Page 35 of Penny & Royce

Royce reached across the table and gently wrapped his fingers around her wrists. He tugged just enough to ask.

She let him lower her hands from her face.

“You can’t stop thinking about me?” he asked.

She shook her head as she bit down on her lower lip.

His heart did something foolish and dangerous.

For a second, he wanted to make a joke. Something big enough to hide how much her words meant. Something wild enough to match the way she made him feel.

Then it hit him.

Maybe wild wasn’t the wrong direction. Maybe wild was exactly what she’d been hoping for when she wrote that list.

He rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, his gaze holding hers. “What would you say if I asked you to do something really reckless with me?”

Penny’s eyes narrowed. “How reckless?”

“Reckless enough that you’ll probably ask whether I’ve lost my mind.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

A smile tugged at his mouth, but his chest was pounding hard enough to make him feel unsteady. “Marry me.”

Her eyes flew wide. “What?”

“I know.” He squeezed her hands once, then loosened his hold so she could pull away if she wanted to. “I know it sounds ridiculous.”

“It doesn’t just sound ridiculous. It sounds completely insane.”

“I’m not denying that.”

“Royce.”

“I’m serious, Penny.” He kept his voice low and steady. “Not because I think you owe me an answer right now. Not because I think one perfect day means we’ve figured out everything two people need to know. But because when I think about what I want, I keep landing on you.”

She stared at him, pale now, her fingers still resting loosely in his.

“Think about it. You made that list,” he said. “A list that would help you find a new kind of happiness. Dancing with a stranger. Getting a pet. Doing something out of character.” He paused, careful with the next words. “Falling in love.”

“I haven’t fallen in love yet,” she interrupted.

“I know,” he said.

That seemed to catch her off guard.

He let out a slow breath. “And I’m not asking you to pretend you have.”

Her shoulders lowered a fraction, though her eyes stayed wide.

“I’m asking because there’s something here,” he said. “You feel it. I feel it. And maybe that doesn’t mean we run off and make a lifelong decision over pizza.” His mouth tipped up faintly. “But maybe it means we talk about it.”

“Talk about eloping?”

“Talk about what reckless looks like when it isn’t careless.”

Penny blinked.