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I swallow quickly before I blow vodka out of my nostrils. “Rocco?”
“Yeah. He’s totally hot. Come on, help a girl out.”
“No.” I shake my head vigorously. “Just, no. Absolutely not.”
“You’re no fun,” she says. “But maybe I’ll meet him someday.”
“Maybe you’ll stay away from him,” I say, all-business now. “I’m telling you, Lindsey, my family isn’t one you want to get all tangled up in.”
“I mean, getting tangled with him sounds kind of fun.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I do try.”* * *The sun is just starting to set when I pull into the driveway of the beach house. I’m exhausted. Between the manual labor of cleaning my cottage and the emotional strain of seeing my coworkers and Lindsey, it’s been a hell of a day.
I’d love nothing more than to get in the hot tub with Archer for a long soak, watch some trashy TV, and then maybe go to bed early.
Yep, it’s a wild Friday night for me.
I park in the garage next to Archer’s Audi and walk through the mudroom to the kitchen. It occurs to me that I spent all morning at the cottage and didn’t feel a connection to the place at all. And I lived there for six years. Yet as I walk into this beach house, it feels like home. I’d like to think it’s because of the man waiting for me here. Home is wherever Archer is.
There are a dozen red roses in a gorgeous blue vase on the counter with a note.
E-
I’m down on the beach. Join me. Grab a sweater, it’s getting cold.
-A
I guess the soak will come later. I can’t resist a sunset stroll on the beach with the hottest man alive.
I smile when I see one of Archer’s sweatshirts lying by the sliding glass door. I throw it on and walk down the steps to the sand below.
When I catch sight of Archer and the scene before him, I stop short.
I <3 U has been drawn in the sand, but the heart is made out of lit candles in hurricane glasses. My heart soars because as cheesy as it is, it’s exactly like a night twelve years ago in Seattle.
Which tells me he’s about to ask me a very important question.
“It’s déjà vu, right?” Archer asks as I approach. He stands in the middle of the candle heart, wearing cargo shorts, a green T-shirt, and the biggest smile ever. He holds out a hand for me, and I take it, joining him.
“It was cheesy back then,” I say with a laugh. “And it’s a little cheesy now. But maybe the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
His incredible blue eyes turn sober as, with his gaze pinned to mine, he lowers himself to one knee and pulls out a gorgeous ring from his pocket.
“The first time I did this, I thought my love for you couldn’t be stronger. That I’d never love you more than I did in that moment. But I was wrong, Elena. I love you more now than ever before, and you’re still the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t want to miss out on one more day with you. I want to grow old with you, have babies and grandchildren, and give you everything you could ever need or want. I tried to live without you, but I was just a shell of myself without you by my side. So, I’m asking you, right here and now, to make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife. Marry me.”
I sink to my knees in the sand in front of him and frame his face with my hands.
“I never stopped loving you, Archer. I know, deep in my heart, that we were always meant to be together. It would be my honor to be your wife.”
I can’t look away from him as he slips the ring onto my finger and then slides his hands into my hair as he kisses me like never before. As if his life depends on it.
He stands and pulls me to my feet and then slings me over his shoulder, carrying me up to the house.
“Hey!”
He slaps my ass, making me bark out a laugh.
“I can walk,” I remind him, but take a moment to admire the ring on my finger. The round stone is massive and set classically. It’ll be beautiful with any style of wedding band.
“Not fast enough,” he says as he runs, with me still on his shoulder, up the steps to the house. He doesn’t pause until we’re in the bedroom, and he dumps me on the bed.
“Well, that was romantic.”
He laughs and joins me, covering me with his strong form. “I suddenly had the urge to have you in my bed. Naked. Writhing. Unable to control yourself.”
“Romantic and humble? I hit the jackpot.”
