Roped In (Armed & Dangerous, #2)(66)

“Yes,” I burst out. “Yes, oh my God, yes.”

Beaming, his eyes lit up as he placed the ring on my finger and lifted me in his arms. The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. “That was fast. You sure you don’t need to think about it?” he teased.

I shook my head. “You’re all I want, Blake Evans. There’s no thinking twice. The real question is, will you be happy with me, with my life?”

He kissed me again. “As long as I have you, I’ll let nothing come between us.”

“Promise?”

“On my life.”





Hadley

Eight Months Later

Belonging to a small community was better than I thought it would be. When everyone around Jackson Hole first realized who I was, it was a little crazy, but now they treated me just like everyone else. I didn’t have to worry about walking down the street and having a gazillion people trying to chase me down for autographs. However, a lot of that was probably due to Blake always being with me.

“Do I have to be blindfolded?” I asked. For months, Blake had had contractors and builders out at our house, designing and constructing a separate house of sorts. It was almost like a small version of his ranch, just enough room for maybe two bedrooms. I had no clue what was going in there or what it was for. Today was reveal day. “You’re not going to invite my dad to live here are you?”

Chuckling, Blake guided me through the door. “Fuck that shit. I might be impressed with how he’s butted out of your life, but I don’t want the man living here. This is our space.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I love him to death, but I don’t want him living here either.” It took a few months for our relationship to get back on track, but I was glad to have him back in my life. He was trying hard to make up for what he did.

“Are you ready to see your surprise?”

“Yes,” I squealed, jumping up and down. Blake took off the blindfold and I gasped. I stood in the living room and gazed around. “It’s so beautiful, Blake.” There was a kitchen off to the right and a set of stairs to the left. “But, what is it for?”

Taking my hand, he walked me through the house. “Now that you’re here with me full-time, I know you still have work to do and people you want to see. If your dad, Felicity, or anyone else wants to visit, they can stay out here, away from us. But that’s not the real reason either.” There was a closed door down the hall and he stopped in front of it. “This room is for you.” He opened the door and I froze in awe.

“Holy shit.” It was a recording studio, filled with top of the line equipment.

“Now you won’t have to fly to California to record. We can have your producers come out here.”

I fiddled with the dials on the control surface and sat down. “This is amazing. How did you think to do this?”

He sat down beside me. “I figured it’d help cut down on your travel time. Plus, you can always come in here and sing in privacy. I know you like to have your space when you’re writing.”

Grasping his face in my hands, I kissed him. “You know I don’t have that fear anymore. I love singing to you and talking to you about my songs.”

“And I love listening to you. But I want you to know you have this space, if you need it,” he murmured.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” I took one last look around and smiled. “Let me guess, you used a decent-sized chunk of that ten million on this?”

Smirking, he lifted me up into his arms. “I figured I’d spend it on you. It’s a good investment, is it not?”

“Yes, definitely. The more time I get to spend at home the better.”

Our wedding, only one week away, was going to be at our house, but the ceremony would be outside. It was more of a secret affair and only a dozen or so people were invited, including Felicity and Nick. I couldn’t wait to see them again. Nick was in a serious relationship already, and planned on popping the question while in Wyoming.

Grabbing my hand, Blake pulled me outside and across the yard. When we got to the barn, he winked. “I have another surprise for you. You’re going to love this.”

“Oh yeah? How much am I going to love it?” He chuckled and I had a feeling I knew what he was up to. “Does it involve ropes? Maybe a little sexy time in the hay? It’s definitely been too long since we got dirty in the barn.”

“Ugh, I didn’t need to hear that,” a voice griped from behind.

Blake burst out laughing and I yelped, slapping a hand to my chest. The voice didn’t belong to just anyone; it came from a certain Irish mobster. Only now, he wasn’t in his usual attire, but in a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a cowboy hat.

I closed my eyes and then opened them up again, convinced I was going crazy. “Okay, I’m not hallucinating. What the hell are you doing here?” Over the past few months, he’d sent emails to check up on me, but I had no clue where he was.

Connor rolled his eyes. “What? You’ve never seen an Irish cowboy?”

“Not exactly.” Blake tried to hold back a laugh and failed. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?” I asked.

“I wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, I needed a new ranch hand. Tyla will love bossing him around.” He and Connor shared a look I couldn’t decipher; there was something he wasn’t telling me.