AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My forehead knits together as I brush my fingertips against the metal. “Do you have new jewelry, Simba?”
My words are met with a low chuckle. I glance toward the door to see the love of my life standing there with a goofy grin stretched across his face.
I return his smile. “Do I amuse you?”
“Always,” he says. He nods toward Simba. “Maybe you should read his new jewelry?”
“There are words?” I flail a hand toward the nightstand in search of my glasses.
With a laugh, Hunter crosses the room. “I’ll get them for you. If you squirm too much, Simba will get annoyed.”
“So true,” I murmur, scratching the cat’s ears.
Hunter slides my glasses onto my face. I lean toward Simba to read the inscription on his new collar: Dearest Avery, will you marry me?
My eyes shoot up to meet Hunter’s. My chest swells with love and affection for this man who’s turned my life upside down. I came to Mercury Ridge to rekindle a relationship with my father, but I ended up with so much more than I could ever have imagined.
My answer is yes, of course. I’ve dreamed of marrying Hunter since the moment he first smiled at me. But he’s so much fun to tease.
“Uh, oh, fireman,” I say with a grin. “Looks like you have competition. Simba’s just asked me to marry him.”
Hunter growls, stalking toward the bed, looking more like a lion than my beloved housecat ever has. “He’d better not mess with my girl.”
He leaps onto the bed and pulls me into his arms. Annoyed, Simba jumps to the floor. Hunter and I both laugh.
“So much for competition,” Hunter says. “He gave up without a fight.”
“Typical cat,” I grumble. “Madly in love with me one moment but wants nothing to do with me the next.”
Hunter’s eyes meet mine and his face grows serious. “I want you every moment of every day,” he says reverently. He pulls a tiny blue box from his pocket, and I blink back tears as he holds up the most dazzling solitaire diamond ring I’ve seen.
Caressing my jaw with a fingertip, he whispers, “Will you marry me, my sweet Avery?”
Tears fill my eyes, and I nod. “Yes, fireman. With all my heart, yes.”
