Page 62 of Seducing the Sheriff
He tightened his embrace. “We’re talking about it now. Or, we can save it for later if you’re not ready. I just want you to know that I am.” A wistful smile played across his lips. “It’s strange. In some ways, I feel as if I’ve known since that first trip to Santa Maria that you were meant to be mine. That it was our first day of being together for the rest of our lives.”
I swallowed hard. “Not strange at all.”
Cash pressed his lips to my forehead. “Let me change out of this uniform. Are we eating outside?”
“I have the fire going.”
Cash grinned. “Excellent.”
I plated our food while he went to the bedroom to put on something more comfortable. After divvying up a little of everything, I sneaked a quick bite of chicken satay and fought to keep calm.
He wants to marry me.
Was I ready for something so permanent? If I was being brutally honest with myself, I’d never entertained the idea of marrying anyone. After all, despairing of having a boyfriend at all didn’t encourage fantasies of wedded bliss.
I tapped my fingers on the quartz counter. Married. To Cash. To the one person on planet Earth who got me, who had brought me to life in a way I never believed possible. who I couldn’t imagine being anywhere but with me.
Duh. Of course, I wanted to marry him.
I sucked in a breath to yell out a big yes, then snapped my mouth shut. There had to be a more romantic way of accepting a marriage proposal than in the kitchen over Thai food.
“Oh my God, that smells so good,” said Cash as he ambled into the room, looking relaxed and very sexy in a pair of grey sweats and a snug, white tee with a smiling cow on the front. The guys at the station had gotten it for him as a joke birthday gift. “I’m ravenous.” He grabbed both plates. “I’ll be in charge of these if you want to commandeer the wine.”
“I started without you,” I admitted sheepishly. “It’s already out there on the table.” We’d graduated from storage bins to actual outdoor furniture. “But did you want any water or soda?”
“Water.” He paused mid-stride. “Wait. Is there any of Meyer’s limeade left?”
I scrunched my nose. “Sorry. We polished that off last night.”
“Bummer. Water’s fine.” He called out over his shoulder when he reached the patio door. “Did you call him yet and give him the thumbs up?”
Dex and Meyer were preparing for the annual harvest festival next month, and they’d been using us as guinea pigs for their new concoctions. The raspberry jalapeno limeade was addictive. But as Cash had discovered, I was a hot pepper fiend.
“I did. He said he’d freeze a big batch for us as a thank you.”
Cash’s lips rounded in a big O. “Works for me.”
After we got settled, poured some wine, and had taken a few bites of our food, my mind wandered to Cash’s proposal. I wanted my response to be perfectly timed, a special moment to remember, but worrying whether I’d hurt Cash’s feelings by not saying something right away was plaguing me.
“Mmm…” Cash wiped his lips with a paper towel. “I’m definitely getting the cashew nut beef again. By the way, have you heard back from the breeder?”
“Oh, right.” I blinked a few times to allow my brain to switch gears from dreamy romance to livestock guardian dogs. “She said Lily will be ready to leave her mom in a week. There’s also an excellent trainer lined up for us, too.”
We’d finally found a reputable breeder, which hadn’t been easy. Lily would be coming to live with us a little late for the coyote mating season, but I’d installed spotlights. That would have to do for now.
Cash nodded as he chewed away. He set down his fork. “Hey, have you heard about the rodeo coming to town next month? It’s the week after the festival. I guess it’s a big deal every year, and I was told there’s a local guy who stars in it.” He took a big gulp of water. “Is that something you’d be interested in going to?”
“Yeah, sure.” I was still distracted by my proposal worries, so when Cash’s brow furrowed at my response, I figured I hadn’t sounded all that enthusiastic. “I’ve never been. So for that reason alone, we should go.”
He straightened in his chair. “Is something wrong?”
My stomach clenched. “No. I mean, I should’ve said yes. I don’t know why I didn’t right away.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess I was caught off guard. I never thought you’d want to do that with me or thought I was special enough to ask.”
Cash gave his head a shake. “To go to the rodeo?”
“Huh?” My jaw went slack right before I slapped my palm to my forehead. “No, not that.” I groaned. “I’m so bad at this.”
Fuck it.
