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Malachi had put real thought into his apology, when most men would’ve just said sorry.
My hands went to his bare chest and I let him pull me close with his grip on my waist.
“Why didn’t you let me send her packing?” My voice came out pouty, but I didn’t bother containing it. “Or at least let me watch you do it?”
“I was too angry, Maisy. What she said about you made me want to rip her eyes out. And what she did to Ethan?” He shook his head, like the memory still had power over him. “That woman is dangerous. I needed you away from her and safe, so I could take care of the situation. And I had to do it quietly, I needed to go through the proper channels to make sure she could never return here and hurt people again.”
What happened with the widow was a violation, and even if I would’ve handled it differently, I could recognize that Malachi was the hospitality pro. Not me.
“You were angry?”
“Fucking livid,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine. “You’re special to me. It took me one night to figure that out. Just one. And nobody is going to talk about you like that without consequences. Mark my word.”
I shivered at the promise in his voice and stretched up to plant a kiss on his jaw.
“There’s one more thing,” he said. “Close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes?”
“Yes. My apology has another part to it.”
I grinned. “Okay.”
When my hands covered my eyes, Malachi turned me until my back was to him and I faced the window. His breath tickled my ear as he leaned in to whisper.
“Open.”
I lowered my hands, blinking rapidly until my vision focused.
Out the window, below us, I could see the brilliant lights of the Ember Island boardwalk. When Kara said the new resort was next to the boardwalk, she meantrightnext to it. From our window, I could see everything.
Food carts twinkled. Games and rides flashed with colorful beams to entice people to play. Even the rollercoaster lit up like Las Vegas each time the row of cars zoomed along the track.
Gia was obsessed with it. She rode it five times in a row, Kara said.
But none of those things kept my attention once I spotted the huge LED message board that sat below the Amusement Park sign.
My mouth dropped open as I read the words that were specifically addressed to me:
Dear Maisy (Rhymes With Daisy),
I hereby solemnly swear to never let another woman touch my ass unless it’s you. For as long as we both shall live.
Love, Malachi.
I barked out a laugh and he spun me back around to kiss the sound from my lips.
“That’s cute,” I said. “But you can’t really mean it.”
“Bet,” he challenged, his gaze so intense I almost wanted to look away.
Almost.
Instead, I kissed him.
Hard. On the mouth. Letting him know that even if he was just being sweet, his effort to make me feel better meant the world to me.
Malachi deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue over mine until my knees went weak and I had to use the wall for support. He pressed his body into mine, his hardness digging in at my hips to let me know he’d been real serious about that no panties thing.
