Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(91)

She rose up on her elbow and scooted up higher on the mattress so that she could look down at him. “You saved my life that day at the courthouse without a moment’s hesitation,” she reminded him. “And odds are good that you saved my life again today. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what would’ve happened. So while it’s true I may not need a knight in shining armor, I do need you, Gabe Dawson. But I want you as a partner in whatever this is between us, as my lover and my friend—not just as my handsome hero.”

“I think I can promise that,” Gabe assured her, tucking a lock of her fiery hair behind her ear. “But you have to promise me one thing first.”

She gave him a cautious look out of the corner of her eye. “What’s that?”

“That you’ll stop referring to ‘whatever this is between us’ as if you don’t know what it is.”

She flushed, and her green eyes grew darker as she whispered, “What is this then, Gabe?”

He caressed her bottom lip with this thumb, knowing that, in a moment, he was planning to taste them again and lose himself in the bliss he could only find in her arms. “This is forever,” he told her. “I love you, Elle. And I can’t imagine ever loving anyone else.”

A slow smile curved her lips as he drew her down to receive his kiss. “I love you, too,” she murmured against his mouth. “And forever sounds about right…”





Epilogue


“Where are we going?”

Gabe grinned at her. “It’s a surprise.”

“And I needed to be blindfolded for said surprise?”

“Yep.”

Elle had no idea what to expect. After a year together, Gabe still surprised her. She found herself falling in love with him over and over again every single day.

“What are you grinning about?” he asked. She could tell even without seeing him that he was smiling too.

“How much I love you.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Well, hold that thought for two more minutes. We’re almost there.”

“Okay, but don’t forget we’re supposed to be back by noon to meet Jessica and the kids for lunch,” she reminded him, having lost all sense of how long they’d been in the car. “You’re helping Teddy learn to ride his bike today.”

“Haven’t forgotten,” he assured her. “I have his new bike in the trunk so we can go straight there after your surprise. And I even remembered the helmet, and the elbow guards and kneepads, and the special training wheels that are on springs, and—”

“Okay, okay,” she laughed. “You’re a wonderful godfather.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I love those kids—they make it easy. And it’s good practice.”

“Practice?” she echoed, her pulse kicking up a notch, not wanting to presume too much.

“Yeah, you know, for when I have little monkeys of my own running around some day.” There was moment of tense silence before he announced, “We’re here.”

Elle couldn’t mistake the note of relief in his voice. A few seconds later, Gabe stopped the car and came around to her door to take her hand and help her out. Elle frowned when she felt that his hand was uncharacteristically clammy.

Is he nervous?

She felt him take a deep breath and let it out on a short burst. “Okay. Ready?”

When she nodded, he removed the blindfold. Slowly, Elle opened her eyes, blinking as her eyes adjusted in the summer morning sunlight. Then she gasped, her heart fluttering when she realized they were standing on the edge of a meadow of wildflowers, the vibrant green grass dotted with crimson, yellow, white, and lavender flowers that swayed gently in the breeze.

“Oh my God, Gabe,” she breathed. “This is beautiful.”

He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I was driving through here yesterday and knew you had to have these wildflowers. But seeing as how I couldn’t pick them all and leave them in your locker…”

She turned in his arms to face him, her eyes wide. “It was you?”

He smiled down at her and shrugged. “It was me.”

Her heart began to pound and she blinked to clear the sudden blur as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”

“I was waiting for the perfect place and time.” He held her gaze for a long moment before easing down on his knees, his hands resting lightly on her hips as he peered up at her. He chuckled. “I had a whole speech planned, but I’ve forgotten every damned word. So I’ll just say I love you, Elle. And I hope that forever still sounds as right and perfect to you as it does to me. Will you marry me?”

She stared at him, emotion choking her and making it momentarily impossible to speak.

When she didn’t immediately respond, he cleared his throat, and continued, “I know I’m probably not the guy you always pictured yourself with, but—”

Elle dropped to her knees and stopped his words with a kiss. When she pulled back, she took his face in her hands. “It was you, Gabe,” she breathed. This time there was no question. “It was always you.”

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