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He skimmed his fingers down my arm, taking both my hands in his.
“I’ll be honest. When I asked you to come here last time, I didn’t have a plan. I just knew that I wanted to be near you any way I could, for as long as I could. But now... now I have a plan.”
“You do?”
He nodded, tightening his grip on my hands.
“I’ve thought about where to do this for weeks. First I thought about taking you to a restaurant, or on a trip, but then I figured... why not do it here? It’s where I first realized that I wanted to do whatever it took to win you over. This place means something to both of us.” He interlaced our fingers, squeezing them lightly before letting go of my left hand. He reached inside his jacket. I didn’t see what he took out, because he was holding it in his closed fist. What was going on?
He opened his hand slowly, and my heart all but exploded. He was holding an engagement ring! The most beautiful one I’d ever seen. It had a round diamond in the center with tiny green gemstones around it.
“Marry me, Heather Prescott. Be my wife. You, Avery, and I are already a family, but I want to make it official. I want everyone to know that both of you are mine.”
I had never felt overwhelmed by so many emotions in a matter of seconds.
I put my arms around his neck, going up on my tiptoes and kissing him. I’d intended a light smooch only, but the second I touched my lips to his, I became ravenous... and so was he.
Ryker kissed me so deliciously well that I just wanted to melt against him. I felt him put one palm at the small of my back, pressing me into him until I was flat against his chest... and still he kept pressing. I loved the possessive touch, the nearly desperate way he was claiming my mouth. I’d been on edge this past hour, but it was nothing compared to how I felt now—completely wrapped up in Ryker. When I ran a hand through his hair, lightly tugging at it, I felt him smile against my mouth.
“That counts as yes?” he asked, pulling back, smiling from ear to ear.
“What do you think?”
I looked between us when he took my left hand in his. He slid the ring on before interlacing our hands again, just holding them tight. This felt surreal. I wanted to find the right words to tell him how happy I was, but I couldn’t form any words at all. Ryker didn’t seem to share my predicament.
“I love you, Heather. I can’t wait for us to be a team. A family. Every day, when you wake up, I want you to look at our life together and smile. I’ll make sure of that.”
Oh goodness, why was he saying all these sweet things? I’d just discovered they were my kryptonite.
“And how?” I asked playfully, determined not to become misty eyed.
Ryker let go of my hands, cupping my face.
“You’ll see. You don’t have to know everything right away.”
“Ah, so one of your tactics is to always keep me guessing?” I was grinning now.
“One of my many tactics.”
“In that case, I’m promising the same in return. Not the guessing part. The smiling part.”
He kept cradling my face, and something told me he wasn’t done making me swoon.
“Whatever you want, you name it, I’ll get it for you. Do it for you. I’ll be there for everything. The busy days, late
nights. Shopping trips for which I still have to sharpen my negotiation skills. When you have a deadline, I’ll be there pushing you toward the finish line... celebrating after it. When you’re too stressed, I’ll help you relax.”
“I think I know how you plan to do that.”
He gripped my waist possessively before skimming one hand down to my hip, pressing his fingers on my skin. I licked my lower lip. His eyes flashed.
I traced my hand over his chest slowly, loving the way his grip on me tightened, as if he was barely hanging in there. The passion was always there, simmering just under the surface.
“I promise that I’ll give in every time,” I said with a wiggle of my eyebrows. “And pretend to be surprised.”
He pinched my ass. I yelped, in turn pinching his arm. When I realized he was about to retaliate, I took a huge step back.
“Okay, okay, I didn’t really mean that. You’re quite good at surprises. And promises.” On a sigh, I added, “How can I keep up? Oh, I know! I promise I’ll always be up for anything from getting down and dirty to generally just taking care of you,” I finished.
