Page 305 of Dark Love

“To a party! What if he doesn’t get a piece?”

“You don’t need to worry. They haven’t served dessert yet.” Though the butterflies in my belly seem to think the cheesecake will work instantaneously.

“Dahlia Prudence Fleur, you can’t take risks like that with your future. Go get him a slice right now. I want a grandbaby next year.” She shoos me away.

This relationship thing is hard.

***

Maverick got caught by a cluster of muscled men that should be on the cover of some war magazine entitledSexy But Deadly.They wouldn’t be able to keep it on the shelves. Women would buy them out just to stare at the pretty men.

Without a word, I slide up to Maverick’s side. He gives me a peck on the forehead and puts an arm around my shoulder.

Everything about this feels right. How could my life have changed so much from the four walls locking me inside the horrors of my own mind to the beauty of this?

“What is that you’ve got there?” Lulu’s husband Matthew asks.

“A piece of brownie cheesecake.”

“Sounds delicious. May I try it?”

“No.” I pull the piece away to protect it without thinking. Even if he’s married, the power of this cheesecake exceeds reason or logic. “I got this for Maverick.”

The men laugh like I said something off the wall.

Maverick turns to face me, barely glancing down at the plate in my hand. “Is this part of your food rules?”

I blush and shrug. “Kind of.”

“I love you.”

Two little kids run by us giggling.

“I love you too.”

“Marry me.”

What?

“This isn’t how I planned it. And I don’t have a ring yet. It’s being made. But I don’t want to wait. I want to marry you now and start our forever.”

“Did I hear someone needs a ring?” Lulu marches up to us. “You should have asked sooner. This was my grandmother’s. It should go to family.”

Maverick takes the ring with misty eyes.

I whisper, “Told you so.”

But not low enough to avoid the prying ears that are trained on us. These people laugh at every little thing.

“Will you marry me, Dahlia Fleur? Will you let me spend my life making you happy? Will you share all your books with me?”

“Hmmm. You do know that goes both ways. Your library is much larger than mine.”

I should have expected him to kiss me. He has a propensity for it. But I didn’t. Now I’m going to have to remind him not to break the kissing rules… after we’re done kissing.

The hooting and hollering that surrounds us does nothing to distract us from the perfection of this kiss.

“See, I told you the cheesecake would work.”

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