I shake my head. “No, I mean, I like it… when you hold my hand.”
He turns his body so he’s facing me. “I don’t want to let go.”
I suck in a breath and let it out slowly. I have to do this. That’s the only way I’m going to know this is real.
I unclasp my hand from his and play with the engagement ring on my finger. Slowly, I pull it off, open Miller’s hand, and put it in it. “Here’s your ring.”
His face is void of all emotion. He looksat the ring and then back at me. “I heard you in there. I heard you say you were ready to get back to your life.”
I jerk back and shake my head. “I meant to my job. That people would actually hire me now since the Davenports are in jail. I meant that I wouldn’t have to constantly be worrying that someone is going to take Eli or try to kill me. That’s what I meant.”
He’s searching my face, looking for answers.
I hold my hands together in my lap to stop from reaching for him. “I came to you for help. I needed you, and I wouldn’t be here, celebrating, if it wasn’t for you.”
“But…” he starts.
“There’s no buts. I owe you for everything.”
He spits out the words. “You don’t owe me anything.”
Fuck, this is so hard. “I’m giving you the ring because you gave it to me to help me keep Eli. One day”—I suck in a breath—“I’m hoping you give it to me for another reason.”
“What?” he asks.
Please don’t let me fuck this up. “Miller, we did this all backwards. We didn’t even get a second date beforemy nephew and I were dropped into your lap. For weeks now, we’ve been messing up your schedule, your life and?—”
He reaches for me. “You didn’t mess up anything.”
I put a hand to his chest. He has to hear me out. “Listen to me, Miller.”
He nods. “I’m listening.”
“Remember when I told you about seeing that picture of you with that other woman?”
He grumbles. “I swear that is the biggest regret of my life. If I could redo that night, I would.”
I curl my hand into his chest. “I’m not throwing that in your face, I just mean, it hurt. And I knew that if I got involved with you that you could really hurt me… you could break my heart.”
He opens his mouth, but I stop him. “Well, now that I got to know you and I’ve seen how you are with me, with Eli, with your family—heck, even the way you are with Mike and people you just met.” I look at him wide-eyed. “I fell in love with you, Miller.”
He blows out a breath. “You love me?”
“Yes. I love you so much, but I need you to give this some time. Eli and I will give you some space and then you can decide what you want.”
He pulls me into his lap. “No, you won’t.”
I turn and look at him. “No, I won’t what?”
He holds me to him, and his touch is reverent. “You won’t be leaving me or giving me space. I know exactly what I want.” He leans back and looks into my eyes. “I love you, Lindsey. And if I haven’t shown you that, then I’ve messed up. I’ve tried not to add any pressure to you or ask you for things that you weren’t ready to give, but I love you. I want you to be my wife. I want us to have more kids.”
“More kids?” I interrupt.
He nods. “Yes, we need to give Eli a little brother or a sister. I’m here for the long haul.”
“Miller. This is not something you decide on a Monday night. You have to be sure. This isn’t just a decision that?—”
He sets me gently on the stairs, then drops to one knee in front of me.
