Page 147 of The Stalker

Hayden rushed into the room and grinned at her as he opened a cupboard to their right. He reached high up and out of her view to pull down Tatiana’s toiletries bag, her makeup bag, and the shower gel she normally used.

“What can I say? Heather’s short. There was no way she could casually open that cupboard and see your stuff.”

“Well played, but Heather’s not that short.”

“Not compared to you, but she is compared to me.” He winked at her, and she laughed.

They finished getting ready for bed, and finally, they were lying in the dark together. Hayden had his arms wrapped tightly around her and she was content and at peace with him.

“I can’t believe Gabriel and Ariana are going to have a baby,” Hayden said, and Tatiana could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m so happy for them.”

“Me, too. They’re both so nice. I’m sure they’ll be good parents.”

She wondered if Hayden wanted children in the future and allowed herself to actually think about a life together. What would their lives look like if his stalker were captured and she was no longer contracted to be with him? She’d never met a man that she would settle down with, but Hayden was different.

“Do you ever think about our lives after I’ve finished the contract?” she asked.

“Of course. I mean, I don’t actually know where you live when you’re not working. So I have no idea what it’ll be like, but I know we’ll make it work.”

Tatiana swallowed heavily. She wasn’t used to giving private information about herself to clients, and Hayden was still a client.

He’s also your boyfriend. So do you want this or not? You need to end this relationship now if you’re not committed to it.

“Sometimes I go home to Los Angeles and spend time with my family at my parents’ place. Generally, I spend time between contracts at rented accommodation wherever in the world I want to live at that time. I love traveling to new places and seeing different cultures.”

As usual, Hayden was silent while he digested the information she’d given him, and she couldn’t judge his reaction from the tone of his voice when he asked, “What do you see for us when this is all over?”

“I don’t know,” she told him honestly. “If the tour is over, I guess I’ll come to Chicago, and if it isn’t, I’ll stay with you. Either way, we’ll see how things go when we can be free to be together.”

“Until you get another contract?”

She winced at the question but answered it honestly. “Yeah. Then, I’ll need to go wherever I’m needed until the contract is completed.”

“And you won’t know how long that will be.”

“Correct. Hayden”—she searched in the dark to find his lips and kiss him—“I love you. I want a future together, no matter what that looks like. I choose my contracts very carefully, and I don’t have to take any that we don’t think will work for us as a couple.”

“I’m going to be worried the whole time you’re away.”

“If you think I’ll ever not be worried about your safety, you don’t know me very well.”

He squeezed her tightly and kissed her. “We can be worried about each other together.”

“We can set an alarm for midday and worry about each other at the same time every day no matter where we are in the world,” she laughed.

He laughed as well, and they fell silent. He was quiet for so long that she thought he might have fallen asleep before he spoke again.

“Would you marry me before you take another contract?”

She gasped softly and stared at him in the dark, able to see the outline of his face but none of the details. She was blown away by the question as she tried to contemplate it.

“Marry you? We were just talking about seeing how things go as a couple without a stalker hanging over our heads, and now you’re talking about marriage? Five minutes ago, you didn’t even know where I live, Hayden.”

His body stiffened, and she hated herself for saying anything that might hurt him, but the idea was absurd. They’d known each other for such a short amount of time. Even though she felt incredibly deeply for him, it was crazy to be talking about marriage so soon.

“It’s probably the stalker that’s made me think about these things. I know you’ve said you don’t think they plan to hurt me, but I still think about it. I could easily have died in that car accident if I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt. My mortality is very much on my mind.”

He sighed, and his body relaxed as he squeezed her tightly again.

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