The men shot her a few dirty looks as they backed away. She didn’t care. She’d play bad cop forever to protect him.

“Here’s what I know.” His intensity was scaring her. “Your father might have meant well, but he screwed with your head so bad that you’ve lost touch with who you are inside. It’s you against the world, and you’re scared to death of anything that makes you feel vulnerable.”

She had to fight back. “This coming from Mr. Tough Guy himself.”

“I’m stubborn and I’m driven, but I’ve never pretended to be invincible. You’re the one with the will of steel.”

“That’s not true!” she exclaimed. “I fell in love with you, didn’t I? And nothing could make me feel less invincible than that.”

“Which is exactly why you’re so hell-bent on pushing me away.”

He was wrong, and there was only one way she could make him understand that and end this forever. She’d have to go through with it. Gut it out until it was blindingly clear to him… and to her… what an impossible couple they were. She shot up her chin and glared at him. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll move in with you. We’ll give it a few weeks and then you’ll see.”

He drew her to his chest. “Oh, babe…”

She closed her eyes. Rested her cheek against his chest. Surrendered.

He clasped her face in his palms and pressed his forehead to hers. Their noses touched. He brushed the tip of his nose gently against hers. “The thing is…” he said. “That invitation’s off the table.”

“What?” She reared back. He’d thrown a fake. A classic quarterback fake.

“I’d trust Piper Dove with my life.” The tenderness in his eyes cut through her. “But I’m not ready to trust Duke Dove’s daughter with my heart.”

“Then what do you want?” It was nearly a wail.

“I want a legal document.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Marriage.”

She pushed herself away from him. “You can’t be serious!”

“I didn’t plan to bring it up yet. I intended to give you some time to calm down and get used to being loved. But now I see what a mistake that would be. You’re so jittery that all you’ll be doing is looking for reasons to break us up.”

“That’s not true!” It was exactly true. The plaza blurred around her, and her ears started to ring.

“You’re as stubborn as I am.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “The way I see it, as soon as we’re legally married, we’ll both settle down enough to figure out how to make it work.”

“That’s crazy! Nobody does that.”

“Clearly. But these are extraordinary circumstances, and this is the only scenario I can see working for us.”

“It’s insane!”

“Probably to most people. But we’re different. So I guess you have a decision to make.”

“Isn’t it enough to say I love you?” Her words were nearly a sob. “You’re the best man I’ve ever known. Just hearing your voice turns me into mush. But that doesn’t mean marriage. I already said I’d live with you, and now you’re bullying me!”

“Kind of.” He touched her hair with his fingers. “But put yourself in my place. If you were me, what would you do about you?”

“I’d-I’d- That’s an impossible question.”

“Only because you don’t like the answer.” He tilted his head toward the building behind them. “I seem to remember there’s a marriage license office inside.”

Right then she knew. “You planned this, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted to meet me here. This wasn’t some accidentally convenient location.”

“I’ll admit it occurred to me, but only as an emergency backup plan, and it seems as though that’s where we are now.” He grasped her elbow and began steering her across the plaza toward the building’s glass front. “Don’t worry about a thing. It’s only a piece of paper. Nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m not…”

“Take some deep breaths. That’s all you have to do. I’ll handle everything else.”

That’s when she lost her mind. Instead of digging in her heels and pulling away, she went with him. She went right along, as if she had no will of her own. She didn’t look at him, didn’t talk to him, but she didn’t run away, either. She simply gave in to his bullheaded determination.

The marriage license bureau was on the first floor, a spacious glass-fronted area with a long counter holding rows of computers. A barrel-chested clerk standing behind one of those computers spotted Coop seconds after they walked in and rushed them to a private office.

It was all a blur. The clerk asked for her driver’s license, and Coop had to take it out of her wallet. When it was time for her signature, he guided her hand to the proper line. And throughout the process, he rubbed her back, as if he were soothing a frightened animal.

With the final paperwork in hand, he led her back outside. When they reached the plaza, he tucked his fingers under her chin. “I know you’re upset. Worse than that you’re scared, and since fear is something you don’t know how to handle, we need to get this out of the way as soon as we can. I’ll handle all the arrangements. Invite whoever you want. All you have to do is show up at my place. Six o’clock tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow?” That thin, reedy voice couldn’t belong to her.

