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Sophie nodded. “Yes.”
“Tell me you understood my sad excuse for a love note.”
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Sophie swiped at her damp cheeks. As much as he wanted to reach for her, the ball was in her court. She was in complete control, because when he’d tried to be in control of things, his life had gone all to hell.
“Explain it to me.”
Zach ran a dirty hand over his equally dirty, sweaty beard. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“When you work for what you want, you appreciate it more.”
Zach dropped the folder with a smack onto the wood floor before he reached for Sophie. He couldn’t stand the separation another second. Framing her face between his palms, he used the pads of his thumbs to swipe away fresh tear tracks.
“I’ve never appreciated or loved anyone more than you,” he vowed. “I’ve just got a terrible way of showing it.”
“Yes, you do.” She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. “I don’t know what you want, Zach. I only know I can’t keep doing this. I can’t—”
He cut her off with his mouth. He’d missed that sweet taste, those soft sighs when she gave herself to him. Zach wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. By the time he eased his mouth away, Sophie was gripping his shoulders as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hold him or not.
“Relax,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ve got you, I’ve got us. I don’t care if you have to think about this or if you need to wait and build your trust back up. I’ll fight for this until you’re in my life permanently. I won’t lose you, Sophie. I’ll never walk away from you again and damn it, I’m going to marry you.”
Sophie gasped. “What?”
He nipped her lips once more before pulling away and running his hands up and down her back. “One day, if you’ll have me, I want to marry you. I know you deserve better than anything I could ever offer, but I’ll love you more than anybody else could ever think of.”
He hadn’t even realized he’d shed a tear until Sophie’s delicate fingertips slid across his cheek. “I know you don’t want kids, and I can’t actually give them to you, but could we adopt?”
Zach laughed. “Does this mean you’ll marry me one day?”
Sophie looped her arms around his neck, and her wide smile only made more tears slip down her face. “I’ll marry you any day you want. You’re mine forever, Zach Monroe.”
Those words coming from her lips were more than he ever dared to hope for. “I’ll adopt and raise a family with you in my old house,” he told her. “For now we have Brock, and I’m hoping to get custody of him. He’s legally living with me now. If his mother shows up, then a hearing will be necessary. I will definitely fight that, but she’s nowhere to be found and I doubt she’s even concerned he’s gone.”
Sophie threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him. “He’s so lucky to have you, and so am I.”
“What do you say we head home?” he suggested as he held on to her hips. “We can tell Brock the good news. He was worried.”
Sophie stepped out of his arms and reached for the hem of her dress. “Why don’t we stay here and make our own memories?”
The dress slid up and over her head as she toed off her sandals. Sophie stood in the foyer wearing nothing but a smile and a matching pale pink bra and panty set.
“I’m sweaty,” he protested.
Sophie laughed as she closed the space between them. “That’s just the way I like you.”
When she jerked his shirt off and started on his belt, Zach wasn’t about to protest. “I love you, Sophie Allen. I’m going to marry you as soon as possible.”
With a wicked grin, she unfastened his jeans. “I’m a little busy at the moment. I’m about to make love to my fiancé.”
Zach moved her hands away and lifted her into his arms, laughing when she squealed. As he carried her to the sitting room to a sheet-covered sofa, Zach knew this was just the start of the family he’d always said he didn’t want.
Thankfully, Sophie had managed to break through his stubborn, hardheaded ways.
Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of Jules Bennett’s next Monroe Brothers romance,
CAUGHT UP IN YOU,
