Page 19

Now, I’m intrigued. I sit up in bed and watch him disappear down the hall. He comes back with a shiny, black lockbox.

He sets it on the bed next to me and mutters, “Zero, four, two, two.”

I look up at him questioningly, and he adds, “The code to open in.”

As I type the numbers in, I realize it’s my birthday. “What’s in here?” I ask.

He hesitates and runs a hand through his hair, suddenly all nerves. “It’s everything I’ve never told anyone. Shit I don’t talk about. My family photos, some letters.” His jaw clenches. “I’ve never let anyone see what’s inside.” The gravity of it sinks in, slow and heavy. “Because I want you to see all of me. The real me. Even the parts I’m not proud of.” He fixes those ice-blue eyes on me.

I key in the code and pop the lid. The box is packed—old photographs, dog tags, thick battered notebooks, even a child’s birthday card.

I pull the top photo free. It’s Eamon as a kid, skinny and grinning, arm slung around a blond boy with the same sharp jaw. “Is this your brother?”

“My cousin. Seamus. He runs the family business in Boston.” There’s an edge to his voice, a bitterness. “I was supposed to work side by side with him, but I didn’t want that life.”

I stare at the photo, then at him. “Family business?”

“Organized crime.” He nods. “I never wanted to be a part of that, so I signed up for the military right out of high school and never looked back.”

My brain stutters. “Does your family still want you to…?”

He laughs, sharp and hard. “I bought my way to freedom by giving up my interests in it.” He pauses, taps a finger on the lockbox. “But Seamus still checks in with me every now and then to make sure I haven’t changed my mind.”

I flip through the other photos. There’s one of Eamon in fatigues, standing in a line of men all beaming at the camera, dusty and sunburnt. A snapshot of him at a graduation. A photo of a much younger Nathan, with a black eye and split lip, grinning like a maniac, with Eamon beside him.

“I’ve been fighting my feelings for you since the moment you walked into Midnight Mischief.” He sits on the side of me. “I thought you needed someone without my past.”

“What?” I don’t understand this at all, but I sit silently and let him explain.

“I told myself to let you find a man who can give you everything you deserve. I just never stopped to consider what it would feel like if you actually walked away.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and places soft kisses along my knuckles. Then he shocks the holy hell out of me by sliding a huge diamond ring on my finger. “I can’t stomach the thought of you leaving me. And I know I’ll kill any motherfucker who tries to take you from me. I want you here. With me. Forever. I’m going to give you the life you deserve.”

I stare at him, at the ring, down to the lockbox, and then back up at him. There’s a lump in my throat so big I can barely talk.

“I almost moved to New York just to get over you, you know,” I say. “But now… I don’t want to be anywhere but here. You’re the only thing I want.” Leave it to Eamon to propose to me without asking a thing.

He cups my face and kisses me. It’s slow, deep, and infinitely more vulnerable than any of the other times. When he pulls away, his voice is soft. “Good.”

A thought occurs to me. I don’t want there to be any surprises or regrets. “I have to tell you something.” He stares down into my eyes as I swallow and admit, “I don’t think I want children.”

He blinks several times. “And?”

“And I want to make sure this isn’t a deal breaker for you.” Duh.

Eamon kisses me until my brain short-circuits and the world narrows to pure sensation. “All I want is you. I don’t care about anything else. If you want kids, I’ll give them to you. If not, I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.” His words hit me with the force of a tidal wave.

My body melts into his, all my jagged little pieces finally clicking into place. “Thank you for being absolutely fucking perfect,” I choke out, burying my face against his chest and clinging to him like he’s the answer to every unsolved equation in my life.

He dips his head, nuzzling along my jaw with his nose, and murmurs, “By the way, I texted Nathan and let him know neither of us will be in tonight.” His breath is hot as it ghosts over my skin, making me shiver.

“Why?” I lean back, searching his eyes for the catch, that little twist that says this is too good to be true.

His eyes spark. “Because we’re moving your shit into my apartment. Now that you’re mine, I’m not spending another night without you.”

The words land like an electric jolt, sparking in every nerve ending. “Sounds like a plan to me.”