Page 96 of The Harborer
He pulled her in for a hug. “Did I mention you are badass, and I find that really, really hot?”
She beamed up at him. “Today was better than I ever could have imagined, thanks in no small part to you. You might have to surgically remove this smile from my face.”
“I have a better idea. You keep that smile and let me make an honest woman out of you.”
Her smile wavered. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I want coffee for life, and this is the only way I can think of to get it.”
“Iknewit! You do only want me for my coffee.”
He stared down at her with an achingly tender look in his warm brown eyes. “Yep, that and your big heart and your sunny smile and your whip-smart mind. Did I mention your courage and your big eyes and your sense of humor?”
Speechless, she shook her head.
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with a heat that shot through her veins and curled her toes. “If I’m being honest,”he mumbled against her skin as he trailed chill-inducing kisses across her neck, “I’m also kind of in love with your smoking hot bod—especially when it doesn’t have a stitch of clothing on it.” He drew back and waggled his eyebrows. “What do you say? Let’s get married. All the cool kids are doing it these days. We wouldn’t want to be left out.”
She looped her arms around his neck and pushed up on tiptoe. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“As serious as a skunk in a tool shed.”
She rubbed her nose. “Ew!”
His forehead wrinkled. “That was a miss, huh? Not romantic enough?”
“Not romantic at all,” she laughed.
“Well, you’ve got the rest of our lives to train me, and I’m ready and willing to learn.” His lips were on her ear, her neck, and she momentarily lost her train of thought. Then she realized she could have those lips on her skin for the rest of her life.
“When were you thinking of doing this thing that all the cool kids are doing?”
He pulled back once more. “Tomorrow?”
Her mouth dropped open. “How would that even be possible?” It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about marrying Shane because she had … in a year or eighteen months from now. Certainly no sooner than six months. Buttomorrow?
“Didn’t I tell you? Donna in Dispatch is also our Justice of Peace. It’s been a minute since she got to marry anyone, and I told her I’d help her out.”
Amy barked a laugh. “Andthisis your reason for wanting to get married tomorrow?”
He pursed his mouth. “Well, no. There’s the lifetime supply of coffee.” Then his lips tipped up with a smile. “There’s also the fact that I’m crazy in love with you. You’re it for me, Amy, and I don’t want to wait a minute longer. How are those for reasons?”
She stared up at him. “Those are, um, pretty good ones,” she stammered. “But for Gaia’s sake, how can a girl prepare for awedding in less than twenty-four hours? I don’t have the right kind of dress, I don’t have—”
“You don’t need a dress. It’s Fall River. Now, if you were about to say you don’t have a ring, I’ve got that covered.” Setting her apart from him, he dipped his hand into the apron’s pocket and pulled out a glittering diamond belly ring.
She reached out a tentative finger and touched the round stone. “It’s beautiful!”
“Remember, I get to put it in.” He winked. “Oh, and this goes with it.” He dropped the belly ring in her palm and shoved his hand back into the pocket. He extracted another piece of sparkling jewelry—a vintage art-deco style diamond ring in an intricate setting surrounded by smaller diamonds.
Her hand flew to her mouth, and her breath seized in her lungs.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked.” His voice had lost its playful tone, replaced by one with a nervous hitch in it. “But this was unique and beautiful, and it reminded me of you. If you don’t like it—”
She placed her hand on his wrist to stop him. “I love it, and I love that you picked it out for me.”
“Is that a ‘yes’?” His eyes lit with hope.
She launched herself into his arms and buried her face in his neck.
