“You’re sad,” he repeated with quiet understanding.
She sighed. “Don’t you have to go take Jax out and get him drunk now?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll be alone.”
Sawyer waited until she looked at him. “I should be insulted.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, her control beginning to slip. “No, I don’t mean it like that—”
His eyes never flinching, never leaving her face, he said, “Marry me.”
“What?” Her heart stopped. Had she heard him correctly? “Because you feel sorry for me?”
“Feel sorry for you? Not likely.” He smiled. “Marry me because we’re good together.” He waggled a brow. “Especially in the shower.”
“Oh my God. Shh!” She glanced around, and his grin broadened, probably because the old Chloe wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass if anyone had overheard. She still didn’t, not really, it was just that clearly he’d lost his frigging mind.
“You could marry me right here, right now,” he said.
Oh, God. He was serious. “You like your own space,” she told him, trying to give him an out.
He lifted a shoulder, cool as could be, while she was ready to burst something. “I like sharing it with you.”
Hope kindled and ignited. “I’ll drive you crazy,” she whispered.“Already done,” he assured her, “in the best possible way.” He ran a finger over her temple, gently pushing back a strand of hair. “I want to come home to you every night, Chloe.”
“There will be nights I have to be here, when we have guests.”
He shrugged. “Then we’ll hire someone to work part-time at night and give you breaks, or I’ll come to you. I don’t care what bed I go home to, as long as you’re in it. Say you’ll think about it, that you’ll think about giving us a real shot.”
She stared at him, knowing she’d never wanted anything so much in her entire life. Which made it simple, really. “For you,” she said, “I believe I’d do anything.”
His eyes went hot. “Anything?”
Her knees were wobbling, but she had enough strength to shove him.
A guy to the very core, he laughed and reeled her back in. Leaning close, he pressed his mouth to her ear and nipped the lobe with his teeth. “Trust me. It’ll be good.”
“The marrying part, or the—”
“Everything.”
Since she did trust him—with her heart, her soul, her life—she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, pressed her face to his throat, and kissed him there, loving how his arms tightened around her. “I love you, Sawyer. So much.”
“I know.” His eyes were serious. “It’s my very own miracle, and I count on it every single day.”
“It would never be boring…” she said.
“Counting on that, too. Say yes, Chloe.”
She lifted her face and smiled. “Yes. To everything.”