Page 81 of Deserving Ryleigh
She liked that philosophy. If he’d said their lives would be perfect, she probably would’ve felt uneasy. But knowing he expected there to be bumps in their road made her feel less stressed about the whole thing. “Okay.”
“Okay what?” Tiny asked with a small furrow in his brow.
“I’ll let you marry me.”
He chuckled at that, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. She felt him grow hard against her belly. “Maybe we should go to our cabin and celebrate our betrothal.”
She giggled. “Our betrothal? Who says that?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted.
“We said we’d help with the fire,” she reminded him.
He sighed dramatically. “Fine. You’re such a hard taskmaster.”
Ry’s smile grew. “Yup.”
The grin faded from Tiny’s expression. One hand came up to cup the side of her face. “I love you, Ryleigh Lodge. Exactly how you are. Genius computer hacker, generous friend, protector of everyone here at The Refuge. I want to spend the rest of my days learning everything there is to know about you and watching you blossom.”
“Tiny,” she murmured, trying desperately to hold back the tears that had welled in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” he ordered. “This is a happy moment.”
“Sorry, I know,” she said with a wobbly smile. “I love you too. And I have no idea why in the world you want to marry me, a weirdo who would rather sit inside in front of a computer than anything else, but I’ll always put you first. I’ll be a woman you can trust to sleep by your side and protect you from anyone who might dare to touch one hair on your head.”
Tiny leaned down and kissed her lips lightly.
They stood like that, wrapped in each other’s arms for several minutes, until Jasna went running past them yelling, “Hurry up, slowpokes! We’re gonna have s’mores!”
Tiny chuckled and pulled back. “Guess that’s our cue to get our butts in gear.”
“Guess so,” Ry agreed.
As they started for the fire grounds, Tiny said nonchalantly, “We can go shopping for a ring next week.”
“I don’t need a ring,” Ry said.
“Well, I’m getting you one, so get used to it. I want everyone who sees your finger to know you’re taken.”
Ry wanted to point out that it wasn’t as if people were beating down her door to date her, or that anyone other than him hadevershown the slightest interest in her.And, she didn’t want anyone but him…but she couldn’t deny she wanted to wear his ring. “Will you wear one too? I mean, when we get married?”
“Hell yeah, I’m wearing one. I want everyone to know I belong to you.”
It was a good answer. No, it was an awesome answer.
She squeezed his hand as they walked. He glanced over and gave her a loving smile. “This is gonna work,” he said firmly. “I’m gonna make sure it does.”
They reached the ring of logs that sat around the property’s firepit.
“Over here!” Jasna called, gesturing them toward her. “We need to put the small sticks down first, then the bigger logs on top. Once it’s going, we can add more wood.” It was obvious the girl had absorbed everything about fire-starting from the camps she’d attended, and from all the bonfires they’d held at The Refuge.
“Go on, I’ll carry the logs so you don’t hurt your hands,” Tiny told her.
Ry went up on tiptoes and kissed him. “Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me for doing anything that might keep you from being hurt,” he returned, kissing her hard, then heading for the woodpile.
He was wrong. No one else in her entire life, includingher father, had ever done anything to keep her from harm. Harold had actuallyputher in harm’s way. It was hard to get used to Tiny’s protection and care, but she liked it. A lot.
