Escorting the Actress (The Escort Collection 2)

"Let me try this again. Because apparently I didn't do a very good job." He traced my jawline with his thumb, making me shiver. "I asked you to marry me because I love you. I did it in that obnoxious manner because we needed a headline to trump our fight. Your premiere's coming up fast. You don't need any more trouble. You need to be on top." At that, he laid back and pulled me on top of him.

I relished the feel of him beneath me, his strong, muscled body fulfilling every wild dream I'd had about him. But this was serious, so I slid off him. "I'd love to be on top. Hell, I'd love to stay on top forever, but we need to figure this out."

He sat up again, undeterred. "You said yes, right?"

I nodded.

"Did you mean it?" he asked.

"What exactly did I say yes to?" I noticed that my heart was hammering.

"You said yes, in front of the press, to marrying me, which means they think we're engaged. You said yes when I asked you to marry me… which means I think we're engaged." He was quiet for a heavy beat. "And that means, to me, that we're committed to each other. Exclusively. Forever."

I held my breath and felt my eyes well up with stupid, inconvenient tears.

"And for me, forever starts right now," he continued. "But we can wait to get married for as long as you want. 'Cause I agree, six weeks is soon. Not too soon, but soon. I want to do this right. I want to give our marriage every chance to be successful. I'm only ready when you're ready." He stroked my back. "And I want to buy you a different ring. I've been thinking about this for a while, Lo. Like I'm a girl or something. I totally have a picture in my mind of what I want to get you." He looked stupefied by his own thoughts.

That was so adorable, I almost died. "That's really nice."

"I know, right? But listen—I know what I want. I know what this"—he pointed at the ring—"means to me. And if we went to Vegas tomorrow to elope, I wouldn't even hesitate." He watched my face. "But that's me. What about you? What did you say yes to?"

A tear slid down my cheek. I couldn't help it. I couldn't believe that he loved me like I loved him.

"So?" His jaw clenched at my silence and crying. "Are we engaged or aren't we?"

I wiped my face and looked at him. Tension rolled off him as his eyes searched my face.

"Of course we are, you big lug." I threw myself into his chest again. He wrapped his powerful arms around me, and I let myself cry against him. "Like I could ever be away from you again. Y'all is family."

"I'm not a plural, babe. Even though I totally understand you wishing I was." I heard the grin and dimples in his voice.

"I'll teach you one of these days—y'all can absolutely be used in the singular."

He kissed me, our lips coming together delicately at first, then changing into something deeper, more urgent. Kyle pulled back. "I'm gonna teach you a few things, young lady. Now that you've agreed to be mine, I can afford to take my time."

He ran his hands down me, and I giggled a little breathlessly. "That sounds exciting and bad all at the same time."

"It's both, babe—and it's bad in a very, very good way," he said, his massive form looming over me. "You better get used to it."

He kissed my neck, and I took a deep breath. I could get used to this. Very, very used to this.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I didn't want him to stop, but I couldn't stop asking questions.

He sighed and leaned up. "We're still talking, aren't we?" He sounded humorously resigned.

"I can't help myself." I smiled at him, feeling guilty for stopping him again. But I had to know that this was real, and I needed to feel all the corners of the situation out. "How's this gonna work? You're going to go back to Boston, and I'm going to stay here, or go on location, and we'll see each other… when, exactly?"

Kyle sighed and rolled off me. "You're really trying to keep me outta there, aren't you?" I must've looked stressed because he smiled indulgently and patted my hand. "We'll make it work, babe. I can fly out here on weekends, or we can take turns. When you go on location, I'll take vacation days to see you. We can Skype." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "People do it all the time. We can do it too."

"And what about… our parents? For real? They're going to freak. You know that, right? We were joking about it before, but it's not funny."

Kyle shook his head. "We're just going to tell them the truth. And they're just gonna have to live with it."

"But people are going to find out about us eventually." I swallowed hard. "At some point, the press will discover your real name. They'll figure out who your father is and that our parents were married. It's gonna happen. It's just a matter of time." I looked over at our phones, which hadn't stopped beeping with texts and media alerts. "What happens then?"

He pulled me against him. "

I don't know. I only know that what we have is the most important thing to me. Everything else will just have to work itself out."