I lifted one eyebrow.
“No?”
“No.”
His voice changed.
Lower.
Softer.
“I was trying to remember how to breathe.”
My smile faded.
Not because I was sad.
Because Beast had never been a man who said things he didn’t mean.
And when he did say them…
They stayed with you.
He reached into his pocket.
My heart stopped.
Not fluttered.
Stopped.
“Beast?”
He looked nervous.
Actually nervous.
The man who had faced down Gerald in the dark woods.
The man who had protected me when everything felt terrifying.
The man who could stare down anyone in Eagle River without blinking.
Was nervous.
Because of me.
He dropped to one knee in the grass.
My hand flew to my mouth.
Behind us, somebody gasped.
I turned my head.
Of course.
The Magnolia Ladies stood near the barn.
