Love Me Again, Cowboy

His gaze finds mine. “Because I made a mistake. I handled things poorly, and I came here to tell you that I was wrong. I was so wrong, Malia.”

Well, that was definitely not what I expected him to say. “I’m sorry, but can you say that again? I want to sear this into my memory for all time.”

He drops his head and laughs. “I was wrong. And I followed you out to Hollywood to tell you I’m sorry. We should make decisions together, as a couple. And you were right, I was holding things back from you. The truth is, my ex . . . Brittany . . . may try to get custody of Audrey, and my girlfriend being in rehab, well it could have—”

My free hand flies to my mouth. “Oh my gosh, Jax. She could use that against you in court.” My heart sinks. The thought that I could have been the reason Jax would lose custody of Audrey. I shake my head. “I’m so sorry.”

He pulls my hand from my mouth. “Hey, you didn’t know. It’s not your fault. I should have just told you. I’m sorry it took me so long to see that.”

“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry too. For all of it. I was so caught up in getting the role that I wasn’t seeing things clearly. And the truth is, this Hollywood life, it isn’t for me. Not like this, not anymore. I don’t want the deceit and game playing and men who try to manipulate me. I don’t want to have to worry about the paparazzi tracking me down and invading my personal life. It’s not what I want.”

Jax gazes at me, his blue eyes are deep with hope, love, longing. He reaches up and cups my face. His touch is warm, and I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it in such a short amount of time. He leans in so that his lips are hovering over mine. His touch is warm and inviting. He brushes his thumb over my cheekbone. “And what do you want?”

I give him the famous come-hither stare. “You know exactly what I want,” I breathe.

A slow smile spreads over his handsome face. “Well, that’s a good thing then. I may have let you go once, but I’ll never make that mistake again.”

I close the distance, pressing my lips to his, and it’s like coming home again. One hand slides into my hair, while the other presses me to him. I pull him closer to me, feeling like I just can’t get close enough. He kisses me deeply, and I never want to let him go. Maybe I wouldn’t if we weren’t in an elevator. We reluctantly end the kiss, smiling and breathing heavily.

“There’s another reason I came here,” he says. “I didn't plan to do this here, but I can’t wait another moment.” He takes a deep breath, drops to one knee, and pulls out a small Tiffany’s box.

My hand flies to my chest, and a squeak escapes me. I gawk at Jax on one knee, and not only do I imagine walking down the aisle to him in a white dress but I also imagine a life shared, a beautiful life with Audrey, with love and respect, with laughter and tears of joy, with lazy afternoons and long nights. There is no doubt in my mind that I want to grow old with Jaxon Wyle. Before I can answer, the elevator door chimes and opens. A family of four is standing there in their swimsuits, staring at us in surprise. A boy in water wings squeezes a blowup dolphin so that it squeaks.

Jax lowers the little blue box. “Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best time after all.”

The woman smiles guiltily at us and puts her hand on her son’s shoulder to keep him from getting on the elevator. “We’ll take the next one.”

Jax reaches over and hits the Close Door button. The doors slide shut.

Jax raises the box back up again. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” He takes another breath. “Okay, where was I? Oh, yes.” He gives me a wink and an award-winning Jaxon smile. I laugh. He opens the box to reveal its contents and takes my left hand in his. The ring is a sparkling pink oval diamond set in rose gold. “Malia Kalama, I’ve loved you since I was eighteen-years-old. You stole my heart the first moment I saw you—”

The elevator chimes again before opening up to the same family.

The woman is pulling the little boy’s hand away from the Up button and has a horrified look on her face. “I’m so sorry, he pushed the button again. Just ignore us. Really, carry on.”

Jaxon drops his head, chuckling, and it takes everything I have not to laugh out loud. I reach over and push the Close Door button and then the button for the top floor. As the door starts to close, the waiting dad’s eyes widen, and he blurts out, “Are you Malia Kalama?” The door continues to close, but he moves his head to see through the crack, “Probably not a good time to ask for an autograph?” His wife smacks him just before the door shuts.

I giggle at the frustrated expression on Jax’s face. “Okay cowboy, you have twenty-five floors to get it out. You were saying?”

“Right. Well, for starters, I’m willing to put up with all of that strangeness, just so long as I’m the only man in your life. No more fake boyfriends—”

“Is this a proposal or a negotiation?”

“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “Malia Kalama, I love you. I always have, and I always will. I promise to make you picnics with chocolate cake. And Audrey has made it very clear that I can’t come home without you. Will you marry me and join our little family?”

My heart is bursting with joy. I fall to my knees and take Jax’s face in my hands. “Nothing would make me happier than to join your family and be your wife. I love you, cowboy, with everything I am.” He smiles and kisses me again. The kiss speaks of new beginnings and old love, of untethered passion and promises of devotion. I don’t know how long we stay there on our knees kissing as if nothing else matters, but eventually I hear a familiar chime. A moment later we end the kiss, breathing heavily and resting our foreheads against one another.

Someone clears their throat.

We peer over to see the same family from earlier. They must have hit the Down button again. We were so caught up in our moment that we didn’t notice the elevator moving the opposite direction. The mom is covering both of the kids’ eyes and smiling at us with a dreamy expression, and the dad gazes at me hopefully, holding a pen and paper he must have taken from the front desk.

Jax and I look at each other and laugh. He stand

s and helps me to my feet.

“She said yes,” he announces to the family. They cheer for us. Jax takes my left hand and gazes at me with such affection that it takes my breath away. “It’s a good thing you’re right-handed. It would be a shame if your hand was too swollen to wear the ring.” He slides it onto my finger: a perfect fit.

We finally exit the elevator. I sign the paper for the dad and take a couple selfies with the family. They give us another round of congratulations before we walk away hand in hand. As soon as we leave the hotel, I spot several paparazzi lying in wait.