Page 287 of A Vicious Love

I lowered my mouth to her ear. “Say that again.”

Her eyes widened. “No.”

I laughed softly, and her cheeks went bright enough to ruin me twice.

Adrian made the mistake of glancing over.

I looked at him.

He looked away.

Smart man.

Sienna tried to sip her lemonade with dignity, but the corner of her mouth kept twitching. I kept my hand on her waist, thumb moving once beneath the edge of her ribs, and felt her little breath catch.

“Yes,” I murmured. “That’s what I thought.”

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“I endured your family. Let me have my rewards.”

“I am not a reward.”

I kissed the side of her head again, slower this time. “You are the only reward.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

JAMISON

By the time I went upstairs, I had spent four hours pretending contracts required my full attention when the engagement ring in my desk drawer had become the loudest object in the cottage.

It sat beneath folders and a pistol I had no intention of needing, locked inside a small black case that somehow weighed more than most bodies. Antique cushion diamond. Platinum. A thin line of black stone hidden beneath the setting where no one would see it unless she took it off and looked closely.

Mine underneath.

That mattered to me.

It should have been simple. I had signed death orders with steadier hands. And, tell a man exactly how his bones would break if he lied again and drink coffee while he decided whether truth had become attractive.

But every time I imagined taking Sienna’s hand and removing the token ring, something tightened in my chest.

Nerves.

Another unwanted fucking emotion.

I had been waiting for the right time, which was apparently what cowards called delay when they had expensive taste and a woman who could ruin them by looking disappointed.

The first time had been after breakfast, until Mila climbed into Sienna’s lap and demanded Honey receive a formal apology for being denied lemonade. The second had been by the lake, until her father announced a competitive family walk that sounded harmless and ended with grown men arguing.

Then I thought after charades, but Sienna had laughed so hard at my lighthouse that I lost the ability to form language in the proper order.

Now the ring waited downstairs, and I had gone upstairs empty-handed.

Fucking nerves. Unbelievable.

I reached the top of the stairs, rolled my shoulders, and stopped.

Every window in the bedroom suite was open.