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BERKLEY
Three Days Later
Sherri finished loading her suitcase into the trunk of the rental car parked in the lot in front of the lodge. She secured the lid, then turned to me with a smile. “Thanks for everything.”
After the local sheriff had arrived to escort Maris and Stuart to the jail in Hanover, I’d convinced Sherri to stay for a couple of extra days. I’d taken her to the touristy spots in the area, including an afternoon at the falls. The time had passed quickly, too quickly, and she was headed to the airport in Denver and a long flight home.
“You know you’re welcome here anytime.” I pulled Sherri into a tight hug. When I stepped away, I noticed the skepticism in her gaze. “I mean it. I’m not saying it to be nice.”
“I know. It’s... Well, after everything Maris did to you.” Sherri smoothed her hands along her jeans.
I squeezed her arm. “You’re not Maris, and what she did was not your fault.”
She bobbed her head, opened the driver’s door, and slid inside. “I better get going. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
“Have a safe trip and call if you need anything.”
“I will,” Sherri said.
I stepped back and waved, touched by a bit of melancholy as I watched her drive away. I turned to go inside the lodge, spotted Preston’s truck pulling into the lot and stopped to wait for him.
He was grinning with those adorable dimples when he got out of the vehicle and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“You left early this morning,” I said, not bothering to hide my disappointment at waking to find him gone.
“Had some errands to run in town and didn’t want to wake you.” He placed a kiss on my forehead.
“Oh yeah. What kind of errands, and should I be jealous?” I nipped the claiming mark on his shoulder.
“Awe, sweetness.” He pinched my ass. “You know my heart belongs to you, among other things.” He rubbed against me, making sure I could feel the hardened bulge in the front of his pants.
I giggled. “Such a charmer.”
He wiggled his brows. “You weren’t complaining about my charms last night. If I recall, you were begging...”
Some guests were exiting through the lobby doors, and I didn’t want them to overhear the details of what Preston and I had done during the night. “Don’t say it.” I pressed a finger to his lips.
“Actually, I had to go into Ashbury. While I was there, I stopped by the bakery and got one of those muffins you like.” Preston released me and reached inside the truck to retrieve a small square white box.
“You remembered.” I’d forgotten that Mandy and I had made him stop to buy a dozen muffins the day he’d accompanied us to the bridal shop. I loved to bake, but nothing I prepared was more delectable than the bakery’s Decadent Delight muffins. My mouth watered, thinking about biting into the white cake stuffed with icing and drizzled with rich dark chocolate.
I snatched the box from his hand, cradled it in my arm, and hastily pried the top open. “You are a...” The word god didn’t make it past my lips. “Where’s the muffin?” I stared at a chewy bone large enough to satisfy a Saint Bernard and wrapped with a large red bow.
“I ate it on the drive back.” He licked his lips.
“You ate it.” Heat rose on my cheeks, and I shot him a narrowed, disbelieving glare. I’d really wanted that muffin and couldn’t believe he’d stoop to something so devious. I retrieved the bone and shook it in front of his face. “If you’re trying to get back at me for the mouse, this is not funny.” It was then that I noticed a glint of gold—a shiny ring—fastened to the end of the ribbon.
I was too overwhelmed with shock, joy, and love to do anything else but gasp, “Oh.”
After taking the box and placing it on the hood of his truck, Preston slipped the bone out of my hand and untied the bow. He tossed the chewy into the box and wrapped his larger hand around mine.
He slid the ring on my finger, his serious love-filled gaze never leaving mine. “Marry me, Berkley.” The ring was a perfect fit, and I wondered if Mandy, the notorious conspirator, had assisted with getting him the correct size. He’d gone to a lot of trouble, and I was touched by his proposal, nearly to the point of tears.
“I know you already wear my mark, but I love you and want to make it official.” He grasped my hips and tugged me closer. “Besides, if you agree to marry me, you’d be fulfilling my greatest fantasy.”
I skimmed his shoulders, interlocking my fingers at his nape. “Oh yeah, and what would that be?”
He smirked. “Stripping you out of a wedding dress, of course.”
I laughed. “You know me. I’m all about fulfilling fantasies.”
“Good, because I’ve started a list,” he said, capturing my lips with a breath-stealing kiss that had me hoping his list turned out to be an extensively long one.
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