“Mmm.” She agreed. “So what about you? What’s the news on the hunt for the mother lode?”
He motioned to a bench beneath a royal poinciana tree with its deep green foliage and bright red flowers. Chrissy took a seat and then primly pulled her long, flowing skirt aside to make room for him.
He didn’t crowd her. But he didn’t smash himself into the corner of the bench either. He gave her enough room so that a bare inch of space separated their thighs. He would swear he could feel arcs of electricity shooting between the small divide.
Can she feel it too?
If the deep blush staining her cheeks was anything to go by, the answer wasyes.
“We found a campsite,” he said, and then went on to explain about the artifacts and Alex’s suggestion they use ground penetrating sonar to search the island.
Chrissy nodded. “You guys are close to finding it. I can feel it in my bones.”
“My bones are less sure,” he admitted. “But I hope you’re right. We can’t keep up the hunt much longer. We’re runnin’ out of capital.”
They fell into silence after that pronouncement. Wolf let it drag on for as long as he could before blurting, “I heard what Winston said.”
Her eyes were wide when she turned to look at him. “Which part?”
“The only part that matters, Christina. The part where he said you’re crazy in love with me.”
There was a time to mince words. This wasn’t it.
She raked in a ragged breath and he watched as myriad emotions flashed across her face. Then, some of the tension seemed to drain out of her.
She tucked a strand of hair that’d fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. The movement made the abalone charms on her bracelet jingle.
For a second, he wondered if she would answer. Then she did. And with every word out of her mouth, his heart soared higher.
“From the moment I met you, I knew you,” she said softly. “It was like we were friends and lovers from a different lifetime. You stepped up to me and I felt like saying, ‘Oh, hello you. There you are. Finally.’”
He swallowed and nodded because he’d felt the exact same way.
“I’ve never liked a laugh as much as I like yours,” she went on. “I’ve never been as much myself with anyone as I am when I’m with you. I’ve never felt more alive than I do when I’m in your arms. And all of that terrifies me down to my bones. Because what happens if I lose it? What happens if I—”
He stopped her by closing the distance between them. By framing her face with his hands and kissing her.
It wasn’t a small peck either. He put his back and his whole mouth into it as if no one was watching. Only when things began to go too far did he pull back and swear against her lips, “You’ll never lose it. Because you’ll never lose me.”
Tears stood in her eyes when she shook her head. “But that’s just it, isn’t it? We can make these vows now, but who knows what the future holds?” He opened his mouth to swear his devotion, but she pressed on. “And that uncertainty, the…unpredictability of falling in love was why I was determined not to do it. But you, Wolf.” It was her turn to framehisface. “You’re worth all the risk. And I swear to you, if there ever comes a day when it’s not enough and you feel like have to leave, you can. I never want to be the reason you don’t have the life you want. All I want is for you to be happy.”
His heart was so full he thought it a wonder it didn’t explode right out of his chest. “You crazy woman. Don’t you know a life spent with the person you love is the greatest adventure of all?”
Tears flowed freely down her face now. He wiped them away with his thumbs, but more fell to replace them. “Thank you,” he told her.
“For what?” she sniffed.
“I told you I wouldn’t settle for anything less than everything. That I wanted that out of control, ass over teakettle tumble into romantic bliss and a woman who is as nuts for me as I am for her. And you’ve given it to me.”
She caught her lip between her teeth and nodded. “Then I think we should get married.”
The suddenness of her suggestion caught him unawares. “You do?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Why?” He blinked, feeling his mouth tremble to contain a grin. Joy was a tangible force vibrating around him, vibrating through him. “Am I pregnant?”
She chuckled wetly and shook her head. “It’s cliché, I know. But I’ve been waiting so long for this part of my life to start that I don’t want to wait another second. I want to be your wife. I want to have your babies. Let’s build a family together, Wolf. I miss having a family.”
