A/N: We'll leave the story with Ranger's POV.

I need to tell you something: I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time, and I'm done letting you push me away. Get back home safely, and come see me when you're ready.

It had been two years to the day that I'd received that message from Stephanie on my voicemail. I had saved the voicemail after listening to it several times in the Newark airport. And every time my voicemail had prompted me that I either needed to re-save the message or delete it, I would save it. Those words changed my life drastically, and I never wanted to forget the sound of her voice as she said them for the first time. Her tone had been resolute when she'd called, and I had wondered what motivation had pushed her to that point in that exact moment. But I hadn't questioned her. I had the woman that I'd been in love with for years finally willing to commit to me—only me— and I wasn't pulling away from her. I had listened to that voicemail from time to time, especially if I weren't able to see Stephanie for a few days.

Stephanie had taken me by surprise on our honeymoon when she'd asked if I would be upset if she didn't take my last name. I'd left the decision to her, never wanting to influence her only to have her resent me for it in the future, but it had bothered me. I hadn't been sure why she wouldn't want my last name, but I hadn't pushed the issue. She had made amazing strides in overcoming her commitment issues, but nothing was perfect. The name thing seemed to be a lingering reminder of that. I had fully expected that she would either tell me she wasn't changing her name or would simply keep Plum without bringing the issue up again.

I had been surprised one day in March when she asked me to check out her new driver's license photo. She had never updated her license with her new address, despite having moved almost two years prior. I hadn't been expecting that not only had she updated her address, but she had changed her last name to Manoso. I had stared at the license for a minute, not registering her new picture but her new name.

"What made you change your mind?" I'd asked her after a moment.

She had said that she liked my last name, had appreciated the fact that I hadn't pressured her to change her name even though she could tell I wanted her to do so, and because she wanted it to be obvious that we were married. She didn't want to make people think there was any uncertainty in our relationship by not changing her name. I had made love to her right there on the living room floor after that conversation.

I was sitting in the office at the house reviewing quarterly reports from my accountants while Stephanie was getting ready to leave for Connie's baby shower. Business had been great even after I'd sold out the Boston and Atlanta offices. I had been talking to Stephanie about the possibility of opening a Newark office to serve both Newark and New York City because of the increased demands I'd been receiving from potential residential and commercial clients in the area. She had been very supportive of the idea, even though it meant that I would need to work up there quite a bit to get the office up and running. She had said she would help out in whatever capacity I could use her in, as she knew I would always support her goals and she wanted to support mine.

"I'm leaving," she said, coming into the office with a large pink gift bag in hand. "You and Bob are on your own for lunch."

"We'll manage," I replied, kissing her when she leaned over the back of the chair. "Is have fun the right thing to say in regards to a baby shower?"

"Eh, kind of," she replied. "Mostly it's a bunch of women oohing and ahhing over miniature clothes and baby supplies, making guesses of how big the baby will be, when it will be born, and writing down comments Connie makes while she opens the gifts that could have also been uttered the night the baby was conceived."

"What could you possibly say at a baby shower that you might also say in the throes of passion?"

"Things like 'I didn't know something so small could be so cute' or 'how does that fit in there'. Stupid stuff like that."

I shook my head. "I thought men were bad about that type of thing."

"Oh they are, it's just a little different with women," Stephanie said, running her hand along my shoulders as she left the room. "Love you."

"Love you too," I replied to her retreating back.

Getting married and settling down had certainly changed me. My men still respected and feared me, but I knew that for the first time they also saw me as a human being. I had definitely been domesticated: I walked the dog every morning, got the coffee started before I left for work, helped Stephanie clean the house on Saturdays, and had gotten so used to wearing a wedding band that I didn't even notice its pressure now. I was even imaging what life would be like if we made the decision to have children one day.

Any enemies of mine that hadn't known about Stephanie before we got married now knew she was my wife, but so far there hadn't been any threats against her. I knew that there would always be that risk, but that risk had been present even before we'd been married or even an official couple. That had always been one of the reasons I'd said I would never get married, but like almost everything else in my life, my love for Stephanie had made me change my ways. I could spent an unlimited amount of time focused on the ways I'd made myself more vulnerable by falling in love and settling down, but I was choosing instead to focus on the ways it had made me a better person.

It was all just a matter of perspective.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the re-release of this story! I'll be working on my re-release for one of my other multi-chapter stories very soon.