Page 80 of No Man Left Behind

She flung her arms around his neck, and he squeezed her to him. “I’m going to make sure you never regret this, Elina.”

She laughed again. “We’re going to have the best life.”

He leaned back from the hug enough to cup her face and kiss her. He tasted her smile and her joy.

“Hey, Mom. I think Deputy Ramirez has a girlfriend.” Owen’s voice interrupted their kiss, making them both laugh.

He rose to his feet and tugged Elina to hers. Then he grinned at Owen. “Much better than that, Owen. I’ve got a fiancée.”

And then he had to kiss her again.

Marcus wanted to take Elina home to consummate their engagement in the very best of ways.

Instead, he accepted hugs from Owen and Rachel with good grace. Then, he helped Elina gather her tablet and notebooks. They only made it halfway before his phone beeped. Twice. He pulled it out of his pocket, and peeked. He dropped his chin to his chest with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

That made him chuckle. “Nothing, really. Other than we have to put aside the plans we had.”

Her eyebrows shot up but her eyes twinkled. “We had plans?”

He lifted his thumb to brush against her cheek. “We did. You and me. Alone. For hours. But we’ll have to put them on hold for a bit.”

“Why? I like those plans? What’s happened?”

Her phone beeped this time. Then his again.

She pulled hers out, and he checked his.

Congratulations!

You’re engaged! Congrats!

Party at the Saloon! Now!

Laughing, Elina looked up at him as more texts came in on both their phones. “I’m guessing we should have told Rachel to keep it quiet for a few hours.”

He grinned. “Hindsight is always perfect.”

She patted his chest. “That’s the adjective I’d use for you.”

That made him roll his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled back, he whispered against her lips. “Not even close. Let’s go have a celebration with our friends. Then we’ll get to our own private celebration.”

He eased her up on her toes and took her mouth again. The woman was irresistible, and he couldn’t be happier that she wanted to be his forever.

He wasn’t sure how long they’d stood there when he heard the horn of Garrett’s truck and then Heath’s car. With a sigh, he broke off the kiss to rest his forehead on Elina’s. “Sounds like our cue to join them.”

Elina smiled, and they headed to the Saloon. She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Walking across the park like this reminds me of my first day here. I couldn’t believe you were real and that I’d finally found you.”

He laughed. “I wanted to kiss you from the first moment I saw you.”

She bumped his hip with her own. “I wouldn’t have objected. Not sure I would have believed it was real. I’d convinced myself I was trying to find you to ensure saving me and the girls hadn’t cost you everything. In reality, I wanted to see you again. Wanted to see if the connection I’d felt in Suraih was real.”

“As real as it gets. I’m so glad you made the trip. Still can’t believe you found us.”

“Me neither. I definitely had a dose of good luck on my side.”

Or fate. Marcus wasn’t sure he believed in it, but something had brought Elina here.

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