It would take four weeks for everything at the inn to calm down after that evening. Fortunately for Josh, Bernie had been in Ojai to follow up on the investigation into the break-in at Josh's casita. The reports by panicked guests about shots fired in the area prompted the quick response which led to a full crew showing up at the area of the labyrinth the following day.

The only fly in the ointment, it seemed, was that the whole thing had to be dug up as the crew left no stone unturned. But its silver lining included the arrival of Olivia, Erik, and Sam along with his friends from the force who helped put the heart back together. It even made it into the local papers, along with it the discovery of a duffel bag encased in double-lined plastic containing a million dollars in hundred dollar bills, along with Ray's fingerprints.

Dr. Ecklund survived the shooting and was quick to confess that he had been Ray's psychiatrist when Ray had been involved in an altercation with a suspect two years earlier. When Ray needed help in fabricating Josh's medical records, the doctor volunteered.

Josh finally got steps built into the slope, and enclosed the property with higher fences. While Josh stayed during the week to help with the rebuilding of the labyrinth and the installation of steps for the slope, he drove down to the beach during the weekends to be with Olivia and Bella, though he refused to permanently move in–at least, not yet.

"Not till we're married, Liv," he said, rinsing the plates before stacking them in the dishwasher as Olivia handed him the last of the cereal bowls to rinse. He'd arrived as they were getting ready to sit down to eat, and since Olivia had prepared breakfast, he made sure to do the dishes. He loved spending time with Baby Bells, as he called Bella, doting on her like she were his own child. But Bella was not with them in the house as Josh and Olivia cleaned up the kitchen. Anna had come by to bring Bella to Erik's house where she could play with Michael while Erik and Sam were putting up the canopy so the kids could build sand castles in the shade.

"Which reminds me," he continued. "We need to decide on a date."

"Here's a date for you. As soon as possible," Olivia said, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "There. Is that good enough?"

"Erik won't be happy," he said. "He wants you to have a real wedding."

She shrugged. "It is going to be a real wedding. It's going to be a small one. Preferably the one at the City Hall where we get legal confirmation right then and there. We can do the big wedding later and have Bella as flower girl and Michael as ring bearer." She frowned. "Wait. Am I being pushy?"

Josh chuckled, switching on the dishwasher and standing in front of her. "You're the way you're supposed to be, though I have to admit, I was hoping to impress you a bit more with the dating part."

"Earth to Josh! We're past the dating part, remember?" Olivia laughed, showing him the engagement ring that Helen had given Josh one night. We know who it's going to go to, son, and I don't know, but somehow we always knew it was going to be her.

"And as far as impressing me, you've done enough of that through the years," Olivia continued. "I mean, look around you. You built most of the furniture here. For crying out loud, you built the bed I sleep in... and Bella's crib, and this counter. How much more 'impressed' do you want me to be?"

"This impressed," Josh said, lowering his head to kiss her if only to shut her up. He always hated hearing anyone talk about his furniture, though he knew he had to start getting used to the idea. One of Erik's friends, a doctor who lived in Santa Barbara had seen Olivia's dining table and offered to pay Josh a sizable sum to have him build one like it. Of course, the order for the table came with matching chairs.

There was a future in handmade contemporary furniture for Josh, with high-end clientele that could provide him with more than enough money to live on–and support Olivia, too, if she didn't mind living simply. But Olivia needed no financial support. Her husband had left her and Bella with a sizable inheritance, and then there were the shares in the commercial apartments she and Erik inherited from their parents. Why else could they afford to live on the Strand?

But it was also the reason why Josh wanted to prove himself to her, that he wasn't about to live off her late husband's money, or her own money for that matter. Maybe it was because of Erik, with whom he was always competitive with, had been since they were children, not that Erik would have even thought he'd do such a thing to Olivia. Josh had his own money carefully invested in stocks and bonds, a fully paid house which he rented out, and then there was the inn, of which he derived his own shares from. It wasn't like he wasn't going to take over one day. After all, wasn't that the reason why he'd decided to leave the police force?

When he lifted his head from her face, she was blushing. "Well, there is that," she whispered, biting her lower lip. "Which I've missed out on the last five days while you were in Ojai. Care to get me caught up with what I've been missing?"

"Wedding first," Josh said as Olivia frowned.

"You seriously aren't doing the no sex before the wedding, are you?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Hell, no! I meant, we have to talk about the wedding first. The civil one, like you said. We can make an appointment on Monday. Who will be the witnesses?"

"Erik and Sam, of course," Olivia replied. "And then your parents, if it's not too far of a drive–"

"Oh, they'll be there, with bells on," Josh smiled. "They were wondering the same thing actually though they'd love to host the wedding up at the inn, maybe even in the labyrinth."

"That's so sweet," Olivia whispered.

"They've only been waiting for this moment since we were kids, with me being the only one to pretend to love those tasteless, er, sorry, sugar-free button cookies you used to make in your EZ Bake oven–ow!"

He laughed, bringing his hand up to his face in mock self-defense as Olivia playfully hit him.

"Hey! I was ahead of my time with the sugar-free," Olivia grinned, settling in his arms again. "So it's settled then, a civil wedding next week. Then the big wedding to make my brother happy and to let every women in the South Bay and beyond know that you're finally off the market–"

"Shh, it's not official yet," Josh murmured, prompting Olivia to hit his bicep again, but Josh brought his hand behind her head and pulled her into a deep kiss, tasting vanilla on her lips from the French toast she'd made for breakfast.

They kissed for a few moments, ignoring the sound of the side door opening, and the dogs bounding toward them.

