Page 237 of Wait for Him

God, I missed being able to read her like this.

"Is that right?"

"Absolutely."

I step closer and pull her against my chest before she can continue arguing with me about a future neither one of us is actually disputing. Her hands settle against my sides, and I cup her jaw in my palm.

Her eyes flutter closed, just for half a second.

There it is. That tiny fucking reaction gets me every time.

"But make no mistake, woman." I wait until she opens her eyes again. "You're going to be my wife."

The smile disappears. So does mine.

"You can argue with me about the terminology. You can complain that I skipped a procedural step. You can even pretend you don't already know what your answer is going to be." I rub my thumb slowly across her cheek. "But you're going to be my wife, Rose. Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, you're my fiancée."

"That is not how engagements work."

"It's how ours works."

Her fingers curl into my shirt. "You’re extremely arrogant. You know I could say no when you finally ask me."

“Sure, baby.”

“I could!”

“Yes, you sure could. I believe in you.”

"Fuck you."

I kiss the corner of her mouth. "Later, fiancée."

She rolls her eyes, but I feel her smile against my lips.

"On every hard surface in our apartment," I add.

"Keep talking and I'll make you sleep on one."

"There she is."

I kiss her properly this time, still smiling because she can argue the engagement process all she wants.

She didn't argue the wife part.

Not once.

Rose

“What the hell is going on?” Jackson asks.

I look up at him and immediately understand the concern. In his defense, he’s been gone for less than ten minutes.

He got a phone call and stepped away from the table, leaving behind a group of mostly functional adults eating pizza like normal human beings. Unfortunately, ten minutes is more than enough time for things to deteriorate without supervision, because somewhere in that very small window, Michael, James, and I talked Blaire into judging a pizza-eating contest.

I’m not entirely sure who suggested it. I’m even less sure why the rest of us agreed.

But here we are.