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“Hmmm?” He grips me tighter, and I feel my body press even more against his hard one.
I continue playing with the strands of his hair, loving the privacy wall his hat gives us as he keeps his head pressed to mine.
“I think you need to do it.”
“Do what, love?” The dreamy tone in his voice tells me he’s just as wrapped up in our dance as I am. My body is lax in his and if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine we aren’t dancing in front of a room full of people. People that can determine the fate of his ranch and potentially affect the success of the town should it lose the rodeo all together.
My heart flutters at the use of his word ‘love.’ I know he doesn’t mean it in a way that he loves me. That’s impossible. But that doesn’t stop the way my body reacts to it, or the way my heart wants to believe that it’s true.
“You need to propose. Tonight. Right now.”
His body shoots up as he looks down at me. The curtain of our privacy is gone. I can now see how everyone is looking at us, whether they are openly gawking or trying to be discreet.
“You said no.”
“And now I’m saying yes. You need to, Chance.” I sneak a glance at our table, finding everyone watching us with smug faces. Everyone but Wyatt, who’s sending a death glare to Abby, who in turn, is acting as if her nails are the most important thing in the world.
I’m going to have to find out about that later. I can only put out one fire at a time.
“Did you get a ring?” I whisper, reaching up to continue playing with his hair.
His shoulders drop and the tick in his jaw lessens, telling me this is the surefire way to get him to start to relax.
He flicks a glance over my shoulder and nods.
I lift my free hand and cup his cheek, bringing his gaze back to mine. I stroke my thumb along his skin, feeling the rough stubble along his jaw. “What’s one more lie, right?” I ask with a weak smile.
My heart breaks as I ask that, as I know I don’t want it to be a lie. If Chance were to get down on one knee and propose to me, I would want it to be for real. But that’s not the reality we’re in right now. I have to take what I can get, and that’s what’s best for the town and the ranch.
He stares into my eyes for another moment. The ice blue eyes that used to remind me of everything cold and hard now fill me with hope that maybe, just maybe, we can pull this off. The longer we stand here in our own little world, the song changing to Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dying Man’ as we continue to sway in each other’s arms.
“I’ve asked too much of you, Dakota. I can’t ask you to do this.”
I can hear defeat in his voice, and I hate it. I hate all of this.
“You didn’t ask for anything I wasn’t willing to give, Chance. Yes, I may not have liked how you did things, but I wouldn’t have gone along with it if I didn’t want to.” I continue to stroke my thumb along his jaw, feeling the tension wash away with every swipe. “Ask me Chance, I’ll say yes. Even if you present me with the most hideously ugly ring I’ve ever seen.” I smile and breathe a sigh of relief when he returns it with his own.
His hand trails up my side and over my shoulder, resting on my cheek. We stand still, embracing and looking into each other’s eyes. To the rest of the room, we must look like a couple very much in love, sharing an intimate moment that they are just privy to, and that’s what we want to them to believe. In reality, we’re just working out an amendment to our agreement. And addendum that we are negotiating wordlessly.
Chance leans in and kisses my forehead while whispering, “Are you sure about this, sweetheart?”
“As sure as I’m going to be,” I answer, closing my eyes and holding on to him.
Everything is going to change in a moment. I’ll no longer be his fake girlfriend; I’ll be his fake fiancée.
Addie’s going to kill me.
After another couple of breaths, he nods and pulls a box out of his jeans pocket and drops to his knee. Holding my hand, he looks up at me with hesitation as the whole room collectively gasps. The music lowers and the murmurs start.
“Dakota…” he starts. He swallows, and my eyes are drawn to the movement of his Adam’s apple. His palm goes sweaty in mine, and I can’t help but feel bad for him. This is so out of his comfort zone and I’m sure that it goes against everything he’s ever believed about himself in relationships.
“Breathe, Chance,” I say with a reassuring smile, giving his hand a squeeze.
He takes a breath and gives me a weak smile. He clears his throat before continuing. “Dakota. You know I’m bad at these things, but…will you marry me?”
He opens the box to a vintage looking ring. It has a marquise diamond set on a gold band, surrounded by smaller channel diamonds.
“Chance,” I say, stunned. The ring is gorgeous, and nothing like what I thought it would be. I look from the ring to him, seeing the hesitation, and if I guessed, fear, in his face. “Yes, Chance. I’ll marry you.”
