Page 56 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

She began to shiver at the first refrain, shaking her head.

Tyson moved out of the crowd and took her hand, leading her onto the vacant dance floor.

“Don’t do this to me, Ty,” she whispered raggedly. “I can’t survive this again.”

“Have a little faith, Emma.” He spun her out—and right into Cade’s arms.

He handed off the microphone but kept singing, dancing with her in front of everyone.

The song wound down and silence ruled the moment as it seemed everyone waited with bated breath for the result of what was the most heartfelt apology she’d ever witnessed.

Cade stepped away from her and went to one knee, pulling out a blue velvet box and flipping the lid open. He took a deep breath. “Emmaline Graystone, I have loved you from our first thunderstorm. I thought I could live without you. I thought I could carve out some semblance of life in your absence. I was wrong. Nothing’s the same without you. I go through the motions but find no joy in life. You,you, are my joy. In everything, you are my heart, the reason I take my next breath, the only sense I can find in life. I can’t go another day without that. Without you. Would you do me the greatest honor, Emma, and be my wife?”

The ring he’d bought was a classic diamond solitaire, asscher cut, with trillions on the side, large but not gaudy, set in white gold. It was what she would have picked out for herself if anyone had asked what her tastes were. How he knew her so well in such a short amount of time, she would never understand.

“Knee’s beginning to go numb, Emma,” Cade said, his tone joking, his eyes filled with desperation.

She looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw everything she’d missed, everything that had been missing, since she left. “I want to live here.”

“I don’t want to live in New York, so that’s fine.”

“I want a house of our own.”

“Done,” he answered.

“All the windows have to work.”

“You’re pushing your luck, Emma,” he growled. “I’ll give you any damn thing you want if you’ll just say yes.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

The crowd erupted in a cheer. Shouted congratulations were thrown at them as he tenderly placed the ring on her finger, and then exploded off the floor, pulling her into his arms and kissing her with unrestrained passion despite their audience.

“Your business?” he murmured against her lips.

“In the process of being sold to a group of investors headed up by my personal assistant.” She grinned.

“I love you, Emma.” Cade dipped his head and kissed her again, softer this time. “Be my wife.”

“Only if you’re offering forever.”

“Nothing else would ever be enough,” he said gruffly, pulling her into a slow waltz step as the band struck up their next cover song. “I’ll never have enough of you.” He led her around the floor slowly, his gaze loving. “When does this ‘forever’ start?”

“When the time’s right,” she whispered.

His brow creased. “And that would be when?”

“Now.”