Tell Me You Need Me (Search and Seduce #1)(47)

She swallowed hard and locked her gaze back on Gage. He slowly moved through the crowd, and those dark eyes of his never left her face.

“This whole time I’ve been scared,” she said. “I was so focused on the fear of the risk, but nothing good in life is easy, especially love. It’s what drives us. And I’m going to let go of the wheel and hope I stay on the road. But if I get lost…” She folded her lips, and the sting in her heart rose as she spoke to the one man she’d ever loved. “I have faith I won’t be lost for long. Because there’s someone who will come find me.”

Gage’s dark gaze fused to hers. He nodded with that soft, sexy smile.

Everyone clapped, and Chloe blinked. There were tons of people in the room, but all she saw was Gage.

“Thank you all.” The band started up again, and everyone began chatting and dancing. Chloe hustled down the stage and made a beeline for the man she’d hoped would come find her.

She didn’t stop until she flung herself into his arms.

Chloe clutched him close. “You shocked me.”

“I know. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“But you came back.”

“I told you I would.” He cupped her face and kissed her.

“But I pushed you away, too. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“You’re going to have to push a lot harder, sweetheart.” He ran his nose against hers. “I’m sorry, too. It wasn’t fair to make you worry and ask you to wait for me. If you put yourself in danger, I’d tie you down and refuse to let you go.”

She raised a brow, kind of liking the sound of that, but Gage was trying to see things from her perspective.

“I understand now,” he said. “I want to be with you. Stay with you. I want to be a part of your world—that’s all I’ve wanted this whole time. But I got scared about losing my purpose.”

She faced him and looked deep into those dark eyes. He was being honest, and like it or not, she had to return the favor.

“Baby, I know what your purpose is,” she said. “And I’m never going to keep you from it. You’re here until you get called again because you need to help people. You need to save them.”

“That’s just it,” he said. “I can save people from here.”

She swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“East offered me a permanent training position as head of S&R in Beaufort. That little girl’s parents? The team I trained saved them. And I can’t explain it, but the pride I felt seeing them fulfill the same purpose I’ve held on to…it showed me what I really need to do. I can save more people by training recruits than I ever could on my own. And maybe, by sticking around, you can save me, too.”

She closed her eyes, unable to hold back a swell of tears. “What about if they need you for some emergency?”

“I’ll still go out on calls if there’s an emergency, but day-to-day, I’ll be right here. Doing my best to be the man who deserves your love.”

Her heart was going to explode with joy. She was still crying, but a smile burst onto her face. “Doesn’t excuse you being late to my restaurant’s anniversary.”

He laughed as he reached into his pants pocket. “I deserve that. But I have a good excuse.”

“I know, thank you for the crab cakes.”

“I don’t mean the crab cakes.” He pulled a small box from his pocket—

And the world around her paused.

He knelt on his good knee and winced a little.

“Gage, you’re going to hurt yourself!” She went down to her knees, too. “What the hell are you doing?”

He smiled. “Well, I’m trying to propose to you, so if you could stand back up, that’d sure help me out a lot.”

Her eyes went wide, and he popped the box open, revealing a dazzling diamond ring.

“Will you let me be yours forever?”

If he’d even suggested this kind of commitment when he first came back to town, she’d have gladly sent him into the mountains and made sure no one ever found him. But now she knew what life was like without him, and the hope that he could be hers now and forever was too good to ever let go.

“Yes!” She grinned and kissed him hard with everything she had. “I love you.”

“I love you, sweetheart.” He tugged her closer. “And I hope you like the sight of this face, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of it. You’ll never miss me again. I’m going to be so close to you you’ll be sick of me. You’ll be begging for me to go on a mission.”

“Can’t wait.” She smiled and held on to the man who owned her heart and her future.





Epilogue


“I must admit these are the best damn crab cakes I’ve ever had,” Gage said. And they were. Better than anything he’d ever made.

Trays of appetizers circulated around the restaurant, and he adjusted his tie and got a little closer to the beautiful blonde standing by the bar in a sexy fitted white dress made of lace and silk.

She flashed him a smile. They were surrounded by people raving about the occasion. All Gage could do was pull up a spot at the corner of the bar and stare down the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

“Why thank you,” she said. “I made them myself.”