Page 286 of Handsome Devil
“What…?” I said, a little flustered and confused. My heart was pounding.
“You can’t see it right now, but I’m down on one knee,” he said. “This was supposed to be awesome.”
I laughed. But only because I was starting to happy-cry.
“Devi,” he said, “will you stay married to me?”
“Yes! Of course I will. You’re my man.”
He rose up out of the water and put the necklace on me.
I touched the stone when he laid it on my chest. “What is this?” I said, still kind of dazed by this surprise.
“It’s a four-month anniversary gift. And I never got down on one knee for you. You deserved a proper proposal.”
“Dane…” I melted as he took me in his arms and kissed me.
Steam rose from our bodies and goosebumps rippled over my skin… hot and cold at once. I laughed happily as I shivered.
“I seriously don’t know how we got here,” I mumbled.
“In the hot tub?” Dane raised an eyebrow and kissed me again.
“Just…here,” I said softly, looking into his green eyes.
Maybe that was the beauty of it all. That I’d never really been able to understand what made usus. And I’d never been able to control it.
The road to our happily ever after was twisted. Unexpected and unpredictable. I never would’ve guessed, when we met, that Dane and I would end up in each other’s arms.
“Did we really make it?” I asked him.
“Make it?”
“To the happy ending? The part where we live happily ever after?”
“What if we did?”
“Well, fuck. How did we manage that?” I mused.
He smirked. “I have no idea. But I like it here.”
“Me, too.” My gaze fell to his lips. I reached up and drifted my fingertip over the curve of his bottom lip. “You know, once upon a time, I was determined to hate you.”
“Guess I was just too damn lovable.”
“You know what, Dane?” I told him. “You really are.”
