It was only the rest of my goddamn life on the line. Our lives, if I was lucky. Luckier than I deserved to be.
I opened the door just as the girls drove off. Apparently, they’d taken Claire to the salon for a spa day. Another thing she had balked at. It had taken some serious arm twisting to get her to go. Kelly had told a little fib about winning a gift card or some such. It had worked.
But all of that flew out of my head. Every single coherent thought was gone. Just seeing her there, standing so sweetly in front of me . . . it was a total brain melt. My heart melted too.
Claire had never looked more beautiful. It was almost too much for me to take in. Her shiny hair drifted over her shoulders in soft waves. She had done something to her face as well, shown off by the new style of her hair. I realized it was pulled back at the temples so I could see every inch of her.
Makeup, I realized stupidly. Claire was wearing makeup.
The girl had been beautiful before, but now she was stunning. Magazine pretty. But without the airbrushing. Because Claire didn’t need it.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hi,” I boomed out, belatedly realizing I had left her standing in the doorway while I stared at her like a goddamn buffoon. I stepped back quickly, letting her in.
Of course, once she stepped in, she knew something was up. I watched her carefully, softly closing the door behind her. A pathway of rose petals and candles led to the dining area of the eat-in kitchen. I’d used the original dining room space to create a wider hallway and add to the size of the two existing bathrooms. But the kitchen was bigger too, bumped out into the back yard and looking really damned good, if you asked me.
“What is all this?”
I cleared my throat as I took her jacket, hanging it on the back of one of the tall kitchen stools around the island. Then I turned her to face me.
“Claire. I think you know how I feel about you. But just in case you don’t . . .”
I slowly lowered myself to one knee. She slapped a hand over her mouth and stared at me in shock. The girls had been right. This one, special, exceptional, remarkably beautiful woman had no clue the spell she’d woven over me. She had no clue as to how I felt about her. And she had no idea how far I would go to keep her, and protect her, for the rest of my days.
“I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way about someone. I didn’t even know someone like you could even exist. You are a good person through and through, gifted and hardworking, loyal, caring, funny, sweet, and loving. And now that I’ve met you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want the whole world to know how much I love you.”
I reached into my pocket and brought out the velvet jewelry box that held the ring she had chosen with the girls.
Her eyes grew wide as I snapped it open.
“Will you marry me, Claire?”
Time stood still as she stared at the ring, blinked, then looked at me. Her eyes are watery, I thought worriedly. Was that a good sign or a bad sign?
And then she nodded, her hand still covering her mouth. She lifted it away as if she had forgotten it was there. Then she spoke. It was barely a whisper but it was enough.
“Yes, Hunter. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The relief flooded my body, taking all the tension and fear away and filling me with love and gratitude. She was mine. She loved me too. I was up like a shot, pulling her into my arms and holding her so tightly that she squeaked. I eased up, leaning back to stare into her beautiful eyes. She’d said yes. In a heartbeat, everything in the world would be all right.
I was set. We were set. We were going to be together forever.
I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her, hard. She gasped into my mouth as our bodies took over, my erection pressing into her belly. She arched against me as our tongues tangled.
And just like that, dinner was pushed back by at least an hour or two. I had things to do before we ate. I had to take care of my woman.
“I hope you aren’t too hungry,” I murmured as I lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom. There were candles here too. And the bed was covered in rose petals. It had been an educational experience, to say the least, trying to make them into the shape of a heart.