“Not your apartment in Dallas,” he corrected. “You’re not in any shape to take care of yourself. Not yet.”
She grimaced.
He lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll make sure you get a room as far away from Precious as we can manage.”
She grimaced again. “Sorry.”
He shrugged. “Some people are afraid of spiders and stinging bugs, and some are afraid of snakes. That’s life.”
She let out a breath. “Okay. Thanks.”
“No more undercover work. Ever,” he said firmly.
Her eyes widened. She gaped at him.
“My nerves won’t stand it,” he added. He leaned back. “In fact, unless you feel that you have to stay with the agency, I make more than enough to keep us in Jaguars and fancy dresses and suits.”
She was still gaping.
He ignored that. “You’ll have to get used to ranch work all over again, assuming that you aren’t sick of it from having grown up on a ranch. But my mother is crazy about you. In fact, they all are. A lot has happened while you were away. Odalie got kidnapped by Tanner’s nemesis. Tony rescued her and now the DC maniac is in custody and facing serious charges. And Odalie just got married to Tony and she’s pregnant.” He smiled. “So now I stand to be an uncle twice over.” He cocked his head. “Someday, I’d like a child of my own. One with red-gold hair would be awesome. We don’t have a single redhead in the family on either side.”
She caught her breath. Was he really suggesting...?
“You might say a word or two,” he prompted. “You know, a little encouragement never hurt anybody.”
“You don’t even like me,” she began, her voice a little wobbly from the injury and the drugs.
He got up slowly and bent over her. “No, I don’t,” he whispered. “But I love you...”
She couldn’t answer him, because he was kissing her. She tried to reach up around his neck, but it hurt too much.
“Stop that or you’ll hurt yourself,” he murmured against her soft mouth.
“You said a little encouragement...”
“This is plenty,” he whispered, smiling, and kissed her again.
A few heated minutes later, he sat back down in the chair to catch his breath.
“Was that, sort of, a proposal?” she asked, breathless.
He smiled. “A statement of intent,” he countered. “I’m going to marry you eventually whether you agree right now or years from now.”
She chuckled. “As if I could say no,” she replied softly.
“Eventually, I’ll apologize for all the snide remarks I made,” he assured her.
“You could start now,” she told him. “I mean, it’s going to take a really long time.”
“We have plenty of time.”
“I’m armed,” she pointed out.
“Oh, yeah?” he said. “Where’s your gun?”
She grimaced. “One of Vega’s goons took it out of my holster and threw it in the dirt. In the ensuing gunfire, I have to assume it was lost.” She sighed. “I can buy another one...”
“You can borrow one of mine, if you think you’ll need it on the Big Spur,” he corrected firmly.
