Page 88 of When a Cowboy Falls Hard
“Could be, I suppose.” He kept walking, passing the lineup of vehicles until they reached the van at the end. Then he glanced over his shoulder. “Good. Nobody’s paying attention. Let’s skedaddle around to the other side of the van.”
“Monty. I thought we had an agreement.” But she went, anyway. If he was about to ask if she’d resume their affair, could she resist the temptation?
“We did.” Taking off his hat and setting it on the roof of the van, he pulled her close. “If you want to keep things the way they’ve been the past two weeks….” He paused. “I’ll find a way to live with it.”
“You want to continue our affair?”
“No. I want to marry you.”
Her world shifted under the weight of those words. But they made no sense. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. The shock of Tex going missing might have been enough to show me what an idiot I’ve been. I went crazy thinking something might happen to that little guy. But then my family showed up to help find him and that was the clincher.”
“What does your family searching for Tex have to do with us?”
“It convinced me Adam’s nothing like my dad. My brother doesn’t handle everything himself. He calls for help from the rest of us. Turns out, so do I. And by the way, Tracy’s pretty sure she’s pregnant but she hasn’t confirmed it so keep that to yourself.”
“I will, but?—”
“I talked to Adam just now. He has no qualms about having kids and he plans to live a long time.” He sucked in a breath. “So do I. I’d love to spend that long life with you and Tex. If you’ll have me.”
“You’re giving me whiplash.” He was also melting the resistance she’d worked so hard to create. “You were so sure you’d get it wrong and screw up our lives. You made a believer of me.”
“Oh, I’ll get things wrong. But I won’t screw up your lives because my family is there to help me correct course. They’ll remind me if I start sounding like a one-man show who can do it all.”
“And you’ll listen?”
“You bet I will if the reward is you and Tex.” His brow furrowed. “But I can’t do anything about the short timeline. Nobody would blame you for saying you don’t know me well enough to make that decision. The thing is, Tex has already made his. He’s stuck on me and it looks like we can’t unstick him.”
Tape. He was referencing her son’s fascination with tape. A loving father would do that. He was getting to her, burrowing under her defenses, making her a believer.
“One other thing. Instant attraction also runs in my family. My dad met our mamacita at a dance and it was love at first sight for them, too. But they didn’t believe in it and agreed to part ways. Two weeks later, my dad showed up and proposed. So I’m right on time.”
“Did she accept?”
“No, but she didn’t say no, either. She made him work for it. He had to woo her.”
“For how long?”
“A few weeks. But since you haven’t said no, I’d be happy to put in the time if that’s what it takes. I guess proposing behind a van in the middle of the day with my whole family milling around isn’t very romantic. I can do better, I can?—”
“Be quiet.” She slid her arms around his neck. “Be quiet and kiss me.”
He did. He most certainly did. In under three seconds she was plastered against him, her hands in his hair, her body aching for more.
“Hey, guys, I was sent to see if that hat on the roof is—whoa!”
Monty ended the kiss, but slowly. He loosened his hold but didn’t let go as he locked his gaze with hers. “It’s a signal, Rio. I’m trying to get Zinnia to marry me.”
“If I may make a suggestion, you should climb into the van. You might have more success.”
“Thanks for the tip, little brother. Is Tex with you?”
“No, he’s busy passing out brownies. We all decided brownies are perfectly appropriate for breakfast. But they’re going fast. Want me to save you some?”
“I still have the ones Tex gave me.”
“Zinnia? Want me to set some aside?”
