Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

“Are you serious right now?”

“I mean, if we were married, then this resort would be yours too, but at the moment you’re trespassing.”

I roll my eyes. If it was up to him, we'd have been at city hall and married already. Neither my mom nor I are having that. I might not be super girly, but I want a wedding, and more than that, I want Carol to make my wedding dress and Frostie to make the cake. As of right now, Carol is supposed to be taking it easy, so things are on hold until she’s okay.

“I’m undercover, and you’re ruining it.”

“Undercover? In a police cruiser?” Sarcasm drips from his words, so I reach over and smack his chest.

“Hey, I’m the one who went to the police academy. Not you. I don't tell you how to do your job; don't tell me how to do mine.”

“You don’t tell me how to do my job?” He chuckles. I might have made a few suggestions, but what can I say? I’m helpful.

“There!” I whisper as if the man in question can hear me from inside my vehicle.

He strolls through the front doors of the resort, right where I figured he’d end up. This is the only place to stay in town. I pull my phone out and text Emily. If he’s checking in, she’s going to have his name. His vehicle didn’t give me shit because it’s a rental, but I have a suspicion something is up.

“You want to tell me why you’re checking this man out?” Jack grumbles.

“He’s been wandering around town and poking his head into places.”

“Isn’t that what most tourists do around here?”

“See, this is why I’m the cop and you're the sugar daddy.”

“Sugar daddy?” Jack lets out another laugh.

“What? I’m marrying the richest man in town. I think I get to call you my sugar daddy. I mean, look at this thing.” I hold up my hand, showing off my wedding ring. “Plus, you spank me a lot.”

“Fine, I’ll take it.”

“Good, that giant tree we put up last weekend has so much room for my gifts,” I tease him, but honestly, I’m sure Jack will be going overboard and filling all the space under it.

He’s been trying to make up for the years he thinks we lost. At first, I was annoyed that he waited so long to make his move but then he made me understand. He’s lost so much in his life that I can see how he thought if we did get together and things went bad that he would not only lose me but my parents and my brother too. They’ve all become his family over the years, and he was worried it could all disappear.

Plus, I think I needed a bit of time to grow on my own. I was young, and I know I would have been so wrapped up in him. Hell, I’m already doing it now. I moved in with him the day he asked me to marry him, and I’m already putting my touches everywhere on our home.

I might have covered his home office in pictures of me. It was meant to be a joke, but it blew up in my face. Some of the best times I’ve had with Jack is when we’re teasing each other, but this one did go the way I planned. He loved all the pictures and thought I was being sweet when in reality I was trying to be a smartass.

“Are we going to talk about this stakeout and you still being on active duty?”

“You have no clue if I’m pregnant.” I could be knocked up, but I wouldn’t go on calls if we knew for sure. Plus, it’s not like the streets of Troping are crime-ridden. “It’s been five seconds. No way you already put a baby in me.” Damn, why does that sound hot?

“I’ve never been five seconds.”

“I don’t know; those first few times were close. Not that I can blame you. I mean, look at me.” I wiggle my brows.

“God, I love you.” He grips my chin, turning my head to face him and steal a kiss.

“I could ticket you for that. You can’t just kiss a cop.”

“I’ll do anything I want when it comes to you.”

I smile against his mouth. “I love—” I’m cut off when my phone chimes and I quickly grab it.

“Did Emily just give you personal information on one of our guests?” Jack asks as he reads my screen. He’s one to talk; he’s peeking over at a cop's phone.

“Who’s Emily?” I pretend to not know who he’s talking about.

“Babe.”

“I think he’s the baby daddy.”

“Baby daddy?” he asks, confused.

“Carol’s baby daddy. He lingered outside the dress shop all morning, but it’s not open today. He even peeked in the windows and tried the door. I should go arrest him.”

“Under what grounds?”

“What if I wait for him to come out and then I walk in front of him and fall and scream that he pushed me? Then we arrest him, and the interrogation begins!”

“First off, that's not legal. Second of all, what’s with the we?”

“I wouldn’t really book him,” I say defensively. “Just a pinch of abuse of power. Men do it all the time, so why can’t I?” Jack ignores me.

“Thirdly, you're not flinging yourself on the ground. You’re pregnant.”

“You have no proof of this, and don’t say you know because I taste sweeter. I always taste sweet.” I smirk.

“All right, then let’s go take a closer look at the guy.” He reaches over and grabs the keys out of the ignition and pockets them. “Ticket me,” he says before he gets out of the cruiser and comes around to open my door for me.