Page 80 of Hold a Candle

The taste of the steamy, roasted brussels sprouts, asparagus, and small potatoes seasoned with garlic and oils was delicious. The savory baps brushed with butter and honey teased his appetite unmercifully. A robust red wine complimented the flavorful foods.

They could have cheated and asked for silverware, and it would have been provided, but Pauley had gamely declined. He liked that about her. In fact, he liked just about everything he knew so far about the plucky detective.

After a voluptuous young girl in braids and a Viking outfit served their dessert, Pauley turned to him, her expression rather brooding.

“Just what exactly are ye proposing, Jamie? Because ye need to think carefully about getting hooked up with a detective for very long. This last week hasn’t been the normal in my life. I’m a very dedicated detective when I have a case. It becomes a priority.”

“Are ye saying a husband wouldn’t be a priority?” he asked, watching her expressions.

She stiffened in surprise. “Are ye proposing marriage?”

“Are ye against marriage at some point?” he countered, wanting to be clear as to his intentions.

“I didn’t say that. I just need to understand yer definition of priorities.” She gazed at him from beneath hooded lids. “I will never become the traditional version of a housewife again. No more rushing home to fix the evening meals, no more picking up or doing laundry for someone who can’t be bothered to do their own, and no more listening to whining because I’m not there to hold a hand, or engage in an obligatory sex night once a week. The household shopping and chores get done when I have time, or feel like doing them, and if that’s not good enough, then my partner can do them himself. After all, the household workloadshouldbe shared.”

Jamie could hear the dissatisfaction in her words and suspected that her and Peter’s relationship had crumbled years ago. He couldn’t help grinning as he thought about his and Rhonda’s marriage. It had been nothing like Pauley was describing. He covered her hand with his and played with her fingers.

“Pauley, I’ve never had a traditional marriage and don’t plan to. I want a life partner, a wife who loves me, someone to share things with, and everything else that might include. I don’t need a maid, a chef, or someone to manage my money. I’m perfectly capable of living alone, and have done so for the last three years.”

“My job doesn’t bother ye?” she asked skeptically as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying.

He shook his head. “Yer job doesn’t threaten me,” he assured her.

“Even if it means I could get hurt? Law enforcement can be dangerous.”

“Aye, it can. I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t scare me to think of ye getting hurt, but I also trust that ye are a capable and seasoned detective who will take precautions to keep yerself as safe as ye can be. If I see ye taking careless chances, ye may end up over my knee, but we’ll talk about it first. Does that bother ye?”

After a few seconds, Pauley shook her head, a bit of pink diffusing the pale skin of her cheeks. “Not at all,” she husked, trying not to look embarrassed.

“I suspect ye’ll be over my lap a lot,” he predicted softly, “and there won’t be a need for an obligatory sex night on a calendar. It’s a great way to relieve tension on both sides.” He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip and then leaned down to drop a kiss on her mouth.

“I’ll tell ye what,” she sighed against his lips and then pulled back. “Let’s give ourselves a trial run. If we are still together in three months, then I’ll think seriously about taking that early retirement, although it’s still five years away for me.”

“Six weeks,” he countered.

She stared at him. “Eight weeks,” she insisted.

He smiled and nodded his assent. “Eight weeks...and ye accept this from me. It’s a promise ring, or an engagement ring if ye want it to be. Either way, it’s yers. I want ye in my life, Pauley, and I won’t change my mind no matter how long ye put me off. But I do want the world to know ye are promised to me before anyone else.”

He opened the jeweler’s box he took out of his pocket and watched her eyes light up. He’d been hoping for that reaction. What woman didn’t love jewelry?

“A chocolate diamond,” she breathed as the gorgeous ring in its gold setting came into view. “How did ye happen to choose that?”

He chuckled. “I asked Elliott if he had any idea of what ye liked, and he told me ye have always wanted one. And it matches yer lovely brown eyes.”

Those eyes were shining as she stared up at him. “It’s beautiful, Jamie, I love it.”

She hadn’t taken it from the box and he was beginning to get a bit worried. “Enough to put it on?”

She chuckled then and held out her left hand. “We’ve only known each other for five days; I can’t believe I’m doing this. But aye, ye can put it on for me.”

Jamie’s fingers trembled slightly as he pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her slender ring finger. The lights caught the brilliance of the beautiful facets and cuts, gleaming with a rich, dark shimmer.

“It fits perfectly,” he husked. “And we’ve learned a lot about each other in those five days, certainly enough for me. That’s the beauty of being older, we recognize what we want a lot faster than when we were younger.”

Pauley lifted her wine glass in a salute. “I’ll drink to that,” she purred. “I have to confess though; I’ve had my eye on ye before this.”

Surprise shot through Jamie, then his eyes narrowed. “Stalking? Isn’t that against the law?” he murmured, reaching for his glass to tip with hers. He was very pleased at her words.

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