Page 22 of Possessive Cowboy

“Can I take this thing off yet?” I ask, pointing to the blindfold.

“You can take it off.”

I rip the blindfold away, blinking while my eyes adjust to the warm orange sun. It’s bright, too bright, and once my eyes adjust I realize why.

We’re floating on the pond, with the sunset sparkling off the surface of the water that surrounds us. I look around us, at the chair I’m sitting on and below, and see that we’re floating on a platform, empty except for a couple of chairs, with a low railing around the perimeter. The entire thing is painted white, with bunches of sunflowers and daisies decorating the posts. Looking closer, I see little white candles scattered here and there, casting a flickering glow onto the platform.

“Mav, is this…is this the barge from the storage shed?” I ask, remembering the old rusty thing that I’d glimpsed months before.

“Don’t recognize it?” he asks, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t,” I say in amazement. “When have you been doing this? Wait…is this what you and Levi were doing when you said he was helping you repair the shed?”

“Could be,” he grins. “I knew you wouldn’t suspect anything if Levi was involved. He’s not the romantic gesture type.”

“He’s not,” I agree, thinking of the foul-tempered cowboy that my best friend can’t stop chasing. “Maverick, I don’t know what to say. This is so beautiful. But it’s so much. If this is what you do for our six month dating anniversary, I don’t even know what you’d do for a year.”

“You’ll never find out,” he replies.

“What? Why not?”

“Relax, sweetheart,” he says, stepping forward and taking my hands in his. “You’ll never find out because the only kind of anniversary I want to have with you is a wedding anniversary. If I have anything to say about it, six months from now you’re going to be my wife. None of this just dating stuff.”

My eyes are wide. I must be hallucinating, because I think Maverick just said he wants to marry me.

He drops to one knee and now IknowI’m not hallucinating. Surely not.

“We’ve only been together six months,” I whisper.

“I don’t give a shit,” he says, his fiery eyes gazing into mine. “Six months is long enough for me to make up my mind. Hell, I had my mind made up a while ago. I just needed some time to find a ring and plan how I was going to ask you.”

He pulls a small velvet box from his pocket and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. My gruff and possessive cowboy on one knee, pulling off this entire romantic gesture, hiding his plans in secret right under my nose for months.

“How can you be so sure about this?” I ask.

“Because I am. Are you?”

“No,” I say honestly. “I’m scared. I’m scared of trying to make something work forever. I’m scared that you’ll change your mind. I’m scared that once we settle down, once we’re married, you’ll get bored.”

“Why the hell would I get bored being with you?” he asks. “Raina, you’re something special. And you ought to know that but you don’t. Which is lucky for a bastard like me, because if you really knew how special you are, you’d realize you can do a hell of a lot better than me.”

“No!” I say.

“Yes,” he says firmly.

He looks down and opens the box, pulling a diamond ring from it and guiding it to my left finger. I haven’t even said yes yet, but in the most Maverick way, he doesn’t wait for my answer, he decides for the both of us that this is how it will be. We’re engaged, and I belong to him. It’s that simple. Forhim.

“You’re something special,” I say to him.

He ignores me, holding my hand in his and tilting it from side to side, watching the diamond catch the sunlight.

“I like this,” he says, giving my hand a firm squeeze. “This is right. This is what your hand was missing all this time. Now everyone will know you belong to me. It’s just as well, too, with the co-op opening soon. All of those customers coming in and out, seeing you with a ring on your finger.”

“We haven’t even opened for business yet and you’re already thinking about guarding me from men who come into the store,” I shake my head. “So jealous.”

“Not jealous,” he shakes his head. “Jealous is when you want something that doesn't belong to you. I think we’ve established already that youdobelong to me. Or is this ring not a good enough reminder of that?”

“Reminder of what again?” I ask in a playful tone. “Aw, shoot. I forgot what I was supposed to remember!”

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