Page 69 of Fully Loaded

“Of course not. I just—I don’t want you to feel you have to do all this,” he said, waving at the food.

Her eyebrows fell into a hard line. “Make food? It’s not like it’s hard. And this won’t last forever, you know.”

He sat on the bed and nodded. “Yeah, I know. I just feel . . . emasculated.”

She chuckled and knelt down in front of him. She hadn’t had time to dye her dark locks, and as much as he liked the look on her, part of him ached to see the old, familiar Dani who’d stolen his heart. She rubbed her palm over his knee. “The sooner you just suck it up and take it easy, the sooner you’ll heal. Stop pushing yourself.”

“It was a fucking graze, Dani. Not brain surgery.”

“A graze to your skull that almost put you in a coma.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You’ve already improved so much. All you need to work on is balance and stamina now. Let’s have lunch in the backyard. The fresh air will do you good.” She scooped her arm under his elbow but he didn’t budge.

“I need to talk to you.”

Her eyes blazed green fire. “I knew it. Why couldn’t you be honest to begin with?”

Ignoring the seethe in her temper he caught her wrist and yanked her to the mattress. “Because you make me crazy, all right? From the moment I met you when we were kids, I’ve never been the same.”

She arched one eyebrow. “This better be going somewhere good.”

“It is, dammit. Just listen.” He huffed. Forcing the pent-up breath from his lungs, he traced the lines of her face—lines he’d memorized long ago—then smoothed his thumb under her bottom lip. “I love you, Dani. I know we’ve had issues in the past, but all that’s over with now. I want to start a fresh life with you. An honest one. I want to work every day and come home to you every night. I want to lie in bed on weekends and stay up late watching that stupid Netflix series you got us hooked on.”

Tears shone in her eyes and a hiccup of laughter burst through her lips.

He brought his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “When Lafontaine had me strapped on that damn hospital bed and I thought they were going to inject me with that virus, all I could think about was that I’d let you down. It’s a feeling I’ve had more than once over the years and?—”

“Let me down? You’ve rescued me twice now.”

He waved that away. “What I’m saying is I want to be by your side. Forever. If you’ll have me.”

Realization laced with uncertainty widened her eyes.

He pulled his hand out from behind his back and popped the lid of the box open with his thumb. “Dani, will you marry me?”

She inhaled sharply and tented her hands over her mouth. Her eyes grew huge, locked on the ring, and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, twisting his heart.

The pain in his chest intensified. “Babe, you need to answer me.”

She snapped her attention to his face. “Yes! Oh my god, yes!” She threw her arms around his neck, sending him barrelling backward on the bed. His head spun and he closed his eyes against the kaleidoscope the ceiling had become.

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry.” She shifted her weight, but he caught her waist in his hands and lifted her up so he could stare at her.

“I’m fine.” He dipped his chin skeptically. “You’re sure you want to marry me? Do you like the ring?” He plucked it out of the box and held the band in his fingertips. She propped her forearm on his chest and held out her left hand.

“It’s incredible!”

He slipped it on and she tilted it so the three-carat diamond caught the light streaming through the window. Rainbow prisms danced on the wall and she watched, her lips parted in wonderment. He toyed with the roots of her hair and emotion clogged his throat. He’d waited years for this moment, and the stupid thing was he hadn’t even realized until now how badly he needed her.

She turned and pressed her lips to his. “I love you so much, Brock. You’ve made me so happy.”

He let his hand wander down her back to the delicious landscape of her ass. As he dipped his hand into the waistband of her pants, she wriggled out of reach.

“Uh-uh. Not until you eat.”

He bobbed his eyebrows. “Good, I’ve been craving the taste of you.” He nipped the side of her neck and she laughed and rolled off the bed.