conversation left off. She was about to tell Alex she loved him. “I love Mariana, and …” Shoot. This was a lot harder than she expected. But she knew for certain that Alex was different than Josh. And their outcome would be different. “I love you, too.”
His brows shot up. “Really?”
A rattle echoed from the kitchen. Boomer was tucked away in his crate so she didn’t have anything to worry about. “Yes, really.”
“Wanna know what I figured out this week?” He gazed at her with an anxious look on his face.
“What did you figure out?”
He took both her hands again. “I don’t want to be without you. Without you and Lizzie. When you said you didn’t want anyone like Josh, I got scared that I’d lost you. I panicked. Storming out of here was the wrong thing for me to do, but I didn’t know how to fix it.”
There was another rattle from the kitchen. She chose to ignore it. “You weren’t wrong to end the argument until I’d had time to think it over. I was overreacting to an irrational fear that I was reflecting on you.”
“If you were afraid, it was something I should have listened to instead of avoiding the conversation. Because it was valid. Josh was, is, a jerk for leaving you. For running around climbing Everest—”
“Annapurna.”
“Wherever. For thinking that’s where he should be. He should be here. But he’s not, and I am. And I’m not letting you go. I love you too much.”
She’d never get tired of hearing those words. “Say it again.”
“Say what again?”
She grinned. Now he was toying with her. “What you just said.”
He brought his finger to his lips and pursed them.
She waited… and then waited some more. “Ale—”
“I love you!” He practically screamed it and she smacked her hands over his mouth. He whispered around her fingers. “I love you, Cameron. I love Lizzie. I even love Boomer.”
The clinking of metal on metal grew louder. But she wasn’t about to check on the dog. She and Alex had exciting things to share, so she nodded at him to continue.
“Of course, I love you. How could I not? I think I started falling in love with you that first day when you whipped into the school parking lot all frazzled. I saw how you loved Lizzie. Even when you were frustrated with her. You know the girls cooked up missing the bus that first day so we would meet, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “Those girls.”
Alex dropped to his knees. More precisely, one knee. He fumbled with something in his pocket and pulled out a tiny box.
Her heart started racing and her hands shook, but she didn’t say anything.
“I had to make one stop before I came over here.” He flipped open the lid to reveal a stunning solitaire diamond on a platinum band. “If you don’t like it, we can pick out another one, but this one reminded me of you and it just called to—”
She pressed a finger against his lips. She’d never seen him quite so undone. “Is there something you wanted to ask me?”
He grinned. “Oh, yeah. Will you marry—”
A huge crash had her turning toward the kitchen just as Boomer bounded into the room. When he spotted Alex on his knee, he leapt.
Alex went down, Boomer on top of him. “—me?”
She wouldn’t let a little thing like her dog ruin this almost perfect moment. She grabbed at Boomer’s collar and pulled him off Alex. “Yes! Yes! I’ll marry you!”
Two little girl squeals echoed around the corner then they rushed in and dragged Boomer down the hall with them.
“I guess they approve.” Alex scrambled to his knees and picked up the ring box where it had flown when Boomer struck. He pulled out the ring and slipped it onto her third finger.
She held up her hand, admiring the sparkling stone. It was a perfect fit—like their family. “So do I.”