Page 208 of California Wild

Jesse barely registered it.

His chest felt too tight, his head too light. The world had stopped—like his entire existence had just collapsed into this one moment.

A son.

His son.

Hayley turned her head, watching him, her green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Jesse.”

He was gripping her hand way too tight, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should probably loosen his hold, but he couldn’t.

Not when he felt like he might float off the goddamn earth.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.

Hayley let out a watery laugh, dabbing at the gel on her belly. “Yeah.”

Jesse exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face, shaking his head. His heart was hammering so hard it felt like he was still on a mission, adrenaline flooding his system.

But this? This was bigger than any mission. Bigger than anything.

“There’s nothing more important than this,” he said, voice rough, raw. “Nothing.”

Hayley stilled, fingers tightening in his. Her lips parted, like she knew. Like she could see it happening in real time—something inside him shifting, cementing into place.

Jesse turned to her. His everything. The mother of his son. His future.

And suddenly, there was no hesitation. No fear. No second-guessing. Just clarity.

He didn’t want to waste another second.

“Marry me,” he said.

Hayley’s breath hitched. “Jesse—”

“I don’t have a ring yet,” he admitted, cupping her face, his thumb brushing away a stray tear. “But I swear to God, I will. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” His voice was quiet but certain. “Just say yes, Hayley.”

Hayley let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head, tears still slipping down her cheeks. “God, Jesse. This is the worst proposal I’ve ever heard.”

Jesse grinned. “Yeah?”

She nodded, smiling through her tears. “Absolutely terrible.”

“But…” Jesse prodded, grinning like a lovesick idiot, because he already knew.

Jesse let go of her hand just long enough to yank his dog tags from around his neck, tugging them over his head. Then, without preamble, he slipped them over hers.

Hayley exhaled, her fingers curling around the tags hanging from her neck. She shook her head one more time.

Then whispered, “Yes.”

Jesse kissed her before she even finished saying it, his hands threading into her hair, his lips fierce, reverent, full of every damn thing he hadn’t been able to put into words.

When they finally pulled back, still breathless, still grinning like absolute fools, Hayley tilted her head. “Wait. If I’m marrying you, where the hell are we gonna live?”

Jesse smirked. “Already taken care of.”

Hayley narrowed her eyes. “What?”

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