I gasp. “What is this, Anders?”
“It’s a—” Imogen starts.
“Nope!” He cuts her off. “Geez, you two don’t get the concept of a surprise, do you?”
I twist around in my chair, whispering conspiratorially to Immy. “You can tell me.”
“You better not. I’m warning you.”
His stern voice sends a happy little flutter through my stomach. He circles the SUV to open our doors, leading us both to the red carpet. He laces his fingers through mine and Immy skips ahead of us, obviously excited about whatever is at the end of this thing.
I squeeze his strong hand, holding tight because I’m in heels, and even though we’re walking on carpet, the rocky ground beneath it is unpredictable.
He squeezes back, “Can I be serious with you for a minute?”
“Maybe if you try hard enough.” I bump him with my hip.
He growls and pulls me into his side, holding me tight. “I can’t think straight with you in that dress, Sunny. I should’ve brought a baggy, brown trench coat for you to wear.” He clears his throat and we take a few more steps before he continues. “Okay, you know how I love candy?”
Well, that took an unexpected turn. I think about it. I guess he does tend to keep a bag of Skittles at the ready. “I think so?”
“I mean, when I’m not getting ready for a shirtless scene, I like candy. Anyway, when I was a kid I used to sneak it in my lunchbox. I figured out quickly that if I filled my lunchbox with Skittles and M&Ms there wasn’t room left for real food. By the end of the day I was sick. Eventually, I learned to pack real food and fit the candy around it.”
Where is he going with this? And where is Immy? She is wasting us on this red carpet. Anders is unfazed. He must not be too worried about whatever is ahead of us. Very him.
“My life has been like a lunchbox full of candy. I haven’t left room for the best things. The most important things. So I’m rearranging, and the thing is…”
My heel catches on a bump in the carpet and I stumble. Without missing a beat, I’m in Anders' capable arms and my feet are off the ground. The man has literally swept me off my feet. If I wasn’t so breathless I would laugh at the ridiculousness.
“Sorry,” his deep voice rumbles close to my ear. “I didn’t think the shoes through when I planned this.”
“This is good, though.” I stretch up to kiss his neck. “You were saying?”
His Adam's apple bobs. “I-I was saying that I’m rearranging my life to make room for the best things.” He hitches me higher and closer in his arms. “But the thing is, I’m not making room for you in my life.”
I laugh. “Excuse me?”
“That came out wrong.” He chuckles and I love the hum of his laughter while he holds me. “I’ve been doing it all wrong. I’ve filled my life with work and travel and myself.” We make our way around a bend in the trail. He has to be dying carrying me, but if he is, he’s hiding it well. “But I’m flipping that inside out. I’m not making room for you in my life. You are my life. You’re everything to me, Sunflower. Will you make room for me? For us?”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My eyes are blurry with tears. I want to kiss him before I answer because it’s been way too long, but I don't allow it because I also need to think. I want to say yes—of course I do—but I don’t know how it can work.
He must sense my reservations because he plows ahead. “I want all of you, Sunny. I want to hike through the desert and play cards with your sisters. I want to bring you on the real red carpet and show you off. I want to find kids to raise with you. I want to fill a house with at least fifteen kids. Two from each continent, plus Immy.”
Aaaaand… now I’m bawling. I hope he’s serious. I’d raise fifteen kids with him. He skipped a step, though.
Anders goes on. “I want you. But mostly I want to be yours. I’m begging you to let me be yours.”
He lowers my feet to the ground, but I’m not ready to let him go. I don't know what to say, but I can't be separated from him any more.
He fills in the silence. “I know I'm going way too fast. That’s always been me—zero to sixty. But in my gut I know this is right.” His voice is thick with emotion. “Can't you feel it?”
I stare into his icy blue eyes. He’s so right. Everything inside me knows this is right—we’re right.
“Yes,” I whisper, blinking up at him. “Anders, I needed you so much. I thought I was okay. I thought I could make life perfect on my own, but I was so wrong. I didn’t know how much I was missing until I found you.”
His hands squeeze my waist. “Ifoundyou. That first day, watching you with Immy in those glasses… I found you. And I want to keep you.”
“Well, I’m yours,” I push the words past the knot in my throat.
