so much weight.

Moving the tank to his condo made sense.

Then again, with Gina staying at his place half the time, what he really needed was a house.

Dealing with the mistakes they’d made and learning to live with them would take time.

As would finding a way to balance her chocolate fetish with his need to constantly kiss her, something he couldn’t live without.

“ Being careful” had taken on a whole new meaning for them.

It was less about becoming unexpectedly pregnant before they were ready and more about not wanting to accidentally send him into anaphylactic shock.

Kyle tugged a phone from his shorts pocket, and his brow creased.

“ Everything okay?” Jack asked.

“ Yeah .” He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “ That was the US Attorney’s Office in Chicago . Semyon Novikov is ill and petitioning for release.”

Their boss made a sound of disgust. “ He’ll never get it.”

“ Probably not,” Kyle agreed.

“ Who’s Semyon Novikov ?” Heather , the pretty blonde clinging to Deke’s arm, asked.

Deke looked down at Heather , who had to be a good twelve inches shorter than his six-foot-two. “ He’s a Russian mob boss Kyle put in prison ten years ago.”

When Kyle’s frown deepened, Jack had a strong suspicion it had nothing to do with Novikov .

“ Another beer, anyone?” Morrison asked, and when they all shook their heads, their SAC sauntered off to the giant cooler in the middle of the lawn.

“ I think I need another margarita.” Heather held up her empty glass just, then headed over to where Gina chatted with her friends and his mother.

“ You ever gonna stop thinking about her?” Deke asked, now that the three of them were alone.

The only people in the world Kyle had confided in about the woman he’d saved in Chicago were him and Deke .

Rather than answer, Kyle shot Deke a look that said probably not and back off .

Whoever this woman was, it was clear she was still a sore spot not even a decade could heal.

Jack hated seeing his brother in so much pain.

Kyle had experienced more loss than any of them.

If there was something Jack could do to help, he’d be all in.

“ I could probably pull strings, get some information on her.”

Kyle seemed to consider the offer for a moment, then shook his head. “ Way too complicated. Besides , safeguarding domestic violence victims’ locations is sacred. I don’t want either of us to break that code. But thanks for the offer.”

“ Anytime .” Jack clapped his brother on the back.

In a show of support, Deke did the same.

Feminine laughter drew his attention to the tight circle of women, in the middle of which stood Gina .

All he had to do was look at her, and a sense of lightness wrapped itself around him like a warm blanket on a freezing cold winter day.

Sometimes he felt guilty for being so damned happy when one of his brothers was suffering.

Kyle and Deke chuckled and exchanged smirks.

Deke aimed his beer bottle at the women. “ You gonna make an honest woman out of her?”

“ Honest ?” Jack laughed outright. “ After all the laws she broke?” Then again, if she hadn’t broken them, he would never have met her and found what was missing in his life. What he needed in his life. Love . And Gina .

“ You know Mom wants grandkids, right?” Kyle flicked his gaze from Jack to Deke .

“ Whoa .” Deke held up his hands. “ Don’t look at me, bro. I’m not even close to that, and I may never get there.”

“ Don’t look at me either.” Kyle shook his head. “ I’ve been practically celibate for a decade.”

“ Guess it’s up to you, Jack .” Deke squeezed Jack’s shoulder.

Again , he turned to watch Gina . The woman had nearly driven him out of his mind, yet he loved her with every cell in his body.

“ Okay , guys.” He let out a breath, feigning resignation. “ I’m the oldest. It’s time I took one for the team.”

“ Huh ?” Deke’s brows scrunched together.

Kyle’s brows rose. “ We were kidding.”

Jack grinned. “ Yeah , I know.” Though they might think it, they hadn’t planted the idea in his head. In reality, it had been there for several weeks. Since the day he’d purchased the two-carat chocolate diamond engagement ring.

“ Watch and learn boys.” He handed Kyle his beer and went inside the house to the kitchen cabinet where he’d stashed the box.

Half a minute later, he strode past his brothers, carefully holding the gold tissue box-size container in both hands. Jack’s heart leaped into his throat, pounding harder than a New York cabbie had ever pounded on a horn.

The only flaw in his plan, one he hadn’t considered, was that she might not say yes. God help him if she didn’t. He’d broken up an entire Mafia family, put dozens of dangerous criminals in prison, but he’d be lost without Gina .

“ Hi .” She smiled up at him, sending his heartrate into overdrive. “ Pretty box. Whatcha got there?”

“ A gift. For you.” He handed her the box, careful to turn it so the clear cellophane window faced her. And is that my hand shaking?

“ Ooh , pretty.” Her smile broadened as she accepted the box containing the elaborately decorated chocolate Faberge -style egg. She gasped. “ Is this chocolate? It’s beautiful.”

She held it up for everyone to get a better look at the royal blue egg with gold bows and flowers seated on a pedestal.

When he’d bought the egg, he’d been educated by the seller that it had been fashioned after one made by Victor Mayer , a German artist and jeweler who’d been commissioned to resume the manufacture of original Faberge objects.

This one, however, had a surprise inside.

“ Thank you, Jack .” She stood on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“ Open it.” He indicated the box. “ There’s something special inside.”

“ Okay .” Moments later, Gina had taken the egg from the box, balancing the pedestal in her hand.

As she gently flipped open the top half of the egg, Jack lowered to one knee.

His mother gasped and clapped her hands to her face.

Annabelle and Kinsey grabbed onto each other’s arms, jumping up and down as they both let out squeals high-pitched enough to wake the dead.

Margo , ever the pragmatist, Jack had learned, simply nodded, as if she’d known all along what Jack had planned.

“ Holy shit,” Deke whispered over Jack’s shoulder.

Kyle chuckled. “ I’ll second that.”

“ Gina .” Jack looked up into the eyes of the woman he loved more than his own life. “ I love you. I can’t live without you. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes had gone wide, and her mouth had fallen open. His four-word question had rendered this woman—who never stopped talking—utterly speechless.

“ Gina ,” Kinsey whispered in her ear, nudging Gina’s shoulder. “ Say something. You never have nothing to say. Don’t leave the man hanging.”

Yeah . Don’t leave me hanging.

Still wide-eyed, her mouth moved, silently forming what he hoped and prayed with every fiber of his being was the word yes .

Jack gulped. “ Is that a yes?” Or had he stupidly, mistakenly assumed they were on the same page when they weren’t?

Slowly , she nodded, then the nodding became more emphatic. “ Yes ,” she whispered, as tears fell from her eyes. “ Yes !”

Thank God he was kneeling because his legs felt weak.

After purchasing the egg, he’d inserted a gold velvet cushion and stuck the ring in it. Now , with trembling fingers, he plucked out the ring, being careful to avoid touching the chocolate. He slid the sparkling diamond onto Gina’s left ring finger and gently kissed her hand.

Gina flung herself into his arms. Everyone around them clapped and cheered. He held her tightly, burying his face in her nape and inhaling her sweet scent.

Finally , as the clapping died down, she pulled away. “ I love you, Special Agent Gates . I’ll love you forever.”

This time, when his throat tightened it wasn’t from anaphylactic shock. It was from love. Knowing he’d finally found it and would never let it go.