“Too happy?” he repeated, kissing my temple before turning me around to face him. “Is that a thing?” he asked sincerely without teasing me. I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. Maybe I was more worried about this than I had let myself believe?
“What if… what if you get tired of having me here or bored of me and—“ I swallowed as panic shot through me, swirling with anxiety I had been keeping at bay.
“Hey, don’t go there. That’s not going to happen,” he gently said, bending so we were closer to eye level, but I couldn’t getmyself to look him in the eye. Instead, my gaze landed on the center of the shirt he’d put on. It was a navy-blue one from his police department. I knew it was worn soft and comfortable because I had just worn it last Sunday when we were out in the backyard, planting gerbera daisies in a flower bed.
“I’ve told you how everyone in my life…” My voice softened. “I don’t know how I would survive that.” I hated saying the words out loud, but I knew if I didn’t, I was only giving them more power.
“Survive?” he repeated.
“Losing you,” I quickly said the words. The pads of his fingers touched my chin with the most tender touch, tipping my head up so I could meet his softened blue eyes.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said with so much determination in his voice it made me want to believe him.
“You don’t know that,” I whispered a little harshly. I tried to step out of his hold, but he didn’t let me. Logan lifted me up and sat me down on the kitchen counter.
“Look at me, princess,” he ordered. “I love you.” His jaw clenched. “That’s not going to change. Not today or tomorrow or ever.”
“But—“
“No buts,” he cut me off. Fierceness shone in his eyes, something I wanted to cling to. “You and me, Vi? We’re forever. You get that?”
“I want to. I just... I get scared,” I admitted. My shoulders sagged slightly.
“And I understand that. I do, too.”
“You do?” My eyes widened. I didn’t think anything scared Logan. The man literally ran directly towards the bad guys when most people ran away.
“Baby, I just found the woman of my dreams. You don’t think I know, after doing what I do, the dangers out there and just how fickle life can be?”
“But… you’re so brave,” I pointed out.
“That first day you started at the bookstore? I drove past it about ten times to make sure you were okay,” he shared. My eyes widened.
“What?” I giggled, leaning closer into him. “Are you serious?”
“Very. What if some dumbass went in with bad intentions or some customer got stupid with you or one of your coworkers?”
“Logan—“
“Or worse, what if someone came in, someone younger and closer to your age, and catches your attention?” His gaze turned hotter, and he licked his lips.
“That’s not possible,” I whispered, cupping his face, I stroked his scruffy jaw. “I love you. There is no way anyone could ever make me feel what I feel for you. Ever.”
“Fuck,” he cursed, resting his forehead against mine. “I was waiting to do something but…” His hand dropped and slipped into his front pocket. “I’ve been carrying this with me for the last month. Waiting and bidding my time. I wanted you to get to know me better. To know what you were getting when it came to me, but honestly, I think we both need this more than I realized.”
“Need what?” He stepped back and lifted me off the counter.
“I should do this somewhere else. I’d thought about taking you to the accident site, but that was a little morbid and—“ he kept rambling. None of what he was saying made sense. But when he kneeled and slipped a baby-blue box out and brought it up between us, the world stopped.
“Ohmygod,” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.
“Princess.” He took my shaking left hand, and just like that, with a single sweet touch, everything righted inside me.
“Ohmygod,” I repeated with tears in my eyes. I’d never dreamt of this. Of someone asking me what he was about to ask, or at least what I thought he was going to do.
“I love you. I knew you were mine the moment our eyes connected. We might have met in an intense situation, but fuck me, beautiful, I knew. I felt it in my bones, and my gut has never steered me wrong.”
“Logan,” I whispered.
