Page 72 of Surly Sheriff
She shook her head.
“Or a criminal record?” If she did, he’d quit his job.
Her eyes flared. “No,” she whispered.
“Then there’s no reason you cannot be my wife,” he stated. “Marry me, Rae. Make me the happiest man in Clearbrook.”
“Beau …”
“Do you love me?”
She bit her lip. Nodded.
“I’ll go on my knees if—”
“Yes.”
Okay, then. He took a step back.
She grabbed his arm. “No!”
He frowned.Yes? No?
A slow smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, I’ll marry you. And no, you don’t need to get down on your knee.”
“You will? Really?”
She nodded, moving into his arms. “I will. Really.”
“I love you, my Rae-Bae,” he said, pulling her close, lowering his lips to hers, sealing the deal.
A cheer went up around them, and Beau straightened with reluctance, acknowledging their small audience with a huge grin.
The owner of the jewelry store called out, “I’m open for business.”
*
Beau wasn’t sure what woke him. But when he did, it was to find Rae’s side of the bed empty. He stretched his arm out. Still warm. The bedside clock showed 1:23 a.m. He listened but couldn’t hear the click-clack of her fingers on the keyboard.
He shifted to his feet and slipped into the jeans he’d discarded earlier and strode to the living area. She wasn’t at the table. He found her staring out the patio window, her arms folded around her body.
“Rae?” he asked, moving closer.
She jumped and wiped her cheeks with her fingers.
Fuck. Was she crying? “Hey.” He pulled her into his arms.
She dropped her head to his chest without protest. “Dunno if I can do th-this,” she mumbled, sniffing lightly.
His gut fisted. “Do what?”
“Ma-marry you.”
“Why?”
She mumbled something, but he couldn’t make out the garbled words.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and nudged her back. “Look at me.”
