Page 29 of Before You Can Blink
I took one of her trembling hands in mine as I began to pour my heart out. “Daze, you blew into my life and made it better in so many ways. First, you became my best friend, the person I wanted to share all my secrets and dreams with. Then, you became my lover, and that added this whole new layer to the foundation we’d already built. You’re my safe space, the person I run to when I need comfort or encouragement. When something exciting happens in my life, you’re the first one I want to tell. My world stops turning when we have to spend time apart.”
Shaking my head, I let out a wry laugh. “This is, hands down, the most selfish thing I’ve ever done in my life. I have absolutely nothing to offer you. I don’t have a place of my own where we can live, no job security, and if this ring hadn’t been promised to me, I wouldn’t be able to afford one. But I’m so in love with you, Daisy, that I can’t let you go. So here I am, on my knees, begging you to marry me because the idea of not spending every day with you for the rest of my life makes me feel like I’m dying inside.”
Daisy’s free hand rose to her cheek. “You love me?”
“Yeah.” A sheepish grin pulled at my lips.
“And you want to marry me?”
“More than anything I’ve wanted in my entire life, Daze.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Even more than becoming a rodeo champion?”
“You wanna know the truth, darlin’?” The slight dip of her chin was all the permission I needed to proceed. “Someday, the sun is gonna set on myrodeo career. What I want to share with you will last forever. So, yeah, I want you more than any championship I may or may not ever win.”
The woman standing before me stared down at me unblinkingly for so long that sweat began to gather at the back of my neck. My chest constricted, making breathing a struggle, as the reality that she might turn me down entered my brain for the first time.
Then it struck me that while I’d told her I loved her, she’d never expressed that she felt the same way.
Feeling like a total idiot for misreading this situation so badly, I was seconds from pushing off the ground, intent on popping into the bar to lick my wounds—otherwise known as getting so drunk that I forgot my own name while trying to forget hers—when she whispered a single word.
“Yes.”
My heart stopped beating, and I rasped, “What did you say?”
Blue eyes shining bright, Daisy nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Jett.”
I was on my feet in a flash, my empty hand coming to rest on the side of her neck as my thumb stroked her jaw. “Really?”
Daisy rose on her tiptoes to press her lips to mine, murmuring against them, “Really. I love you too, Jett.”
“Fuck.” My eyes slid closed, warmth settling over my heart like a weighted blanket. “Can’t tell you how good it feels to hear you say that, Daze.”
“So much for casual, huh?” she teased.
“So much for only passing through,” I countered.
Her musical laughter filled the air. “This town’s kinda growing on me, and there’s one cowboy in particular who’s caught my eye.”
“That so?” My mouth trailed a line of kisses down her neck. “Must be something special if you’re willing to stick around for his broke ass.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” came her breathless reply when I sucked on a sensitive spot.
“Daze?” I spoke against her skin.
“Hmm?”
“Let’s get this ring on your finger because I’m itching to fuck my fiancée.”
A dreamy sigh sounded as she pulled back, cheeks flushed. “I like the sound of that.”
I slid the modest diamond onto her left hand. “Don’t get too used to it.”
Her brows drew down in confusion. “Why not?”
“Because there’s no way in hell I’m leaving for the season in March without making you my wife first.”
Daisy gaped at me. “You want to get married in the next two months?”