"C'mon, you two, get a room!" Erik laughed as Olivia pulled away and grabbing the dishtowel, threw it at Erik though she missed him by a few inches. Erik plopped himself down on the couch, joined immediately by Thelma and Louise by his feet. "Hey, Josh, you staying for the weekend?"

"Yep," Josh replied, turning to face Olivia. "And if Liv has her way... forever."

"We're getting married next week!" Olivia announced. "At City Hall! And, of course, we'd love for you guys to be there."

Erik frowned. "Next week? Have you picked an actual day?"

"Yes, and no," Josh replied, pulling Olivia closer. "We'll find out on Monday when we make the call. How much notice do you need, bro?"

"Just tell me when. I own the practice, remember?" Erik grinned. "I'm glad you're getting the civil ceremony out of the way."

"Me, too," Josh grinned, kissing the top of Olivia's forehead. Saying the words made him choke up and he cleared his throat, hoping no one noticed how his voice cracked. God, how he loved her.

Josh actually got pulled over (and let go with a warning) on his way down from Ojai because he couldn't wait to be with her again. His parents had to kick him out of the inn because they couldn't stand how jittery he'd been acting all week, knowing that once everything at the casita and the inn were to Josh's satisfaction, he'd be with Olivia from then on. All he could think of was being with her and Bella. He'd waited so long to be with her, and now that he was, he wanted her to be his wife... like right now. 

Shit, when the hell did I get so romantic?

Erik got up from the couch. "Well, I'm going back to the beach. Sam and Anna sent me back here to get some of the kids' sand castle stuff–"

"They're over by the garden," Olivia said, rolling her eyes. "You walked past the bucket."

"I guess I did." Erik chuckled. "Nah, I wanted to check in on you two. Anyway, maybe I'll see you guys out there later. We've got stuff ready for the grill so we can hang out closer to the water with the kids for the day. What's the use of living on the beach if we never get to actually step on the beach, eh? And later some of the guys will be stopping by if you two are interested. So come out and don't be too anti-social, alright?"

Erik was grinning as he waved good-bye and, taking the dogs with him, he disappeared back through the door leading to his house.

"Your twin brother really is nosy, isn't he?" Josh chuckled, though he knew Erik was teasing. Since coming back from Ojai, he spoke to Erik almost everyday no matter where he was. It had been Erik who suggested the civil ceremony. That was how he and Sam had done it almost a year ago now, and their church wedding was six months away.

Erik had even suggested that maybe they should do a double wedding on the beach. Maybe fly off to St. Barth's with family and friends and have fun. But that was wishful thinking on Erik's part, for their guest list, Josh had heard, had reached 300 and even Erik had been horrified to learn that his guests outnumbered Sam's, though she assured him it was okay. And so it would be a local wedding after all. 

And just as well for Josh didn't want his parents traveling out of the country, not with his mother's chemotherapy and radiation treatments. They actually preferred to see Josh get married at the inn and that's exactly what Josh wanted, too, and he hoped Olivia would consider it. Besides, Ojai was beautiful in the spring. Hell, Ojai was beautiful all year.

"Shall we, Mr. Morin?" Olivia's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Shall we what?"

"Make up for all the time we've been apart, Mister Hard-to-Get," she giggled. "I counted."

He pulled her toward him. "Funny, I did, too. Only my math goes like this," he glanced at his watch, "it's been one hundred twenty-eight hours and thirty-five minutes since we've been together. And I have to admit, it's way too long to be away from you. Never again."

"You mean you're not going back up there for the next few weeks?" Olivia asked, surprised. "Is everything done with the casita?"

"Yup, and when I do go back up there, it will be with you and Bella. And we'll be married by then."

Olivia wrapped her arms around Josh's neck, smiling broadly. "You mean I'll be Mrs. Morin?"

This time, Josh didn't answer. Hearing her say her soon-to-be married name sent tingles up and down his spine and he kissed her then, no longer caring whether there was still much to talk about. It had been too long–going on six days and as long as they kept talking, it would be seven before they knew it–and all he wanted was to have her in his arms, feel her warmth and surround himself with her love. Since when did he get this sappy, he no longer even cared. Maybe that's what made men write silly love songs to the women (and men) they loved? When sometimes, the feelings just had to be captured into words, for posterity, as proof that men had hearts, some sappier than most women out there, his heart especially when it came to Olivia.

He lifted her in his arms, feeling her legs wrap around his hips and made his way toward the stairs. At the first step, he set her down so her face was level to his.

"I'd carry you up the stairs, future Mrs. Morin, if you weren't so heavy I'd break my back–"

"Shut up! I am not heavy," she exclaimed, looking horrified and playfully whacking him along the bicep again. Josh laughed. She wasn't heavy at all. Still, the stairs, what with his bum leg no matter how strong he was getting every day plus someone heavier than Bella was a tricky thing. Especially not when all the blood was going to be rushing somewhere south.

"That's not nice," she pouted.

"Right now, I don't want to be nice," he said, his face inches from her own. "I want us to get down and dirty and..."

Josh didn't even get to finish, for Olivia rushed up the stairs, slipping her sleeveless shirt off as she reached the top of the stairs and turned to look at him. Josh simply stared for a few seconds, loving the sound of her laughter drifting down toward him, as she now pulled her shorts down her hips.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Mr. Morin!" She giggled. "Last one to the bedroom's a rotten egg!"

Rotten egg, my ass, Josh laughed to himself as he took the stairs two steps at a time. Last one to the bedroom was the luckiest man alive.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading Josh and Olivia's story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing every minute of it.