Page 49 of Secret Twins for the Texan

“What? Why not?”

He drew his legs up and swung them off the bed. “Because you’re ruining my plan.”

“Your plan? Why do you get to make a plan and I don’t? I’m trying to make a plan for us, Cole. I thought that was what you wanted, too.”

He paced over to the dresser, where his leather laptop bag was sitting. He must’ve been doing work at some point this evening. That was Cole. Ever the workaholic. He reached into the bag and turned around with a small gray box in his hand. “This is why you’re ruining my plan.” He handed her it to her and gathered his hands behind his back. “Go ahead. Open it,” he said with a nod.

Certainly Dani wasn’t lucky enough to have this many stars align all at once. Her heart was threatening to pound its way out of her chest as she tilted the top back. Inside, sat a beautiful, sparkly diamond solitaire.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m copying you, but I love you, Dani. I don’t want to waste another day not having you as my wife. We belong together. As a family.”

Dani looked down at the ring. “You’ve been busy all day. When did you have time to buy this?”

“Is that your way of saying yes?” The expectation in Cole’s eyes was enough to make her melt. He took the box from her hand and plucked the ring out of its home. “It’s not hard. You just say.something like, ‘Yes, Cole Sullivan, Iwillmarry you. Iwillbe your wife.’” He batted his lashes at her mockingly.

Dani laughed. How she loved their back-and-forth. “It is a stunning ring,” she said, messing with him a little bit.

He slid the ring on to her finger. “It looks good on your hand. It fits perfectly.” He then cast his mesmerizing eyes down at her with an expression she couldn’t fully describe. “Here’s where I make my full confession, Dani. I bought you this ring a week before my accident. Six years ago. I was all ready to ask you to marry me, and like a fool, I let our life together slip away. I’m not going to let that happen again. I can’t offer you a lifetime, but I can offer youmylifetime. Whether I have fifty years or fifty minutes in me, I don’t know. I only know that every second of it that we’re not together is a second wasted.”

The tears had turned to a steady stream. She’d once thought she could never get past the hurt of everything that had happened between them, but this step forward not only healed, it made them stronger. “I will marry you, Cole Sullivan. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”

He pulled her close and gave her his trademark kiss—soft and sensuous and so potent she couldn’t think straight. “That is music to my ears. I’ve never wanted to hear anything as much as I wanted to hear that.”

She set her head on his shoulder and admired her ring when she flattened her hand against his chest. “I’ve never been happier to say something.”

“So, I’ve been thinking since this morning. Just about everything else that we need to talk about.” Cole traced his fingers up and down Dani’s spine. “I want you and the boys to move out to the ranch. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it’s been in my family for generations and it would mean a lot to me.”

How could she possibly refuse such a heartfelt request? She couldn’t. She gazed up into his eyes. “Yes. Of course.”

Cole rewarded her with a sensuous kiss that made her knees wobble. “I was thinking that with you, Elena and the boys living out at the ranch, there won’t be nearly enough room for my parents when they come to visit. I was thinking we could have them stay here. Many miles away from the ranch.”

“Good God, you’re sexy when you’re brilliant.” Cole’s parents had certainly mellowed, but that didn’t mean she wanted them around all the time. Visits could be nice.

“We still need to talk about your job, Cole. I just can’t deal with you doing dangerous stuff all the time. It’ll kill me. I know you’re not really a desk job kind of guy, but surely there’s some compromise somewhere. Somehow.”

He was grinning like a fool, which usually meant he had something up his sleeve. “I’m way ahead of you. I’ve already decided I’m just going to do the investigative part of my job as soon as this case is done. It’s not good for me, anyway. The doctor wants me avoiding stress.”

“You know what’s good for alleviating stress?” Dani drew her finger down Cole’s chest, then leaned in for another kiss.

“I feel calmer already. Just imagine how great I’ll feel after you get out of that chef’s coat and into something more naked.”

The door behind Cole cracked open. Dani and Cole both jumped. “Mommy?” Cameron croaked. “I woke up and I can’t get back to sleep.”

“It’s okay, buddy. Maybe we can read one more story and then head back to bed,” Cole said. “But we’d better read it in here so we don’t wake up your brother. Do you think you can tiptoe into your room and get a book?”

Cameron nodded eagerly and rushed out into the hall.

“Hey. I’m sorry,” Dani said. “This shouldn’t ruin our plans tonight. He should go back to sleep pretty easily.”

“They’re our children, Dani. If you think I’m feeling put out, I’m not. I actually feel great.” He smiled and pulled her into his warm embrace. “I have two sweet boys and the sexiest, most incredible woman on the planet.” He punctuated his sweet statement with another soft kiss. “I can’t wait to be married to you.”

“I can’t wait, either. I love you so much.” She pulled him even closer, their gazes connected, and she reached down to grab his magnificent butt, giving it a nongentle squeeze. “And as soon as Cameron goes back to bed, I vote we start practicing for the honeymoon.”

* * * * *