Table of Contents 23 страница

I rested my hand on Torrey’s knee and gently shook her awake.

“Hey, sweetheart, we’re nearly there. You don’t want to miss this.”

Her eyes opened and she blinked a couple of times.

“Wow! We’re really here! Las Vegas!”

I grinned at her. “You know what this means, sweetheart?”

She gave me an innocent smile, feigning ignorance.

“And what would that be, cowboy?”

“Weddin’ capital of the world. Guess you’ll have to marry me after all.”

She stared for a moment, then wrinkled her nose.

“Jordan Kane! That is the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard!” she huffed.

“How many proposals you heard then?” I teased her.

“None, but it’s still the worst!”

I couldn’t help laughing at her. “Is that a no then, sweetheart?”

We drove past a sign that announced, ‘Little White Wedding Chapel’.

“Are you certain I cain’t tempt you?”

“Huh,” she pouted. “You haven’t even got a darned ring!”

“Sure I do.”

“What?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve had a ring since before we left Texas.”

Her jaw dropped open.

“What … you … but … I…”

Her face was a picture—until she yelled at me.

“Turn the car around, Jordan!”

Not the reaction I’d been hoping for.

“Sweetheart…”

“Turn the damn car around!”

I made an illegal U-turn, my heart pounding, wondering how the hell I was going to fix this. But when we saw the sign for the wedding chapel again, she yelled, “Pull in!”

“What?”

“ Now, Jordan Kane. But you’d better do it right this time!”

A slow grin stretched across my face.

“You mean you’ll do it? You’ll marry me?”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “What part of ‘do it right’ did you not understand?”

I drove into the parking lot and turned off the engine. She was still staring straight ahead, but I could tell she was trying not to crack a smile. I knew that look by now.

I ran around the SUV and yanked open her door. I offered her my hand and she took it, daintily stepping out of the car.

“Um, I need the ring, sweetheart,” I said.

“Well, I don’t have it!” she snorted.

“Yeah, actually you do. It’s in the pocket of my jacket.”

She stared at me in disbelief.

“I’ve been sleeping on it all this time?”

I smiled at her and winked.

“I’m so mad at you right now!” she hissed.

“No, you’re not, firecracker,” I said, calmly.

She passed me my jacket without comment, and I fished around for the small velvet box.

I took a deep breath, trying to make sure I had enough oxygen in my lungs to say what needed to be said, and I dropped down on one knee.

“Torrey Delaney, you give me hope. From the first time I saw your beautiful face, you showed me your beautiful heart, too. I didn’t expect to find happiness in this world, but it’s a gift you give me every single day. I love you, and I want to spend my whole life lovin’ you. Will your crazy heart beat for me? Will you become my wife?”

I offered her the small velvet box and she opened it slowly. When her eyes met mine, they were shining with tears.

“Sapphires?”

“Like your beautiful eyes, sweetheart.” I took the ring from the box, and slipped it onto her finger. “Looks good there.”

She nodded, blinking back tears.

“You’d better get up off of your knees, cowboy,” she said, at last. “We’ve got a wedding to get to.”

“So that’s a yes?” I asked, hopefully.

She smiled. “It was never going to be a no.”

I stood up, not caring that I was covered in dust and dirt from a long drive. I gathered her into my arms and promised myself I’d never let her go. Through thick and thin, this woman was it for me.

“I guess we’d better see if this wedding chapel really is 24/7,” she said, giggling into my neck.

I pulled away slightly so I could see her face.

“You okay with this, sweetheart? You don’t want to ask your momma to marry us or anythin’? I can wait.”

I really didn’t want to, but I’d do it if that’s what she wanted.

She shook her head and smiled.

“That’s not us, Jordan. Anyway, we’re already blessed.”

I walked into that wedding chapel, the happiest man in the whole freakin’ world. My day began and ended with her. And it always would.

 

THE END