Page 96 of Do-Over with my Ex

Celine shook her head. “You know what? I don’t blame you for the accidents in the forest, the storms, or making me eat wild meat that tasted like shit.”

I chuckled at that, surprised.

“I blame you for walking away. That’s the part that makes you pathetic. That’s the part where protecting me would have come in—you promised me you wouldn’t leave, and then you did.”

I nodded. “I understand that. Let me make that up to you.”

“How?”

“Marry me.”

She stared at me. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll never leave your side again. Marry me, Celine Forger, and let me show you for the rest of your life that we’ll be stuck together. I’m not letting you slip through my fingers again.”

“You can’t just march in here and demand that I marry you, like I’ll swoon and give in because you told me you want to be with me. That’s not how it works.”

“I love you,” I said.

“Stop it!”

“I won’t stop,” I countered. “I won’t stop telling you how much you mean to me, I won’t stop showing you that you’re everything, and I won’t stop fighting these walls you keep throwing up around you the moment you think you’re going to be vulnerable. I want you, Celine, and if every day has to be a fight to get you, then I’m here to fight.”

Celine shook her head. I couldn’t read the array of expressions that flitted over her face.

“You can’t do this,” she said softly.

“Oh, I can. I am. But maybe this isn’t the right thing for you.”

“What?”

“Marriage. Maybe it’s not your thing.”

Celine narrowed her eyes. “Are you challenging me?”

“Prove me wrong,” I challenged. “Marry the shit out of me.”

Celine stared at me, shocked, before a smile broke over her face.

“I can’t believe you’re daring me to marry you.”

“I can’t believe you’re not rising to the challenge,” I said.

Celine shook her head before she grabbed me and kissed me.

“Fine,” she said against my lips. “I’ll marry you. Happy?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I really am.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up. Celine wrapped her legs around my waist, and I held onto her for dear life because fucked if I was ever going to let go of this woman again.

When I finally set her down, she looked down at my pockets.

“What?” I asked.

“You didn’t come here to propose without a ring, did you?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

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