Page 122 of One Bossy Date

Her tears streamed down her face now, and I pulled her against my chest, hugging her tightly and reassuring her. “I’m glad this insanity happened. I’m thrilled, in fact. I’m glad you acted as you did, or we wouldn’t have ended up living together. Zoe, I’m grateful that it did happen.”

“But I’ll try to tell the truth from now on.”

“You and I both, baby.”

The first part of her speech registered in my mind, and I pulled away, looking at her face again. “Wait, you stayed in the fucking back room? Here?”

“Yeah…I don’t have an apartment, and I don’t have any furniture.”

My eyebrows wrinkled, and my hands tightened around her arms.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

I’d never known where her place was, and I was always dropping her off here. It tore my heart open. How could I never have realized how much she was struggling? It was no wonder that her anxiety was so high.

“Oh, God, Zoe.” I dropped my forehead to hers, softly stroking her cheeks with my thumbs and closing my eyes. “I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known. I would’ve helped you.” I pulled my head away and cupped her cheeks. “God, I would’ve given you anything, everything. The whole penthouse if you wanted it.”

She breathed in raggedly, her tears dripping from her chin. “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

“Christ, Zoe, no,Iwas wrong. I was the one who left you behind and—fuck. Where are you living now?”

She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. “Jim’s couch.”

My eyes panned between hers as I took a moment to process this. Zoe was struggling with her entire livelihood, while I’d been worried about where the fuck I would be happiest. Mom was right, I’d been such a stubborn idiot.

“Zoe, I’m so sorry. I love you, and I’ll never leave you alone, ever again.” I ran my fingers over her cheeks, wiping more of her tears away and cradling her as if she were the most valuable thing in this entire world.

Her sobs deepened. “Are you sure? Anders, I don’t want to hold you back—”

I ended her excuses with a kiss against her lips, rough and heated, before pulling away and telling her, “Yes, I’m sure, baby. I told you already, I’m only happy where you are. You’re my heart. I’ll stay here, with you. And, listen, I want you to live with me.”

“Oh, Anders, are you su—”

“Wait, before you say yes. There’s more. There’s one condition,” I said. “That we make all this real. That you sleep in my bed every night and make it your own. That you buy whatever furniture you want and put it all over the damn place. Hell, fill my office with boss romance books for all I care!”

She grinned.

“But especially, that you accept my proposal to be my real, true fiancée.”

Her wet eyes were wide, trying to comprehend my words. I let go of her and dug into my jeans pocket, then pulled out the little red box my mom had given me.

I dropped down to one knee and opened it. “Please, Zoe Jones, will you marry me? Will you be my wife?”

Looking between me and the ring, her eyes widened even further, and her mouth dropped open.

My mother had chosen this ring when my father had proposed to her. It was pure gold and had a massive cushion-shaped diamond with smaller diamonds decorating the band on either side. It was big and flashy, I had to admit. But then again, wasn’t flashy the whole reason I’d noticed Zoe in the first place? She was bright and eye-catching. It was the perfect ring for the perfect girl. And I wouldn’t find anything better or more worthy for the most important woman in my life.

“Anders? Are you for real?” Zoe asked, disbelieving.

“When have you ever known me to joke, baby?”

“Never.”

“Exactly,” I growled.

A smile burst across her face, and she laughed, nodding vigorously. “God, yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”

I couldn’t help the wide grin that was now plastered on my face. I got to my feet, put the ring on her finger, and then kissed her, wrapping my arms around her body and lifting her up against me, pressing my lips on hers. She giggled throughout the kiss, crying happy tears now, but I wouldn’t break it for anything.

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