Every Little Thing (Hart's Boardwalk 2)

Well, being Bailey Hartwell meant always speaking my mind.

“You want me to move in with you, don’t you?”

His gaze flew to mine. “It’s too fast.”

“But you want to ask anyway,” I teased, delight bubbling up inside of me.

“You don’t think it’s too fast?” he asked, sounding amazed.

“Vaughn.” I laughed. “We’ve been dancing around each other for almost four years, and we’ve definitely been dancing around this for months. It feels like we’ve been together much longer, doesn’t it?”

And then he slayed me with that smoldering, loving look of his. “It feels like I’ve loved you forever.”

I melted into him. “Then ask me to move in with you.”

“Bailey, will you move in with me?”

“Yes.” I grinned, knowing people would think we were crazy and not giving a shit. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

Vaughn turned into me, and then instead of kissing me like I thought he would, he produced a small, black velvet box from inside his jacket.

The blood whooshed in my ears as my heart raced.

I stared down at the box he had pressed tight between us. And then he opened it.

A stunning white gold band with one large, simple, but beautiful diamond.

It was the perfect engagement ring for me.

My eyes flew to Vaughn’s and my already ragged breath stopped at the fierce love in his gaze.

“I’ve been walking around with this for the past week, knowing it was soon, but needing to have it with me anyway. I wanted to have it for that moment when I finally knew you were ready. When you finally got it: that you and I are it. I’m usually a very patient man when I’m going after something I want, but I’m impatient to have you. I want our lives together to start. Now. So . . . Bailey Hartwell, will you marry me?”

The moment, my life in general, felt very surreal . . .

People would call us crazy.

I’d call myself crazy!

“People will call us crazy.”

Vaughn smirked. “Aren’t we?”

I laughed, staring into the eyes of this sexy, smart, brooding, complicated man, and not one part of me wanted to say no. Yes, I was scared, I was nervous, I was overwhelmed, but I couldn’t imagine saying no. All I could imagine was waking up every morning to Vaughn, going to work at the inn and returning home here—to a fully redecorated house—to him, and raising our kids here.

In Hartwell.

Together.

“Yes.” I nodded, grinning like a lovesick teenager. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Joy lit up Vaughn’s face, the kind of joy that melted away the hardness in him, until I knew I was staring at the boy in him, the boy who actually did believe in love and was no longer afraid to admit it.

My feelings for him consumed me and as he tried to kiss me and slide the ring on my finger at the same time, he tasted the salty tears of my happiness and he laughed.

And it was beautiful.

EPILOGUE