Page 28 of Exposed

She loved Eric and he loved her. Now, if she could just get her brother to quit yelling in her ear about it, things would be great.

“What the hell, sis?” Heath said over the phone line. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through. Eric’s not a forever kind of guy.”

Beth exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. “First of all, I’m telling you about us out of courtesy. Not because we need your permission or yourblessing. Second, who says I want forever? Maybe I just want Mr. Right Now and Eric’s more than capable of filling that bill.”

Images of him driving into her the night before, filling her so completely she didn’t know where she ended and he started, made her blush. She swiveled in her chair to face her desk again. She was getting more than enough crap from her brother right now. She didn’t need her nosy co-workers joining in the fun too.

“Can’t you just be happy for us, Heath?” Beth asked, her voice low. “Please?”

Her brother gave an aggrieved sigh. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I am.”

“And nothing I say can dissuade you?”

“Nope.”

“Then, fine.” Heath took a deep breath. “Eric called me earlier. He says he cares about you too. He’s a good guy, Beth. Despite my concerns.”

“I know.” She sat back and grinned. “I’m really happy with him.”

“Good. Because I think?—”

A commotion started on the other side of the office and Beth turned toward the elevators to see a massive clump of pastel colored balloons emerge. “Hang on, Heath. I’m going to have to call you back.”

Eric walked toward her, the balloons in one hand and a wrapped gift under the other, his smile brightening her entire universe. Yep. There weren’t enough heart-eyed emojis in the universe to capture how much she loved this guy.

He stopped at her desk and let the balloons drift toward the ceiling of her cubicle as her co-workers gathered around to listen in.

“How’d your doctor’s appointment go?” she asked. It was the one dark cloud looming on their horizon. He still had six months left on his deployment and once he got the green light, he’d be returning to whatever mission they sent him on. Once again, Beth would be left behind—but this time, she’d have a career that was undeniably a success after breaking the Hart story. She’d been featured on all the major news networks and her phone was ringing off the hook for more interviews internationally. The press had nicknamed her the Hartbreaker for Pete’s sake. A woman didn’t turn her back on that.

And while he would be leaving her, she knew Eric would come back to her, too. He’d been so happy for her newfound success and even accompanied her cross-country for her interviews in New York. She couldn’t ask him to give up the career he loved, no matter how it might hurt to let him go.

“Got the all clear,” he said, his gaze locked on hers. “They’ll be sending me new orders next week.”

“Oh.” She forced her smile to remain steady, despite the stab of pain in her heart. “That’s fantastic.”

“It’s good, yeah.” He shrugged and stepped farther into her cubicle to gain a bit more privacy. “The sooner I get back to my team, the sooner my deployment will be over and I’ll be done for good.”

“Yeah,” she said, still focused on keeping it together and not crying in front of him. It took a moment for his words to register. When they did, she looked up at him, shocked. “Wait, what?”

“After this tour, I’m retiring,” he said. “I’ve put my time in and done my duty, but now I want more.”

Beth was still trying to wrap her head around that when he went down on one knee in front of her and handed her the small wrapped gift box from under his arm. Her fingers shook as she took it from him. “What’s this?”

“Open it and find out,” he said, his warm brown eyes shining with affection.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Beth ripped the paper off and opened the box to see a heart-shaped cookie inside with the words “Will You Marry Me?” scrawled across the top in pink frosting.

Eric took her hand and kissed the back before whispering, “I know we’ve only known each other a few weeks and all this is happening really fast, but when I’m with you, I feel like I’ve never felt before. You make me happy. You’re smart and funny and beautiful and brave and I love everything about you. Even when you drive me nuts, I can’t stop loving you. And somehow, some way, you made me trust you. I didn’t think it was possible, but there it is. I’d love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life getting to know you and doing my best to make you as happy as you make me.”

Tears stung her eyes and this time she did nothing to hold them back. Being strong and successful was fine, but ambition meant nothing without having love behind it. Eric had taught her that. Her life before had been all about reaching her external goals, but now, she wanted more, too. She wanted a future, with him. Sniffling, she set the cookie aside and leaned forward to kiss him. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you and have gorgeous babies with youand travel the world with you. Whatever you want to do, I’m yours.”

He gave a whoop and stood, picking her up and kissing her soundly in front of God and everyone. The nosy co-workers must have approved because applause broke out in the office.

By the time Beth pulled away they were both breathless. She smoothed her hands down the front of his white T-shirt and smiled. “I just talked to Heath and he’s okay with it. Not that it matters.”

“Yeah, I got his blessing too.” Eric said, pulling her close again. “Not that it matters. All that matters now is you and me, sweetheart. I love you, Beth.”

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