Lara turned around in his arms and glared at him. “Of course not. I don’t have my advanced degree yet, and I’m not qualified. I just want to see if my sister-in-law and her best friend are okay. Plus, I missed Chloe. What’s wrong with that?”
Tate was sorry he said anything because he was afraid his teasing had actually wounded Lara. “Nothing is wrong with caring, sweetheart.” He put his arms around her waist. “I was kidding.”
If there was one thing among many that he loved about Lara, it was her capacity to give a shit about other people. Granted, sometimes he thought she sacrificed too much. Especially when she offered herself up to a terrorist to save his ornery ass. But that was who Lara was, and there wasn’t a damn thing Tate would do to change her. She was fucking perfect in his eyes.
“Then you aren’t very funny today,” Lara shot back at him huffily.
“I love you,” he answered huskily, kissing her on the forehead.
Lara wrapped her arms around his neck. “God, I hate it when you do that.”
“What? Love you?”
“Make me forget I was mad with three little words,” she whispered against his lips as she rose up on her toes and planted a tender kiss on his mouth.
As usual, touching Lara was all it took to have his cock standing at attention. Hell, even looking at her or hearing her voice could do it. He was hopelessly crazy about his wife. Always had been. Always would be.
“I never meant to piss you off in the first place. It’s kind of funny because I have to go pick up Mom. I was coming to talk to you when I saw you getting ready to take off.”
Lara leaned back to look at him. “Why?”
Tate shrugged. “So we could all go together to Zane’s place. You’re not the only one who wants to see Chloe. Mom’s bursting with excitement.”
His wife lifted a brow. “And you aren’t?”
“Okay. I’m curious. Or maybe I’m worried. Hell, Chloe and Ellie have been through so damn much.”
Lara cupped his whiskered jaw as she said, “They’re strong, Tate. They’ll both be fine. Actually, they are pretty much fine. I admire both of them.”
“Why?” he asked curiously.
“After all they’ve been through, both of them survived the emotional and physical pain. I’m not sure how well I would have done if it had been me.”
Tate looked at her, astonished. “You’re the strongest, most kick-ass woman I know. You were an undercover FBI agent, Lara. How much tougher do you want to be?”
“That’s just a job, a façade that I needed to keep up for my agency. But I’ve never known the personal pain either one of them have been through. Yeah, I had a bad relationship, but not like that. Not like them.”
“You would have gotten through it,” Tate answered staunchly. Maybe Lara had never been tested emotionally like his sister and her best friend had, but he had no doubt Lara could survive anything that came her way. “I would have made damn sure that you did.”
“You know, I think you would,” Lara said with a laugh. “You’re too damn pigheaded to let me spiral down for very long.” She paused before adding, “Support is important, and they both had a good guy to lean on when they needed them.”
“Gabe helped Chloe a lot,” he admitted. In the beginning, he hadn’t been too sure that getting involved with another guy so soon was exactly what Chloe needed. But since then, he’d changed his mind. Gabe Walker had ended up being exactly what his little sister needed. “Thank fuck he was a decent man.”
“I don’t doubt that Zane has helped Ellie, too,” Lara answered thoughtfully. “She sounds so much better, like she isn’t afraid to go out and live her life again.”
Tate nodded. “I guess they’ve become pretty good friends.”
Lara snorted. “If you think that’s all they are, you’re wrong. Ellie has that certain warmth in her voice when she talks about Zane, that tone a woman has when she adores a certain guy.”
He wasn’t too sure he understood exactly what his wife was trying to say. Somehow, he couldn’t see Zane having a serious relationship. “He’s married to his lab, Lara. Hell, we barely see him. He’s been that way since we were kids.”
“People change, Tate. Maybe he’s just been waiting for the right woman. I was married to my career, too. Until some hotshot asshole challenged me, made me realize there was so much more to life than just my job.”
Tate wasn’t about to admit he was an asshole, even though he probably was, so he answered, “Was that before or after you met me?”
She hit him playfully on the bicep. “Smartass!” Lara wrapped her arms around him and put her head on his shoulder. “You know you make me crazy sometimes. But that’s exactly what I need. You’re exactly what I need.”
His arms tightened around her, grateful for the fateful day that Lara had come into his life. He’d never known how lonely he was until he’d found her, and he planned on making sure she never had a reason to stop loving him. “You were what I needed, too, sweetheart. You always will be.”
They stayed cuddled together for moment before Lara asked, “What time are we picking up your mom?”
He stepped back and glanced at the clock. “Now,” he said with a grin.
“We better move. I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. She has to be excited.”
Tate opened the door to let Lara exit, and the cell phone in the pocket of his jeans began to ring.