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“Oh. Oh, wow.” I nodded.
“There’s another room down here,” he said, walking ahead of me to a closed door. He opened it and allowed me to peek inside.
It had custom designed shelves and immense windows that exhibited the grassy plains of horse country beyond the panes of glass. He took my hand and led me to the spacious kitchen with an island in the center and a dining nook.
“You want to see the best part?” he asked.
“There’s more?”
He nodded.
We went out the back door and headed toward a metal building. He opened the door and we stepped inside.
It was rustic, made of steel, wood and concrete. It had a small kitchen, a full bathroom, and a bedroom.
“Is this like a mother-in-law suite?” I asked.
“Not quite.” He winked, grasped my hand, and pulled me toward the other end of the room to another door. “It’s a workshop and one-room apartment combo.”
I tilted my head back to look up at the roof. There was so much space here.
“For Waverly,” I said in realization. “You’re thinking of this for Waverly.”
He nodded. “She needs her own space. You said she needed a new workshop since you didn’t want her in that neighborhood.”
“And the house?” I murmured.
“For us.” He turned me toward him. “For our family.”
Chapter32
Duke tooka step toward me and grasped my hips. “I’ve loved you since we were kids, Willa. I don’t want to wait anymore. Marry me. Be my wife. I’ll protect you, love you, doanythingfor you.”
Tears gathered in my eyes as I cradled his cheeks in my hands. “I was supposed to be the one to make the passionate speech.”
“You can if you want. But you don’t need to convince me to do anything. I was already yours. From the moment you wiped the blood from my lip after my first school yard fight I was in love with you. I was in love with you before I even knew what it meant. I don’t know who I am without you, Willa.”
“Duke,” I whispered, my hands dropping from his face.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.
“I know you didn’t want it this way. I know you wanted time,” he went on. “But Waverly needs this. So, let’s make it official. Let’s get married. Let’s move into this house; let’s have a bunch of kids who will get the lives we never had. Let’s give them a home, a real family, and let them never once worry about where their next meal will come from or whether or not they have parents to protect them.”
He released me and took a step back. He reached into the pocket of his leather cut and pulled out a jewelry box. He flipped open the lid and presented me with a diamond ring that made me catch my breath. It wasn’t gaudy or extravagant. It was simple and classic, but stunning.
It was the kind of ring I dreamed about having one day, offered to me by a man who thought I was the world.
“What do I give you, Duke?” I asked softly. “I bring you my problems and you just…”
“Fix them?” He grinned.
“Yeah. You fix them. You’ve always fixed them.” I took a deep breath. “You’ve never asked me for anything. What do you get out of all this, Duke?”
“I get you.”
I shook my head slowly. “It’s not enough.”
“You’re not enough?” He raised his brows. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”
