Page 81 of Throne of Secrets

Star’s expression dropped. "Oh, crud. Not again."

Thor huffed and flopped onto the floor with a heavy sigh, clearly unimpressed with her inability to stay out of trouble.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, already pulling out his phone. "I need to make some calls. You? You’re officially on lockdown."

Star scowled. "Excuse you?"

"Star," Ethan gestured to the books, "you just inherited a giant, neon, ‘Please come kill me’ sign. Congratulations."

She groaned and flopped back on the couch. "I actually likednotbeing in mortal danger."

Ethan stood, already texting Max. "Yeah, well … it was fun while it lasted. Looks like we’ll need to go to Colorado sooner rather than later."

“Colorado? Why? Are we visiting your mom and dad? You know I really like your mom. That recipe she gave me for chili was fantastic.” She tucked her legs up and hugged them. “Do you really think these people will come after me?”

“You are the link to these books being discovered in your uncle’s house. It prevents the assumption that these were fakes or doctored,” he said as he answered a slew of Max’s questions, filling him in as concisely as possible.

“Then this letter could probably seal the coffin, huh?” She held up an envelope. Ethan felt his eyebrows lifting to his hairline.

“What does it say?”

“I don’t know. I was going to call you so we could open it together. I thought it was probably like a time capsule minus the capsule, you know?”

Ethan sat back down. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

“Fairy-tale dreams in a nightmare world.” She dropped her head back against the couch. “Why do I always end up in stuff like this?”

Ethan put the envelope and phone down and turned her to him. “Setting all of this aside, I wanted to talk to you, and if I’ve learned anything in the nine months since knowing you, I’ve learned to speak my mind when I have the opportunity.”

Star’s eyes widened. Then she almost cried, “Oh, God, no.”

Ethan frowned. “What?”

She sat up, hands gripping his hoodie, in full panic mode. “You’re leaving me, aren’t you?”

Ethan’s jaw dropped. “What?”How in the hell did she jump to that conclusion?

“You just went all serious! This is the ‘I need to talk’ moment! You’re—oh my God, you’re going to break up with me in the middle of a potential mob war, aren’t you?”

Ethan stared. Then barked out a laugh, shaking his head. God, her mind was chaotic. “Star.” He caught her face between his hands, kissing her hard. When he pulled back, she blinked at him, dazed.

“I’m trying to propose.”

She blinked again. “Oh.”

“Marry me and move with me to Colorado. Be my wife. Let me love you for the rest of our lives.” He waved at the books. “The books don’t matter. Nothing matters but us being together. Let’s start our lives with each other. Now.”

“You want me to move to Colorado?” Her eyes were blinking, and tears were forming.

Ethan dropped to his knees in front of her at the couch. “Babe, don’t cry. I know I don’t have your ring yet, and this wasn’t all planned out and perfect. I’m sorry if I botched it, but I love you and want you to be my partner in life.”

“No. No, this is perfect. I love you so much. Yes, I’ll marry you. I’ll move to Colorado with you. But …” She turned and looked at the house. “I can sell this as is … but what about my job?” She looked at him, apparently completely overwhelmed. He could see the gears in her brain trying to sort everything.

He cupped her face with his hands and made her look at him. “You never have to work again if you don’t want to, but you do the transcription work remotely, right?”

“Yes. I do. So I can contribute to household expenses when we move.”

He leaned forward and kissed her. “I have enough for us for the rest of our lives, and you’re not going to believe where we’re going to live.”

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