Page 89 of Kissing the Sheriff
He frowned. “Now wait a minute, that’s not fair. You haven’t given me a chance to …”
She stood. “There’s no need. You’ve made it clear how you felt about it. But thanks anyway.” She picked them up. “They’re pretty.”
“I’m glad you like them. Can we talk now?”
She set the flowers down. “No. Please leave.”
He didn’t move. “Cassie, I’m trying to tell you something important.”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Whatever it is, say it and be gone.”
He wrapped his arms around himself. “Is it getting cold in here?”
She rolled her eyes at the joke. “What do you want?”
“I want you to listen.” He came around the desk, took her hands and pulled her to her feet.
“What are you doing?” she said in protest.
“Talking to you, and at this point I don’t care if you want to listen or not. You’re going to.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Listen anyway.” He squeezed her hands. “That kiss meant something to me. If you – and Sterling – had given me half a chance yesterday, I would have elaborated.”
“What’s to elaborate? You said you didn’t regret it.”
He drew a little closer. “I don’t. I enjoyed it. It’s my hope that you did too.”
My goodness, was it growing hot in here? She tried to pull one of her hands from his to fan herself but he wouldn’t let her. “Get to the point.”
He took a deep breath. “The point is, Sheriff Cassie Laine, I’m in love with you.”
Her knees buckled and she fell into her chair. “What?”
“You heard me. And there’s no law that says I can’t declare how I feel. So don’t you dare try to put me in a jail cell.”
She looked toward the cell area. “That depends on what else you have to say.”
He drew closer still, her hands still in his. “We’ve known each other only a short time but I can’t help how I feel. I didn’t believe it when Sterling fell in love with Letty so quickly but now that it’s happened to me, well, here I am. Are you going to arrest me now?”
She gave him a blank stare. Was he serious? Had she heard him right? “This is a lot to take in. I thought …”
“You thought what? That I was stealing a kiss that meant nothing?” He took her by the arms and pulled her to her feet again. “That kiss meant more to me than any kiss before. And trust me, I’ve kissed a lot.”
She took a shuddering breath. “So, you are a rake.”
One of his arms went around her waist. “Was. Now tell me. What was that kiss to you?”
She closed her eyes and almost fell over. Thank Heaven he had a tight hold of her. “Conrad …”
“I’m not breaking any laws.” He looked into her eyes. “And I don’t want to break your heart. That said, there’s only one thing for me to do.”
She gaped at him. “Wh-what?”
He got down on one knee, pulled something from his pants pocket, then smiled at her. “I’m not much, Cassie. I suppose I never have been. I’ve squandered years, but at this point in my life, those same years brought me to you. You’re like no other woman I’ve ever met. You’re special. Beautiful. Sweet and kind and dare I say, feisty?”
She stared at him in opened mouth shock. Great Scott, was he proposing?
