Page 142 of In Stormy Weather
“Glad I’m barely a step above work, Pres.”
“It’s good for you to know your place.” Quincy tugs me to the couch. She moves a stack of papers so I can sit, adding them to the pile on the floor. “You look tired.”
“You know I don’t sleep well when you aren’t around.”
“Such a sap.”
“I love you,” I say, and her smile is blinding and bright.
“I love you too.”
“Truth or Dare, Quinny baby?”
“Really?” She rolls her eyes and pokes my stomach. I grab her hand and curl my fingers around her wrist, kissing every knuckle. “That’s the first thing you want to do when you’re back in town?”
“Appease me, please.”
Quincy huffs. “Dare.”
“Good choice.” I slip off the couch and onto the floor, a knee popped up and her hand in mine. “That’s better.”
“What are you doing?”
“You said dare.”
“And that requires you to be on your knees?”
“You know I love being on my knees.”
“What is going on, Seb?”
“I asked you to play Truth or Dare all those months ago because I wanted to use it as a chance to get to know you. I knew some things about you, but I didn’tknowyou. There was no way in hell you were going to tell me outright, so I made it a game. And it’s a game I’m going to win.”
“I didn’t think there were winners and losers in Truth or Dare.”
“Oh, there are winners. It’s why I’ve been waiting patiently for today.”
“Is today a special day? It’s Tuesday. The worst day of the week.”
“It is a special day. Because I know you, Quincy Monroe. I know you only pick a dare after ten truths. I know you pretend to weigh the two options, but you always stick to the same pattern.” I pull out the velvet box from my pocket. Her breath hitches. She sits up and scoots to the edge of the couch. “Which is why I waited very, very patiently.”
“What is that?” she whispers.
“What do you think it is?” I ask.
“A ring.”
“You’ve always been so smart, sweetheart. I love you so much, Quin. I love your brilliant brain. I love how hard you work. I love your resilient spirit and how determined you are. I love how you can fight your own battles, but I also love when you ask me for help. I love your laugh and your smile. The way your nose scrunches when you’re mad at me and the little wrinkles you get around your eyes when you’re talking about your favorite things. I love you for helping me find a job that sets my soul on fire, and I’m always going to love you. In hurricanes. In sunshine. In stormy weather. It doesn’t matter. You and me? We’re inevitable, sweetheart. We always have been, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
I open the box and smile when her hands cover her mouth.
“I dare you to marry me. I dare you to let me be by your side from now until eternity. I dare you to let me continue being obsessed with you, and I dare you to let me get your name tattooed on my wrist. I dare you to keep fighting with me, and I dare you to let me hold you at the end of the day. I dare you to love me back. To make me the luckiest guy in the entire world, and I dare you to say yes.”
“Oh, my god.” Quincy climbs off the couch and kneels in front of me. Her arms snake around my neck and lock me in place, a weight I’m happy to bear. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes,yesto all of that and yes to every dare you could ever give me. I love you so much, Sebastian.”
I take her hand and slip on the ring. Mia and Harlow, the people who know her better than anyone in the world, helped me pick it out. The three of us spent hours together trying to find the perfect one, and seeing it on her finger now, I know we made the right choice.
“There’s a line of storms expected to roll in this afternoon,” I say. “Want to take that rock for a spin and see how it fares in a little bit of rain?”
“It’ll probably attract too much energy. Look at this thing.” She shows off the jewelry and sighs. “I really do love you, Sebastian Dunn.”
“Pretty sure I love you more, Quincy Monroe.”
“We’re not making this another competition.” She kisses my cheek and stands, doing her best to pull me to my feet. “If we did, I would win.”
“Sure you would.” I hug around her waist and put my head on her stomach. “I dare you to fight about it with me for the next sixty years and see that you’re wrong.”
Her eyes gleam. I’m close to ripping out my heart and putting it in her hands. She’s always had it. “Game on, Dunn.”
