Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

She stiffened, hating that anyone made him feel less than the perfect. “I’m so sorry.”

“It is what it is … or should I say it was what it was? But when Hudson came to me and offered the opportunity to go with him, all I could think about was, this is it. My chance to carve out a place for myself in the world apart from my family, and I took it.”

She nodded in understanding. Not once since that time had she thought of his reasons for taking the position and leaving everyone he loved behind. She’d been so wrapped up in her own head and past, she hadn’t given a thought to him or his emotional needs.

“Selfish,” she muttered. “I was so selfish. I should have been worried about you. Instead I was tied up with me.”

He shook his head. “Shh. We both handled it not in the best way. And I admit I thought I’d go, and we’d somehow manage to stay together, but that was naïve and stupid. I didn’t take your past or your feelings into consideration.”

“And I didn’t let you explain or discuss it with me. I cut you off and walked away.” She brushed his hair off his forehead. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. To be honest, I don’t think I understood the job until I got there. After I saw the good I was accomplishing, I realized my calling to be a doctor wasn’t something to be made fun of, like my father did, but that I could make a difference. Without a football,” he said wryly. “It got me over my so-called daddy issues.”

She appreciated his honesty and the vulnerability he showed her and needed to reciprocate. “Can I ask you something?”

He brushed his lips over hers. “Anything.”

She rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. “Was it easy to leave me?” she asked. Because that was her biggest fear. That she was disposable. Easy to leave, to abandon.

Grasping her wrist, he intertwined their fingers. “No. Leaving you was the hardest part of what I did. I thought about you all the time. And I can honestly promise you, I won’t be going anywhere without you again.”

He stretched out on the sofa, pulling her on top of him, his mouth devouring hers in all the best ways, and as kissing turned to stripping each other out of their clothes and their bodies finally joining together, Willow knew she’d found her home at last.

They lay in blissful silence for a few minutes when a nagging thought began to intrude. “I hate to ruin the mood, but I have to ask. What are you going to do about Cole and the fact that he tried to manipulate us into breaking up?”

He let out a low, annoyed growl at the mention of her ex. “I’m talking to Ian as soon as I can find him about firing the son of a bitch. I can’t have someone working under me that I don’t trust. Not to mention I don’t want the bastard around you anymore.”

Her shoulders relaxed at his words. “Good. I never realized how devious or jealous he could be.”

“He hid it well. But don’t give him another thought. He’s not our problem anymore or won’t be very soon.”

Eventually, they moved into the bedroom, and she settled beneath the covers, the air conditioning chilling her skin.

“I’ll be right back,” Braden said, striding naked toward the bathroom, giving her a titillating view of his tanned back and firm behind, but she realized he’d walked into the closet instead.

She shrugged and lay back against the pillows, closing her eyes, feeling when his weight dipped the mattress. She pushed herself up against the pillows. Noticing he had one hand behind his back, she wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What do you have there?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I may be getting ahead of myself here, but the one thing that’s been between us is your questioning my commitment to you. Whether or not I’d stay in town.”

“A fear I think I proved to you I’ve conquered.” And she was proud of that fact.

He nodded. “But that doesn’t change what I want for us. For my future. For our future.” He moved his arm from behind his back and revealed a small black velvet ring box, and she sucked in a startled breath.

“Braden?”

“I bought this knowing what I wanted but realizing I had to give you time to trust me, and I know now that you do.” He opened the box to reveal an emerald-cut diamond halo setting in a white-gold band with smaller diamonds making up the ring.

“Willow, I love you now and I will love you for the rest of my life. I don’t want to rush you into anything you aren’t ready for as far as how soon we get married, but I hope you’ll agree to wear my ring. And marry me when you’re ready.”