Page 36 of Out in the Country

“You’re no fun,” Otto protests but punches Sorren in the bicep on the way by.

“That doesn’t surprise anybody,” he replies before turning on me again. “I swear to God, if you’re not out of here in thirty seconds, I’m gonna call the girls and then you’ll be their problem.”

The men around me snicker, and I look to my boss one last time. Hank nods, and I snatch my phone and keys off the table. “Thanks, guys,” I say and then hustle out the door and to my truck.

They’re right. The only way I’m going to be able to fix anything with Hayden is if I can get him to sit down and talk to me.

Easier said than done, but I have to try.

18

HAYDEN

Sorren sent me a text saying Everett is en route and my heart can’t possibly climb any higher into my throat. Ideally, a couple of hours more would have been nice, but at least I have some warning.

There are a million things I could have done differently, but right now the only thing that matters is that I keep breathing and don’t pass out.

Our song plays quietly on my phone as I hear the front door burst open and Everett’s boots hit the hardwood floor of our kitchen. I bite my bottom lip but can’t help the smile.

“Hayden?!” His voice bellows through the hall, and it’s showtime.

“In here,” I call back as he pushes our bedroom door open and stops short. My hands shake as I hold the flowers in front of me. My favorite suit jacket feels too tight, and my dress shirt feels suffocating—or maybe I’m just projecting.

Everett looks around the dimly lit room to all the collages I have framed of our life together both before we became a couple and after.

A part of me has always wondered how Everett had fallen so hard and fast for me—how he’d adjusted his world to focus on me so quickly. But when I looked through the pictures of our life together, it became so very obvious.

“Hayden?” His voice is shaky as his gaze lands back on mine, and I give him a shy smile.

“I had a speech prepared.”

“I bet you did.” He returns my nervousness tenfold, and it’s the push I need so there’s never any doubt again.

Setting the flowers on the bed, I step forward and take his hands in mine. “Do you remember what you said to me at the wedding?”

“I said a lot of things.” His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as he searches my face.

“You did.” I smile. “But the one that gets me every time I think about it is when you said, ‘I already love you, Hayden. Would it be so bad to let me fall for you?’ Do you remember that?”

“Yes,” he whispers, and I squeeze his hands in mine before releasing his right one and dropping to one knee.

“I’ve loved you my whole life, Everett Teal, and being with you…” I swallow hard. “There’s no greater joy in my life than being the man by your side. You’ve pushed me to be better—more myself—and I never knew how much I was holding back until you kissed me like I was the air you needed to breathe.”

“You still are,” he whispers, and his eyes are glassy, not unlike my own.

“And you show me every day. I love living this life with you, building this life together.” Pulling the ring from my pocket, I clear my throat. “And you’ve never wavered in yourself, in me, or in us. You make me a better man, Everett, and I don’t want to wait another minute when I could be spending the rest of my life being Hayden Scott Teal.”

Everett chuckles, and I smile.

“So what do you say, Ev? Will you marry me? Grow old and more distinguished with me?”

“Hell yeah, I’ll marry you.” He laughs and wipes his face with his other hand as I slip the ring on his finger. It’s the perfect fit, and the sudden flare of possession hits me square in the chest.

He’s mine and no one else’s now and forever.

The thought makes me giddier than apple pie at a barbeque, but I can’t think about it too long, because my fiancé is hauling me into his arms and kissing the hell out of me.

“I can’t believe you beat me to it,” Everett says between kisses.

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