Gypsy King (Tin Gypsy, #1)(103)

“Wait.” I put a hand on the wall as the room began to spin. “Nursery? Our room? You want me to live here?”

“We’re having a kid.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t dictate we move in together.”

“Then how about you move in because I love you.”

Seriously, my ears were not working right today. “You love me?”

“More every day.” He came over and took my face in his hands. “Think how crazy I’ll be about you when we’re ninety.”

A laugh escaped my lips. “Insane. I love you too.”

“Good. That’ll make it easier to be your roommate.”

I smiled wider. “We’re really doing this? Living together? Having a baby?”

“We’re really doing this. Living together. Having a baby. Getting married.”

“Married? Who are you and what have you done with Kingston Slater?” I’d gone to bed with Dash, a badass playboy, and woken up with a romantic. “Did you hit your head with a wrench yesterday? You’re aware that you’re asking me to marry you, right?”

“Well, yeah. You said you wanted to have a baby when you were married and settled. Way I see it, we’ve got about seven months to make that happen. Might as well get to it.”

Oh. My heart sank. Dash wasn’t doing this because he wanted to. He was doing it for me. “Dash, I appreciate it. But I don’t want to get married because you feel like it’s what I want.”

“Then how about because it’s what I want.” His voice was low, smooth and silky. “Trust me, babe. I want to do this with you. Every day. Here until the end.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s the best idea I’ve had in my life.”

“Do you think we’ll kill each other?”

“Probably.” He dropped a kiss to my lips. “Is that a yes?”

I hesitated, making him sweat for it before I rescued him. “Yes.”

“Hell yes.” Dash tipped his head back and laughed. Then his hands fell from my face to wrap me in a hug. I giggled, clinging to him as he picked me up off my feet and spun me around the room.

For so long I’d wanted this. Never would I have imagined I’d find it, a home—love—with the man I’d set out to expose. The enemy. A criminal who’d stolen my heart.

All the foolish days and nights I’d spent wondering if I’d end up an old maid had been for nothing. The timing simply hadn’t come together.

I’d been waiting for my Gypsy King.

“What about the baby?” I asked. “You didn’t want kids.”

Dash’s smile softened but didn’t disappear. “I’m scared. Never saw myself with a kid, but if there is anyone in the world I’d want to raise a baby with, it’s you. Just keep me from fucking it up, okay?”

Oh, Dash. Why hadn’t I realized this before? He wasn’t scared of kids. He was scared of ruining his own. Again, timing was not on our side. Draven’s drama had probably reinforced Dash’s fears.

“I have faith in you. Blinding, unwavering faith. You’ll be an amazing dad, Dash.”

He dropped his forehead to mine. “Come on. I want to show you something else.”

Dash took my hand and led me out of the office. We walked past his bedroom and through the living room, then around the kitchen and down another spacious hallway.

“This is a family house,” I said. “If you didn’t want a family, why build such a big house?”

He shrugged. “For the space. Not to feel crowded. I spent a lot of nights at the clubhouse and I lived above the garage for a while. When I was finally ready to buy, I wanted space. A home gym so I didn’t have to go to town in the morning. An office. A theater room in the basement. Couldn’t find anything to buy so I had it built instead.”

“A sanctuary.”

“Yeah, but there’s one thing I hate about it out here.” He shot me a heart-stopping smile over his shoulder. “It’s too quiet. Figure you and our baby can fix that for me.”

I laughed. Given his or her parents, there was no doubt our child would be loud and bold. “We’ll do our best.”

“Appreciated.” Dash led me to the garage. He let go of my hand as he walked to the large, green gun safe on the far wall, spinning the combination on the dial until the door clicked open.

“Holy shit.” My eyes widened at the small arsenal. “I guess we’ll be safe after the apocalypse.”

He took out a white envelope and shut the safe. The flap on the envelope wasn’t sealed and he flipped it open, pulling out something from the corner.

No, not something.

A ring.

“This was Mom’s.” He held the ring in one hand as he reached for my left.

“It’s beautiful.” The gold band was thin and delicate because the solitaire in the center was the showpiece. It was a square-cut diamond—simple and flawless. The entire piece was classic, something I would have picked for myself.

“Dad gave this to me a few years ago. He’d bought it for her on their tenth wedding anniversary but she didn’t wear it much. She preferred the chip he’d bought her when they were just two dirt-poor kids. He buried her with that one. Gave this to me since Nick was already married. Told me one day, I could give this to my old lady.”