“It’s not weird.” Cade conceded when she threw him a look, “Okay, it’s still a little weird. But come on—tell me the proposal story, anyway.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really. Just keep in mind that I’m a guy, which means I’m genetically predisposed to think that whatever mushy romantic tale you’re about to tell me is highly cheesy.”

Rylann laughed. “I’ll keep it simple, then.” She rested her drink on the table. “Well, you already heard how Kyle picked me up at the courthouse after my trial. He said he wanted to surprise me with a vacation because I’d been working so hard, but that we needed to drive to Champaign first to meet with his former mentor, the head of the U of I Department of Computer Sciences, to discuss some project Kyle was working on for a client.” She held up a sparkly hand, nearly blinding Cade and probably half of the other Starbucks patrons. “In hindsight, yes, that sounds a little fishy, but what do I know about all this network security stuff? He had his laptop out, there was some talk about malicious payloads and Trojan horse attacks—it all sounded legitimate enough at the time.”

“Remind me, while I’m acting U.S. attorney, not to assign you to any cybercrime cases.”

“Anyhow. . . we get to Champaign, which as it so happens, is where Kyle and I first met ten years ago. And the limo turns onto the street where I used to live while in law school, and Kyle asks the driver to pull over because he wants to see the place for old time’s sake. So we get out of the limo, and he’s making this big speech about the night we met and how he walked me home on the very sidewalk we were standing on—I’ll fast-forward here in light of your aversion to the mushy stuff—and I’m laughing to myself because, well, we’re standing on the wrong side of the street. So naturally, I point that out, and he tells me that nope, I’m wrong, because he remembers everything about that night, so to prove my point I walk across the street to show him and”—she paused here— “and I see a jewelry box, sitting on the sidewalk, in the exact spot where we had our first kiss. Then I turn around and see Kyle down on one knee.”

She waved her hand, her eyes a little misty. “So there you go. The whole mushy, cheesy tale. Gag away.”

Cade picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “That was actually pretty smooth.”

Rylann grinned. “I know. Former cyber-menace to society or not, that man is a keeper.”

Nineteen

BROOKE CUT THINGS closer than she’d intended that evening, and walked through the front door of her condo only five minutes before Cade was supposed to arrive.

I can work around your schedule, he’d said when they’d spoken earlier on the phone.

It was such a silly thing, but it had been a long time since any guy had said that to her. Basically, since she’d started working for Sterling.

It was just a casual comment, she reminded herself. It didn’t mean a thing.

Focusing on the task at hand, Brooke quickly set up her surprise in the kitchen, finishing just as someone knocked at her door. She answered, still wearing her work clothes.

Cade stood in her doorway, dressed casually in a polo shirt and jeans. He raised an eyebrow, seeing her in her business attire. “How was the wining and dining?”

“Longer than expected.” She gestured for him to come in. “Just let me change and then we can head out.”

He looked curiously around her condo, taking in the view. “This is nice.”

“Thanks.” Despite the hefty mortgage she paid for the one-bedroom plus den, and the ridiculous assessments on top of that, she loved the place. Hardwood floors, a nicely sized master bedroom, and a small eat-in breakfast area off the kitchen with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city.

Cade walked through her living room, which opened to the kitchen. He stopped when his gaze landed on the champagne bottle that sat chilling in an ice bucket on the counter.

He looked at her. “Is that for me?”

Seeing his obvious surprise, Brooke suddenly felt awkward. When she’d swung by the wine shop around the corner on her way home from dinner, the champagne had seemed like a nice gesture, given that Cade had mentioned getting some really good news. But now she remembered Commandment Number Six of the “Rules of Casual Sex.”

No personal gifts except for sex toys and massage oils.

Yes, fine, she got it now. Although, admittedly, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the thought of handing Cade a congratulatory penis ring.

Surprise!

Covering quickly, Brooke waved her hand dismissively at the champagne. “It’s a bottle someone gave me as a gift. I had it sitting around and figured that whatever your mysterious news is, ‘really damn cool’ on the scale of ‘meh to holy-shit-I-just-won-the-Rose-Bowl’ merited some champagne.”

Noticing that Cade still watched her interestedly, Brooke went into the kitchen and pulled a corkscrew out of one of the drawers. She opened the champagne, poured them each a glass, and handed one over to him. “So. What are we toasting to?”

“In eight weeks I’ll be the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”

Brooke’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding. That’s awesome.”

“It’s just while my boss, Cameron, is on maternity leave,” he said.

“That doesn’t matter. It’s still awesome.” Brooke clinked her glass to his. “Congratulations.” She took a sip, noticing that his eyes fell to her mouth after she pulled the glass away.