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"Thus the reason Dad asked him to go," Chase said. "But—"
"That's it!" Willow cut in, stepping in front of Raith and lifted her hands to stare at her family. "What in the world is going on?"
"The sheriff insulted your date," Dylan answered.
"So I've concluded," Willow answered, sliding a curious look Raith's way. "What exactly did he say to you?"
"Nothing," Raith answered just as Chase explained, "He insinuated Malloy was dating you because of your family connections in order to better himself in the sheriff's department."
Camille huffed, "Insinuated, my butt. He came right out and called Raith a social climber."
As more members of Willow's family added their piece of gossip to the conversation, she turned to study Raith. He could feel his face heat about twenty degrees. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, looking hurt.
He opened his mouth but Allison, Chase's wife, beat him to the answer. "We didn't want to upset you, sweetheart."
Willow glanced silently around at her interfering, yet supportive, relatives. Her face softened a brief moment before she glanced at Raith and sighed. "That might be why everyone else kept it from me," she told him. "But not you."
"Willow—" he started.
She took his arm and dragged him away. "Come on, Malloy." She escorted him through the house until they hit the back hallway where she'd found him before, hiding from her parents. When she whirled toward him, her eyes were flashing.
"We're going to have to work on your trust issues," she muttered and then pulled his head down for a long, hard kiss.
He was too bowled over to do much at first. Then his mouth sank against hers, and he was dragged under. His hands cupped her face while hers ran over his torso and down. When she started to tug his shirt from his slacks, he broke off and stepped back.
"Will," he rasped. "I didn't tell you because—"
"I know why you didn't tell me," she snapped, her eyes flaring with annoyance. "You thought I'd believe the sheriff and kick you out instead."
He shifted uncomfortably and glanced away. "He said I could probably knock him out as sheriff in the next election with a family as powerful as yours backing me."
Smiling in amusement, she lifted a brow. "Then I guess we'll have to do just that."
Raith snorted. "I don't want to be sheriff. And I certainly didn't want your entire freaking family flying off the handle like that just because someone insulted me. It didn't bother me that much. I was mostly just dumbfounded he actually thought I wanted you for some other reason than total adoration."
That was the closest he'd ever come to outright telling her he loved her. Willow's eyes lit as if he'd said the actual words, so he opened his mouth to confess all. But she surprised him by grasping the lapels of his jacket and tugging him close. "Well, no one messes with a DeVane." On a slow smile, she added, "Or fathers of future DeVanes. My family was only doing their rightful duty."
Though her words warmed him considerably, he arched a brow. "Future DeVane? I don't think so. This kid's going to be one hundred percent Malloy. Not a DeVane."
Willow paused. She glanced at her stomach and then back up at him and suddenly everything was okay. He and the woman he was crazy about were about to delve into one of their little matches that could turn him on like nothing else.
"Look, buddy," Willow said, right on schedule, with that argumentative tone in her voice and a sexy flash of anger in her brown eyes. She patted her flat belly. "This right here is Bubble DeVane. My baby is going to have my last name, thank you very much."
"Well, then I guess you're going to be a Malloy too," he retorted, his body pulling taut and desire zipping through him. "Because it is not going to be a DeVane."
Willow froze in her tracks. She looked up at Raith. "Did you just..." She took a breath. "Did you just propose to me?"
Raith's mouth fell open.
Holy shit.
No, he hadn't meant it that way. But suddenly the idea sounded like the best plan he'd heard all night. He studied Willow hard. "Why? Do you want to marry me?"
Willow snorted as if her answer was an obvious no. But for some reason her breathing turned choppy. She gazed up at Raith, looking a little light-headed. "I've never wanted to get married before," she whispered.
Raith moved dangerously close, hovering over her. "But do you want to now? Do you want to marry me?"