“Call Heath if you need anything before then. It’s best if he deals with you.”

“But…”

His face grew as grave as she’d ever seen. “I need a solid commitment from you, Pipe. I’m strong about a lot of things, but not about you. So you’ll have to take it from here without me pushing you. I’ve brought us to the goal line. You’ll have to carry the ball in.”

“But tomorrow? Couldn’t we… postpone this?”

“For how long? A year? Five years? When would you be comfortable enough to do this?”

She looked down at her feet.

“Exactly. The longer you put it off, the harder it’ll be for you.”

“But tomorrow?”

“I’m not as tough as you are, sweetheart. Better to get it over with and put us both out of our misery.”

“I don’t think I can do this.”

“I hope you’re wrong, because I gave you my word of honor. I said if you talked to me today, I wouldn’t try to contact you again.” His head dipped, and when he looked back up, she saw so much misery in his eyes she felt as if her own raw emotions were staring back at her. “This is all I’ve got, Pipe,” he whispered. “I can’t do the last part for you. Either you show up… or you don’t.”

And that was all. He walked away.


***

Annabelle had great contacts and a talent for working miracles, so Coop dumped all the wedding arrangements on her, but only after she’d made him sit through her lecture. “Marriage is a serious commitment, Coop. Not something you should do impulsively, and this is so rash…” On and on she went. He understood how it might look to her, but he’d never done anything less impulsively. Pipe would understand. She had to. And she’d show up, too… because if she didn’t- He couldn’t think about it.

He spent the next day trying to find something to do with himself until six o’clock other than get drunk. The press had gotten word of his appearance at the marriage license bureau yesterday, but he wasn’t returning their calls. Instead, he tested his recovery by running a couple of miles, then drank a pot of coffee and ran another mile. He went to the office and stared at his computer. Turned on ESPN. Turned it off. Tried to read.

Around one in the afternoon, Heath called. “I’ve got your former bouncer here. I gotta say, she’s a little high-strung. And loud.”

Coop gripped the phone tighter. “Among other things.”

Pipe shouted at him in the background. “You can’t get married without a prenup, you idiot! And a prenup isn’t something you put together in a couple of hours!”

“I’m afraid she’s got you there, Champ,” Heath said.

“You’re worth millions!” she yelled. And then, presumably to Heath, although she was still yelling loud enough for Coop to draw the phone back from his ear. “Do you see what I’m up against? He’s an adrenaline junkie.”

“She’s obviously thought about this,” Heath said. “Under the circumstances, I strongly advise you not to go any further without getting your attorneys involved.”

“Otherwise, I’ll take you for every cent you have!” Even with the phone held away from his ear, he had no trouble hearing that.

“Did you hear?” Heath said.

“Hard not to. You tell her to worry about herself.” He hung up.


***

Annabelle worked her magic. His garden furniture and potting table disappeared from the terrace. Workers delivered chairs, along with outdoor heaters to keep the guests warm against the November night chill and a wooden crate with something that looked suspiciously like a chandelier poking out of the top. As the caterers took over his kitchen, he sealed himself upstairs, growing more anxious by the minute. When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he called Heath. “Is she going to show up?”

“Not a clue. I figure you’ve got a fifty-fifty chance at best.”

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

The minister arrived at four thirty. Or, more properly, the “wedding officiant” arrived. Coop was a wreck.

Shortly after, the guests began to appear. He’d kept the list small, choosing only people Piper knew and would be comfortable with: Tony and the bouncers; Jada and Karah; Mrs. B., who appeared with a sheepish man she introduced as Willie Mahoney, her boyfriend. He wished he could have flown Faiza in, but leaving Canada would make her anxious. Jennifer MacLeish arrived with a happy-looking Eric Vargas on her arm.

Coop pulled her aside. “Have you talked to her?”

Jen looked worried. “Berni and I both knocked on her door, but she told us to go away-except not that politely-and she won’t answer her phone. This was not your smartest move.”

He was afraid she was right, and he tried to remember why he’d been so sure this would work.