Page 112 of The Love Shack

To his credit, Lawson didn’t blink. In fact, his expression comically froze.

Deadpan, Berkley said, “Breathe.”

“I’m breathing.”

Didn’t look like it, until he deeply inhaled.

After several minutes had passed, and they were driving into the town proper, he reached his right hand out to her, palm up.

Berkley laced her fingers with his.

Steering one-handed, he said, “This is not because of what Betty thinks, okay?”

Uh-oh. That sounded serious. “What isn’t?”

He sighed, retrieved his hand and pulled to the side of the road to put his truck in Park.

Waiting, Berkley took in his gorgeous profile, the dark blond hair that always seemed disheveled, the light brown eyes that held confidence and kindness in equal measure, the beard scruff that added to his overall sexy vibe. Tension eased away, and she said, “I love you.” Then she laughed, because loving him was wonderful. “I love loving you, and I guess I love telling you, too.”

Those devastating eyes locked on hers. “Good. Because I thought we could get engaged.”

Honest to God, her jaw dropped. “Lawson,” she sputtered, completely taken off guard. “You don’t have to—”

“Back up. I already told you this has nothing to do with Betty’s expectations. In fact...” He lifted a hip, dug in his pocket and took out a small box.

Eyes wide, she stared. Was that a jewelry box? Itwas. She covered her mouth with a suddenly shaking hand. Long, long ago she’d given up on imagining a scenario like this. She’d resigned herself to living alone, protecting her heart and what was left of her reputation. Then she’d moved to Cemetery, and he’d moved there, too, and now...

“I got you this today.”

“How?” she asked with a burst of laughter.“When?”His day had been as busy as hers. Their entire schedule had been upended by Chad and his nonsense.

“Will helped out a lot while I ran over to Albee.”

Her jaw loosened again. “The next town?”

“Don’t say it like I left the state.” He held the small box against his thigh. “Albee isn’t that far away, and I found what I liked within minutes—but ifyoudon’t like it, we can get something different.”

Curious, she licked her lips. “I have to actually see it before I can decide.”

“Right.” He flipped it open with his thumb, gently took her hand and slipped a delicate five-stone ring onto her finger. Keeping her hand, he said, “I mean it, Berkley. If you don’t like it—”

She whispered, “Iloveit.” Seeing the ring, she wondered how he could doubt that for a single second. A moderate center diamond had two smaller diamonds set on either side of it. The bright, late-day sunlight through the windshield made it sparkle.

As if searching for the truth, Lawson’s gaze stayed on her face. “I was thinking in practical terms, which probably wasn’t the best move when telling a woman how much you care. It’s just that you’re always working with animals. I thought something big would maybe get in the way, but if you want something bigger, I swear that wouldn’t be a problem.”

She curled her fingers protectively around the band. “I love that you were practical, that you took into consideration my work.” Her eyes were again drawn to the ring. “It’s so beautiful, I never would have known that factored in.”

He started to relax. “It’s platinum, so it looks silver like the rest of your jewelry.”

Lightly, she touched the different stones, then smiled up at him. “It’s perfect.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “When we got home tonight, after showing off Kathleen and Kingston, I was going to ask you. Then you said Betty had expectations.”

“Betty is so wise.”

He laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell her you said so.” He took her hand and kissed her palm. “I love you, Berkley. I want to be with you, but there’s no rush. We can have a short engagement or a long engagement. We can marry tomorrow, or a year from now. Whatever works for you.”

“For us,” she clarified, because Lawson’s business was important, too. “There’s a lot we need to think about. I mean, you have a house, I have a house.”

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