Page 121 of All Bets Are Off

Zach grinned as he looked down at my face, his arms still around me. “I have fun messing with your brother.”

“We have that in common,” I agreed. “I like messing with him, too.”

Zach dropped another kiss on my upturned mouth. It was chaste comparatively. When he pulled back, though, I could tell there was something on his mind.

“What is it?” I asked, instantly alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you always assume something is wrong?” he complained, his gaze going dark.

“You have your serious face on. That means there’s something wrong.”

“Or I could just have a serious question for you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What sort of serious question?”

“You’re such a trusting soul.” He pinched my butt again just because he could. Then he reached into his pocket. I thought he was going for his phone, but he came back with a jewelry box. “So, I was thinking.” He licked his lips, looking suddenly nervous.

“What is that?” I was intrigued despite myself. “That looks like a Tiffany box.”

“It is.” Now he was smiling when he grabbed my left hand, his thumb going over the wedding band we’d bought at the chapel the day we embarked on a fake marriage that had turned into a real forever. “So, I wouldn’t trade our Batman marriage for anything.”

I nodded. “Me either. It was my dream … almost literally.”

“I thought maybe we could do it again, though.” He shifted from one foot to the other, telling me he was nervous.

“You want to get married by Batman again?”

“I want a real wedding.” He opened the box, revealing a huge—seriously, I didn’t even know they made diamonds that big—engagement ring. “You never got one of these. You just got the wedding band.”

I was taken aback. “I just needed the wedding band,” I assured him. “I don’t…” I was about to say I didn’t need a big diamond ring. The one in the box was gorgeous, though. My greedy eyes drank it in.

“Yeah, you do need it.” He took the ring out of the box and dropped to his knee, causing my breath to catch in my chest. “I love you. Four months ago, I didn’t think it was possible to love anybody more. Now I know that’s not true, because my love for you grows every single day.”

I was dumbfounded. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”

“Do you mean proposing?”

“We’re already married,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, but your parents weren’t there. My mom and sisters weren’t there. I don’t want anything big,” he cautioned. “I want to do it right this time, though. I want a party … and I want you in a white dress…and this time our vows aren’t going to include the words ‘holy matrimony, Batman.’”

I pressed my lips together, caught between crying and laughing. “I … are you sure?”

“Am I sure I want to marry you? I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“But … it’s not necessary. We’re already married.”

“Baby, it is necessary. I want the whole world—or, rather the thirty or so people we like the most—to know how much I love you.” He held up the ring. “I want to do everything right from here on out. That starts with this ring and two hearts.”

My fingers shook as I reached out to take the ring. “This is … the biggest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Zach made a face. “You’re going to hurt my ego.”

I laughed, briefly shutting my eyes before speaking. “I want to marry you again. It will make my mother happy.”

“I care most about making you happy,” he said. “It couldn’t hurt to get your mother back on my side, though. She’s still bitter about missing the first wedding.”

“Are we really going to do this?”

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