Four months later
I stood, leaning against the outside of my truck in the parking lot. I watched as Olivia came out of the dance studio, looking adorable as she skipped across the asphalt until she stood before me.
She looked up at me with those big brown eyes.
I loved the gasp that escaped her when my arm wrapped around her waist so I could tug her hard against my body.
“You’re back.” She lifted her face to mine. “How was Zurich?”
I smiled, my eyes on her luscious mouth. “It was good.”
“Did you bring me some chocolate?”
“Better.”
“Better than chocolate?” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “What could be better than chocolate?”
I thought about the one-karat diamond ring in my pocket. “You’ll see.” I pressed my mouth to hers, loving how she moaned and deepened the kiss. I pulled my face back. “Want to go on a date tonight?”
She smiled up at me. “We live together.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean we can’t have date night.”
She stood on her tippy toes to steal another kiss. “Okay.”
God, I loved this woman. I wanted to make her mine. I wanted to give her my name, give her babies, and grow old with her. I wanted to ask her to marry me.
I watched as she climbed into the truck beside me, but instead of starting it up, I could only stare at her.
“What?” She gave me a smile that was so pure and beautiful, it hurt my heart.
“I love you, you know that?”
Her face brightened. “I know.”
I didn’t know what I had done in my life to deserve her, but she was mine. She had taken up permanent residence in my heart, and she was the only one in this world for me. Every day I worked to make sure she knew that she was my biggest priority.
“We have a lot of celebrating to do tonight,” I teased as I started the truck.
She looked over at me. “What? Tell me.”
“You’ll see.”
An hour later, on the way to the restaurant, I pulled into an empty parking lot. She looked around.
“Remember this place?” I turned off the engine.
She smiled at me. “This is where you brought me to dance that night.”
“Come on.” I motioned with my head. “Let’s go take a look.”
I unlocked the doors, and together we walked into the empty dance studio. I watched as she walked across the wooden floors before turning back to me. “What are we doing here?”
I put both of my hands in my pockets. “Wanted to see what you thought about this place.”
She gave me a adorably confused look over her shoulder. “It’s a great studio.”
“It’s for sale.”
She spun around and looked at me sharply. “What does that mean?”
“The entire building is for sale. I’ve had engineers look it over. It’s structurally sound. Mostly it needs some cosmetic work.”
Her chest rose and fell. “But I’m years away from buying my own place. I can’t afford this.”
I thought about the Alberta ranch I had sold this week. The one asset the police hadn’t found or touched. “I can.”
Her hands covered her chest. “Andrusha, how?”
I stepped towards her and took her hands in mine. “I sold the ranch.”
“No!” she cried out. “That’s your future. That’s your backup plan.”
I tugged her hard against my body, loving how her soft curves felt against me. “You don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“You’re my future.” I put my hands around her face. “With you in my life, I don’t need a backup plan. I don’t want one.”
Her eyes were wide. “You can’t buy this building for me.”
I had an entire plan for my marriage proposal that included a four-course meal and a bottle of champagne. Instead I found myself blurting out, “What if you were my wife? Would you let your husband buy you this place?”
She stopped breathing for a moment. “What are you saying?”
I stepped back from her and pulled the ring out of my pocket. She gasped as I bent down on one knee, looking up at her. “I had a whole thing planned.”
She covered her hands with her mouth, her eyes on the ring. “Andrusha.”
“Marry me, Olivia. Make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife.”
Her brown eyes glistened with tears. “You want to marry me?”
I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me. How could I express that she was my world, my entire heart, and that nothing mattered if she wasn’t in my life? I wanted to raise a family with her and build her a house and help her grow her business. I wanted to be there for her, for every breath she took.
But I wasn’t good with words, so I said, “I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.”
She flew into my arms, her sweet mouth on mine. “Yes, yes, yes.”
I stood, picking her up in my arms. “Yes?”
“Yes,” she laughed as I swung her around.
I buried my face in her neck. “I love you, Olivia.”
“Let me try on my ring.” She wriggled in my arms.
I put her down, grabbed her hand. She gasped as I slid the diamond ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful.”
I bent down to press my mouth to hers. “Not as beautiful as you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love you, Andrusha.”
“Are you going to let your husband buy you a dance studio? You should know it comes with some conditions.”
She laughed and kissed me again. “What?”
“I may want a dance once in a while.”
“A dirty dance?”
“Is there any other kind?”
She smiled up at me. “I think that can be arranged.”
I still felt too lucky to be given such a perfect second chance, but I would take it. “Want to skip dinner and head home for that dance?”
She laughed as she looked around. “Or we could just do the dance here and then go for dinner.”
Instantly my cock was hard. I dropped another hot kiss against her lips. “I’ll get the chair.”
She pressed her body against mine. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saving me. For loving me. For coming back to find me.”
My heart squeezed hard in my chest as I looked into the eyes of my future. “You’re the one who saved me.”
