Page 46 of Hero Next Door
Dev roared and flew at the man, his fists flying so hard and fast that they were practically a blur, and the man went down quickly. This one stayed down.
And then Dev was next to me, his fingers running over my face and head, one hand pressing to my belly as he pulled me to him. “God, are you okay? Parker? Speak to me, honey.”
“I’m okay,” I gasped. “Thank God you got here, though. I... I didn’t know...” All the adrenaline that had been flowing through me up to this point suddenly cut out, like someone had turned off the light, and I sagged, the tension of the past hour hitting me all at once. “I didn’t think I was going to be okay,” I ended on a whisper.
He put his fingertips under my chin and tipped my face up to look at him. “I will never let anything happen to you,” he whispered back. “Never. Do you hear me?”
And I melted, right there in his arms, as he kissed me and promised me with his lips that he was going to be there to protect me as long as I’d have him.
CHAPTER30
Parker
The cops arrived before Kevin or his accomplice woke up, and they had them cuffed and in the cars before the two men who’d attacked me knew what was going on. I watched them, feeling a strange sort of peace that I hadn’t seen coming.
“I never thought I’d be this happen to watch men being arrested,” I murmured, leaning my head against Dev’s chest.
“You’ve never known men like them, then,” he answered.
“I have,” I argued. “I just didn’t get to see them pay for their crimes.”
He squeezed me, but didn’t answer, and I wondered if he knew what I was talking about. Not many people did, but he’d had access to both Olivia and Avery, and Avery might have told Jackson, who might have told Dev. And though this was something I’d always held in a deep, dark part of my soul, and kept as private as possible, I realized now that I wouldn’t mind Dev knowing.
Maybe it was time for him to know the whole me.
I’d never wanted that before, and the idea... Well, it surprised me. But it felt like everything was coming full circle right now. The developer was on his way to prison, and the town would be safe from him for the next little while. A lot of the skeletons I’d had in my closet had come out to dance with his presence in my kitchen, and though I’d always thought of them as made of stone, it turned out all it had taken to crush them into dust was Dev.
And the courage he gave me.
This little town felt safe with him, and for the first time ever I felt like I could be happy here. I didn’t want to abandon my career, but Avery had proven that you could live part of the time in Arberry and part of the time in the real world, and if she could do it, I was positive I could, too. I hadn’t wanted to admit it before because I hadn’t thought Arberry held anything for me.
Now I knew I was wrong. This town could be a safe spot, too, and it could be home. As long as I had Dev with me. He was the safe spot I’d been looking for my whole life—and I could be his, if he’d let me. He’d hold me through anything and everything, and I’d hold him right back.
He’d play hero when I needed it. Even if I wouldn’t admit I did.
I looked up at him, feeling so light and happy that I thought I had to be glowing. “So what are we going to do now?”
He grinned down at me, and the circles under his eyes had lightened, the shadows in his smile disappearing. “First, we finish the B&B. Then we talk about a plan I have for a dude ranch. Combining your property and mine. And then, I was thinking we choose a spot on one of the ranches and get married.”
The world stopped.
“What?” I gasped.
Instead of answering, he dropped to his knees and fished something out of his pocket. When he held it up, flipping open the box, I saw the most beautiful art deco ring I’d ever seen, all square diamonds and rose gold.
“This was my mom’s,” he said quietly. “She gave it to me when she died and told me that one day, I’d meet a girl who stole my heart right out of my chest, and when I did, I’d give her this ring and then spend the rest of my life with her. I didn’t believe her at the time. I never thought I’d let anyone get close enough to me to steal my heart. But I was wrong. I never saw you coming, Parker Pelton, but now that you’re here, I never want to see you leave again. Tell me you’ll marry me. Tell me you’ll stay for the rest of my life.”
Stay for the rest of his life. Be the person that stayed instead of running away. Be his safe place, and let him be mine.
Agree to go through the rest of our lives rescuing each other.
I dropped to my knees in front of him and took his face in my hands. “Will you make me blueberry pancakes every weekend and help me redecorate your house to look like a grownup lives there, and will you take me riding every weekend and discover new places with me?”
“Yes to all of it,” he whispered. “Yes to anything you want.”
“Then let’s do it,” I said. “Yes, Dev Hawthorne. I’ll marry you.”
Epilogue
