Page 82 of Shark’s Rise

“Wh-What?”

Not exactly that.

“You…uhhh…you don’t want to?” I stammered.

“I didn’t say that.”

She tried to turn in my arms, but I stopped her. “No, stay there. It’s okay. We’re situated in here too perfectly. We can redo this all for the Instagram story again later. Right here, right now, is just for us. For our hearts. For our son and for the family we’re making. Will you be my wife? And make me the proudest man and father ever? Let’s do this the way it’s meant to be done.”

“Yes.”

I could tell she was crying. I could feel her body’s slight tremble, and when she lifted my hand to her lips, her sweet mouth was warm and wet with tears. “I love you so much,” she rasped. “I love you more with every day that passes. With every day your son grows bigger inside my body, I feel my heart swell with the love and the joy that you bring and will bring into my life. I would be honored to be your wife, Sebastian. Yes! Yes! Yes!”

She pulled me in, cinching me tighter. And damn, did I let her—because no way in hell could anyone see the drops seeping from behind my own eyes. Her fragrant, soft hair was a perfect place to let them fall. As they mingled into her brilliant red locks, I could finally clear my throat and tell her, “As soon as you’re home, I promise I’ll do this the right way, my love.”

Abbigail spurted with a cute laugh. “Wait. That wasn’t the right way?”

“I’m going to call your father and ask him,” I asserted. “Then I’m going to get down on one knee, with a ring in my hand the size of—”

“Bas,” she chided. “None of that matters. I would marry you right here in this room, in this sexy hospital gown with my ass sticking out.”

I growled at the mention of her ass being exposed in this damn flimsy gown, because at the moment, that perfect backside was pressed so tightly against me, if I just opened the fly on my slacks, I could be inside her, celebrating our new commitment to one another in all the right ways.

But the moment was already right.

Already perfect.

Already so complete in all the ways that mattered.

I had the love of my life in my arms. A love I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find or brave enough to deserve. A woman who was willing to accept me for everything I was and elevate me to everything I could be. A human who had shown me how to rise beyond myself…into the glory of her love.

Into the joy of our beautiful new life.

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Excerpt from Grant’s Heat

I quickly texted Rio that I was on my way. After a ten-minute walk, I was hiking up the sprawling steps at Bunker Hill.

When I finally reached the summit, there was a raven-haired pixie with the constant devilish gleam in her brandy eyes to greet me. As I gasped for air, she threw her head back, taking obvious delight in my distress.

“What’s” —gasp—“so”—gasp—“funny?” I folded in half, gripping my knees while sucking in air through my nose. “Mother fucker, that’s a lot of stairs.”

She popped up on her feet while I straightened my stance. The top of her head only reached the knot of my tie since she was in one of the nineteen pairs of Chuck Taylor’s she owned. And yes, I’d counted and mentally cataloged them all.

“You, Mr. Toughguy, getting so winded from a few steps.” She cranked her head back to look up at me, so I went back down three of the shallow concrete steps to put us back to mutual eye level.

“This was your plan all along, you little brat,” I accused, narrowing my eyes.

Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, she asked, “What?”

“You’re trying to kill me.”