Page 64 of Whiskey Promises
"H-How much more time?"
"I was thinking five months."
She slow blinks at me. "What?"
"Five months," I murmur, tracing along her ring finger. "At least to start. I'm willing to renegotiate after that."
"Jareth!" She lunges for me, tackling me to the floor beneath her. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I missed you too goddamn much to spend the next five months away from you, Zoya," I say, grinning. "So I won't be doing that."
Tears spring to her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "You're staying? Tell me that you mean it."
"Yeah, princess, I'm staying." I tuck a curl behind her ear before brushing a tear from her cheek. "We've been working out the details since the day after the wedding. Nadia is bringing on a new guitarist to finish the tour, and I'll be here, looking for a manufacturer for the vineyard's new venture."
Zoya squeals, flinging herself down across my chest. "You're staying!" she shouts.
I laugh quietly, rolling her beneath me. "Did you really think I was going to let you spend five months over here by yourself?"
"Well…yeah."
I shake my head, tsking at her. "You've got so much to learn, princess. There's not a chance in hell that was happening."
"I'm so happy," she says.
"Yeah?" I slip my hand into my pocket, my fingers closing around her ring. "Think I can make you happier?"
"Oh, I can think of a few ways," she says, a wicked laugh rolling from her lips.
I tug the ring from my pocket, holding it up in front of her face. "Is this one of them?"
She gasps, her eyes widening. "Jareth, is that…?"
"Hell yes," I growl, grabbing her hand to slide it onto her finger. "And I'm not asking, princess. I'm telling you. As soon as you graduate, you're marrying me."
Her lips curve into a smile that damn near splits her cheeks in two. "Wow. You've gotten bossy in the last two weeks."
"Is that a yes?"
"I guess so." She shrugs casually, only to laugh wickedly again when I growl at her. "Yes, it's a yes!" she shouts. "Are you kidding me?"
I groan, leaning down to kiss the breath from her lungs. Christ, she's finally wearing my ring. She said yes.
"You get to break the news to my dad," she murmurs when I finally let her up for air.
"You really don't know me at all, do you?" I chuckle, shaking my head. "I made a pit stop on the way here. Your dad said to tell you congratulations." He also said some bullshit about not getting her pregnant before the ink dries on the license, but I'm ignoring that strongly worded suggestion.
"Wow," she whispers, impressed. "You thought of everything."
"Yeah, I did." I haul her up from the floor, standing her in front of me. "Now…you want to tell me about this hot neighbor of yours?"
"Hot neighbor? What hot neighbor?" She blinks innocently and then pats me on the chest before turning on her heel, her round ass swaying as she strides across the room.
I growl, taking a step in her direction. She sees me coming and squeals, darting down the hall. I grin, letting her get a head start before I chase after her…the same goddamn way I have been since the very beginning.
Epilogue
Zoya
