Release!: A Walker Brothers Novel (The Walker Brothers #1)(48)

I clung to him as my tears fell again, landing on his bare skin as I hugged him to me. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, either. I was convinced that he really didn’t care if my past got out to the public. “It will get ugly if she talks,” I warned, my fear still present even though I was completely convinced that he loved me. I really didn’t want my past to cause him any pain in the future. It would kill me if he got hurt because of me.

“Don’t care,” Trace grunted. “The only thing that would hurt me is if you leave.”

I crumbled as he spoke his candid response, and I was grateful to whatever fate had brought this amazing man into my life, the only person who’d ever completely believed in me.

I pulled back as his arm reached out to the bedside table and he snatched something from his nightstand. “You forgot this,” he said in a slightly annoyed voice.

He had his mother’s ring.

“I couldn’t take that,” I stammered, surprised that he would ever think I wouldn’t have given it back.

He lifted my left hand and slid the beautiful ring back on my finger. “Take it now, then. I want you to marry me, Eva. Not pretend, but for real. Put me out of my misery and tell me that you’ll be my wife, that you’ll wear this forever.”

I looked from my hand to his face, not sure if I was elated or terrified. Then, because I couldn’t stop myself, I started to cry.





Chapter Eighteen

Eva





The thought of having Trace in my life forever as my best friend, my lover, and my husband was overwhelming.

Things like this don’t happen to women like me.

I hugged him again, whimpering against his neck.

“Hell, is the thought of marrying me that depressing?” Trace asked, as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

“No,” I answered with a cough that sounded more like a sob. “It’s amazing. But for a woman like me, it’s pretty much a fantasy to have the man of my dreams ask me to marry him.”

“I’m an *, Eva. But if you agree to put up with me, you’ll make me the happiest * in the world.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Trace might be arrogant, bossy and determined to have his way when he thought he was right, but his positive qualities outweighed those things by a ton. Besides, sometimes I actually liked his bossiness. When I didn’t, we were bound to argue, but none of that mattered. We loved each other, so we’d always compromise somehow.

“You are a little bit bossy,” I mused aloud.

“Agreed,” he admitted readily.

“And I don’t like it when you do what you think is right for me without asking me.”

“I won’t,” he vowed.

My heart melted, and I couldn’t tease him anymore. “But you’re my Prince Charming, and you rescued me when I didn’t want to keep trying anymore,” I admitted tearfully. “You believed in me, and made me feel like a valuable person again. Pretty soon, I started to believe that I was, too. I have work to do if I’m going to find myself again and leave my past behind, but I know I want to do that with you. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my life, but I know where I belong now.”

“Where?” he asked nervously.

“With you,” I breathed softly into his ear. “Always with you if you really want me.”


“So is that a yes?” he asked huskily.

“Yes, please. I love you so much it hurts. I want to marry you.” Fat tears were still rolling down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. After what seemed like a lifetime of hell, I now had the most valuable thing I’d ever possessed in my life; I had Trace’s love.

“I don’t ever want you to hurt, Eva. I think we both need to put the past where it belongs: in the past. It’s history. You were never guilty of anything but working your ass off to survive.” His arms tightened possessively. “I’ll give you everything in my power to make you happy. What were your plans before you were arrested?”

I sighed and laid my head on Trace’s strong shoulder. “Culinary school. Isa was helping me get scholarships and finding me a school that allowed me to work while I was learning.”

“In Colorado?”

I nodded.

“Thank f*ck!” he exclaimed. “The last thing I want is to have to be away from you to make you happy. Do you still want to go to school?”

“More than anything,” I said wistfully.

“We’ll find the best school in the area, and you can feel free to try out new recipes on me,” he said magnanimously.

I actually giggled because I was so happy. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you.”

“I’m a selfish bastard,” he corrected. “You’re an amazing cook.”

God, I adored this man who made me feel like I could do anything. “I love you,” I told him breathlessly, my heart hammering with the adrenaline of loving and being loved. “I’ll cook you anything I’m capable of making. It’s the only thing I can think of to give you something back.”

“I don’t care what you do, as long as you’re happy. Cook. Don’t cook.” He flipped me onto my back gently and covered my upper body with his. His dark jade eyes were intense as our gazes locked and held. “Just love me and marry me.”