Page 92 of Loving You

“No,” I replied with a wry smile. “It is most definitelynota yes.”

I was testing his patience, buthello,he should probably get used to it if he really wanted to marry me.

Unfortunately, his patience—or instincts—knew no bounds when it came to me, and he didn’t take the bait.

He simply let my body slide down his and set me on my feet with a low chuckle that melted my insides before smoothing my hair behind my ear. “Let me guess… it’s not ayesbecause it’s ahellyes?”

Okay, fine. It was hotter than it was frustrating.

“Hell yes, it’s a hell yes,” I confirmed, grinning when he dipped his head to catch my lips in another searing kiss.

It was the kind of kiss that was meant to seal a deal, and this business-minded man damn sure knew how to do that.

“But,” I said when he pulled back, “I think you might have figured me out a littletooeasily, Mr. Walker. Where’s the fun in that?”

As if I hadn’t even spoken, he plucked the ring from the box, and my breath caught in my throat as he took my left hand and slipped it on. And it all couldn’t have been more beautiful. The moment, the setting, the feelings sweeping through me, and mostdefinitelythis ring—a gorgeous, cushion-cut diamond with a halo of tiny pink sapphires around it.

It was perfect.

The ring was whimsical and delicate and sweet. And while that might not be how everyoneelsesaw me, this ring felt like it’d been chosen because it was perfect for howhesaw me—the true version of myself that his love and protection had finally brought out of me.

Eric brought my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back as he gazed at me. “I haven’t figured you all the way out yet. You’re a puzzle I hope to never completely solve, April Carrigan, and I can’t think of anything more fun than spending a lifetime with you, doing just that.”

I snickered. “Ahem, don’t you mean April soon-to-be Walker?”

He tilted his head. “That’s your middle name? I thought it was Marie.”

I rolled my eyes.

“But yes, April Mariesoon-to-beWalker,” he said, pausing to kiss me again, “and I can promise you right now, no matter when the wedding is, it won’t be soon enough for me.”

So much emotion swam in his dark eyes that my throat clogged up, and suddenly it was like I was looking at him from the inside of a fishbowl. When I blinked away the tears and caused them to fall, the humor left his eyes, and he crushed me against his chest.

I don’t know how long we stood like that—maybe a few seconds, maybe a few hours—but to be held by him in such a strong, serious,Ericway after that banter-filled proposal was like being handed a looking glass into our future.

Moments full of laughter and teasing would blend seamlessly with quiet, poignant ones like this. Moments where I felt loved, and protected, andseenin ways that I never had before.

My antagonistically sunshiny nature would always push his grumpy-ass buttons, and it’d be a constant battle of wills—but in the friendliest, sexiest way.

Which was how I knew we’d never tire of taking that dynamic to the bedroom… and seeing who would come out on top. Every time we fell into bed together, it was like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Would I get him to lose that ever-present hold over his control this time?

If so, turn to page forty-eight.

Or would he reel me in with his dark stare and torturously slow movements until I bent to his hot-ass will?

Turn to page sixty-nine.Obvi.

It was all a game, and it was unendingly fun.

But more than that, it was a game we’d been playing since the day we met, and I was beyond certain it would never get old.

“Let’s pick a date then,” I said, nuzzling into him, “because I can’t wait to have fun with you forever.”

* * *

“April, can you come into my office when you get a second, please?” my mom asked, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen her.

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