Page 28 of Sleeping with Her Enemy (49th Floor 2)

Dax covered the microphone and craned his neck to whisper back. “It’s a pet name.”

“Amy is a pet name?” she heard the woman say, but Dax ignored her.

“Amy.”

Her heart started to thud as he used the hand that wasn’t holding the microphone to take her hand. Her hand that was suddenly shaking rather violently.

He was still grinning, so she focused on that, on the fact that they were playing the mother of all practical jokes on a stadium full of people. “I’ve never met anyone like you. You…challenge me every single day.”

That was certainly true. She was his office enemy-turned-frenemy, after all. She raised her eyebrows as if to illustrate his point, hoping she looked suitably skeptical.

“I don’t know anyone smarter than you, or more generous-spirited. Or braver.” He was no longer smiling. In fact, he was leveling a serious look at her that made the shaking come back. “Or worthy of love.” She gripped his hand tighter, hoping the cameras weren’t catching the quiver.

“I think…” His voice had gone scratchy, and he paused to clear his throat. “I think it’s possible that you are going to make me a better man.”

Amy was unprepared for the tide of emotion that hit her then. She swallowed hard, fighting against an insistent pressure in her throat. What a lovely thing to say, even if it wasn’t true.

“So when this opportunity presented itself to propose here, in front of your beloved Blue Jays, I thought, yes, this is exactly the proposal you deserve.”

He dropped her hand then, and she panicked a little. She was going to have to say yes now, wasn’t she?

But no, he wasn’t done. He handed off the microphone to the woman in the aisle and stuck his hand into his pocket and produced…her engagement ring.

She heard her own gasp. For an instant, she had the same reaction as when she’d been trying to get it off a few nights ago at the bar. The symbol of everything that had gone wrong, it threatened to choke her.

But no. She took a deep breath and rode out the sensations and then…it was just a ring. It didn’t have any power over her. Tears still threatened, but she was pretty sure they weren’t about Mason because the laughter was back, too. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

“Is this okay?” he mouthed, not into the microphone.

Somehow, magically, it was okay. So she nodded and held out her hand, hoping no one would notice that she’d given him the right one, and Dax slid the ring on her finger.

The cheers became deafening. Dax got off his knees, pulled her to her feet, and wrapped her in his arms. She buried her face in his neck and let her senses fill with his comforting beachy scent.

“You have seven seconds to kiss,” their handler barked. “The game is resuming.”

“Shall we give the people what they came for?” Dax whispered, his lips touching her ear. He pulled back and smiled at her, his eyes bright. Using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear from underneath her eye, he framed her face with both hands. As he moved toward her in what seemed like slow motion, she couldn’t help the answering smile that appeared on her face, seemingly of its own volition. She should have been nervous. She was about to kiss Dax Harris in front of thousands of people, for heaven’s sake. But strangely, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. When his lips hit hers, she lifted up onto her tiptoes and snaked her arms around his neck, welcoming the heat that slowly began to accumulate in her body. It wasn’t like their frenzied, out-of-control kisses on the ferry. This time, his lips were soft, slow, sensuous—but just as potent. He moved her head back slightly to improve the angle, and then let his tongue press against the seam of her lips, creating a hitch in her breath as she opened for him, wanting the kiss to be deeper, longer, more.

“Enough,” Boss Girl ordered. “Wave to the crowd now.”

“Fuck.” Only she heard the curse he muttered as he tore his lips from hers. And only she saw the tiny wink he shot her as he slung an arm around her shoulder and used his other hand to wave. Feeling a little like a deer in headlights, she followed suit, ignoring the pulse beating between her legs.

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