Page 47 of Nerds, Words & Werecats

I caught sight of Riley, leaning against the wall and chatting up a very tall woman in a black leather bustier and jeans that hung way low on her hips. She was smoking, and Riley was biting their lip, looking like there was something else entirely on their mind.

“Riley,” I called.

Their head popped up. “Yeah?”

“Can you watch my shit?”

They snorted. “Sure thing, boss. I’ll throw it in Craig’s car if you want.”

“Perfect. Thank you!”

I pulled Landon past the alley, around the front of the venue and along the sidewalk.

I didn’t know what I was looking for until I found it—a little brick garden, boxed in with planting beds full of short trees and blossoming flowers. Perfect.

There was a street lamp above us, and it buzzed softly. Otherwise, the night was quiet when I pulled him to a stop in the small courtyard.

“What are we doing out here?” He swung his head, looking around. There was a shadow on a bench thatmight’vebeen a person, but they were tucked in the corner of the garden and uninterested in us.

Or it was a newspaper.

Or a trick of the light.

Right then, only one thing mattered to me.

I caught his cheek and he went still. It wasn’t enough until I put my other hand on his face and drew him in for a soft kiss.

“I love you,” I whispered, dropping my forehead against his.

“I love you too,” he said at once. “Are you okay?”

Right. I was acting weird, and he was probably freaking out. Might as well put his fears at ease.

Nothing was wrong.

I wasn’t even that nervous. We’d talked about this—what the future looked like, what family did, where we meant to go next.

I didn’t think he’d say no; maybe “not yet,” but I could be patient. Landon was worth waiting for.

I slid my hands down his arms as I knelt on the ground in front of him. His breath caught, even before I pulled a little box out of my jacket pocket.

“You,” I started, hoarse around the lump in my throat, “arethebest person I’ve ever met. Every day I wake up beside you feels like a gift. Everything ahead of us is an adventure. I want—Fuck, Landon, I want to marry you. Would you like to?—”

“Marry you?” Landon piped up.

I nodded, opening the ring box for him as I stared up into his beautiful face.

It was a simple band, and he probably deserved something more expensive, but I liked this one. It was made of hammered titanium, the shining surface flattened in a way that caught the light beautifully and reminded me of all the blows that he’d taken that had made him strong enough not only to save himselfand come out here and build a life of his own, but to put me back together too.

Once he’d put it on his finger, Landon frowned down at it. I had a split second to worry that it wasn’t right before he asked, “Do we... have to have a long engagement?”

“Is that a yes?”

He bit his lip against a smile, nodding quickly. “Yes.”

I beamed up at him. “I’ll marry you tomorrow if you want. I mean, I don’t know if courthouses do it so fast but—” I fell silent when his brow puckered.

He considered me for a second, his smile fading into something more contemplative. After a moment, he shook his head. “I want a real wedding,” he whispered, “so we can have our friends and family there.”

I surged to my feet, wrapping my arms around him tight. I was so fucking proud of him.

“Nothing would make me happier,” I swore, and when I bent down, he raised his chin to meet my kiss. The streetlamp above popped and went dark.

Landon laughed, and I’d swear that the spark between us that we’d nurtured these past months had stolen that light, because when Landon smiled at me, it shone through his amber eyes.