Sara still could hardly believe he was married. Here she’d worried about his feelings for Raven, only to find out she was his sister. It was becoming harder to know who or what to believe.
But Raven was right about one thing. Crow had done a lot for her and coming to his party wasn’t too much to ask. Sara squared her shoulders, and before she could change her mind, she got out of the car and headed up the sidewalk.
A white picket fence surrounded the manicured front yard and Sara’s heart clenched. Though she loved her modern home with its tall ceilings and big windows, this traditional Cape Cod with its rose-covered trellis and brick sidewalk was her dream home.
Reaching the front door, Sara took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and knocked. Not sure if she’d knocked loud enough the first time, Sara raised her hand to knock again just as the door opened.
“Sara.” A broad smile spread across Crow’s handsome face. “It’s great to see you. Come in.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You cut your hair.”
Crow flushed and reached up with the tips of his fingers to touch the thick dark strands now cut short in the latest style. “It’s a lot easier to take care of this way. Do you like it?”
Sara nodded, her heart doing somersaults in her chest. Like it? Always handsome, he now looked like he’d just stepped off the pages of a men’s magazine. “What made you do it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was ready for a change.”
She understood completely. He was going to be a father.
“Your house is lovely,” she said politely, glancing inside and catching a glimpse of pale yellow walls with cream-colored trim and shiny hardwood floors.
“You have to come in.” He ushered her quickly through the front door without waiting for her answer, as if he knew how close she was to bolting. “Let me show it to you.”
The house was strangely silent and their footsteps echoed against the floor. “It’s so quiet. Where is everyone?”
“Everyone?” He raised a quizzical brow.
“You know, the housewarming party?” She tried to remember exactly what Raven had said. Surely the woman would have told her if the party was a surprise.
He stared blankly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Suddenly she understood. “You’re not having a party tonight, are you?”
He shook his head. “Where did you get that idea?”
“Your sister.” Anger at Raven’s duplicity threatened to overwhelm her. Why would she have done this?
“Raven told you I was having a party?” He frowned, clearly puzzled. “Why would she do that?”
“I think it’s perfectly obvious,” Sara said stiffly. “She wanted to get us alone together.”
“In that case, I’ll have to call and thank her,” he said with a grin.
“Thank her?” Sara didn’t bother to conceal her disgust. “You’re a married man. I don’t know where Angel is, but I’d be plenty mad if my sister-in-law tried to set up my husband—”
“Stop right there,” Crow interrupted. “Are you saying you think I’m married?”
“You are married.”
“Ah, no, I’m not. I’d remember saying those vows.”
“Does the name Angel ring a bell?”
“What about her?”
“You admit you know her.”
“Of course I know her,” he said. “What’s she got to do with anything?”
“And she’s pregnant, isn’t she?” Sara pressed on, wanting to box him into a corner, so he’d have to admit the truth. She wanted to hear him say he’d lied, so her heart could once and for all break in two.
“How’d you know that?”
“With your child.”
“Mine?” A look of horror that would have been comical at any other time flashed across his face. “No way.”
Sara couldn’t hide her disappointment. What kind of man would deny his own child? “Then whose would it be?”
“My money would be on her husband, Jake Weston.”
“Her husband?” Sara’s mouth dropped open and she shut it with a snap. “I thought you were her husband.”
“That was your first mistake.” He burst out laughing, and it was all she could do not to smack him. “Angel used to be my partner on the force. Whatever made you think we were married?”
“The nurse at the hospital said you were.” Sara paused. “Why would she tell me something that wasn’t true?”
“Maybe because—” Crow’s grin turned sheepish “—Angel told the staff she was my wife so she could get in to see me.”
“And the baby?”
“Angel wanted to tell me in person that she and Jake were having a baby. The nurse came in just as she was giving me the news.”
“You’re not married.”
“Not yet,” Crow said. His gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes. “But I do have someone in mind. I’m just not sure she’ll have me.”
Her heart jolted. The very air seemed electrified.
“You can be a bit overbearing at times.” Sara’s gaze never left his face.
Crow put a large hand to her waist and drew her to him. “But I’m good with children and animals.”
His breath was warm against her cheek and her heart raced. It was all she could do to maintain her composure. Over his shoulder Sara noticed a red leash lying on a chair. “You never told me you had a dog. I know we talked about dogs, but you never said you had one. Have you had it long?”
She shut her mouth, all too aware she was nervously rattling on about nothing.
Crow smiled indulgently. “Wait until you see her.”
He whistled, and in a matter of seconds a ball of honey-and-white fur barreled into the room, skidding to a stop at his feet.
“Why, it’s a collie.” Sara crouched down and held out her hand. The puppy came to her without hesitation. “She likes me.”
“Of course she likes you,” Crow said, his gaze meeting hers. “I bought her for you.”
Sara’s heart began to sing. “Your house has a white picket fence.”
He nodded. “It was part of your dream.”
“You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”
“I love you, Sara. I want you to be my wife.”
She stepped forward and brushed back a tousle of hair from his forehead. “You know I loved you even with your long hair.”
He smiled. “I didn’t need it anymore. I’m not going back undercover. I’ve decided to leave the force and start up my own security business.”
“Does that mean you’ll be home in the evenings?”
“Should be. Why?”
“Hopefully in the not so distant future it might be fun to start working on those two point five children.”
“As soon as I’ve got a ring on your finger and the minister pronounces us husband and wife. That is, if you agree to marry me.”
“How can I say no?” she said. “I love happy endings. And if I marry you, a happy ending is guaranteed.”