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“I want to see the evidence.” Lauren refused to eat until he produced the video.
“I don’t have it with me.” It was a lie. Still, he held the spoon out to her. “Please? Just eat.”
“I’m not buying it, Rowan.” She took a bite with a glare, as if she were doing it just to spite him. “Where’s your laptop?” she asked. “Where’s Jean-René? He has it, doesn’t he?”
“The team went back to San Diego. Bahati and I stayed behind to take care of you.”
“Well, thank you for that,” she snarled, snatching the spoon impatiently out of his hand. “I can feed myself.”
He huffed at her for a moment, his ire rising as well, slamming down the almost-empty cup of pudding, slopping some of it on the table. Pacing, he cooled before he turned back. “Look, I’m taking you home tomorrow, Lauren.” He took a deep breath. “I’m asking you, one more time, for the love of God. Please. Marry me? I love you. I want to be your husband. I want to stop living in this ... this half-life, this limbo that you’ve been holding me in. I can’t take this anymore!”
“Rowan.” She started to speak but he cut her off before she could say no.
“You were gone for ten days, and I died every single time I woke up and didn’t know where you were.” He tore at his hair, leaving it disheveled. “I couldn’t eat, not knowing if you were hungry. I couldn’t gaze up at the sky without wondering if you could see it. Every time I thought of your cold dead eyes staring into the darkness ...” He choked back tears. “I love you. Why won’t you let me in?”
“Rowan.” Lauren put a hand on his shoulder.
He lifted his head. “Everyone knows about us, it’s not a secret,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Who did you tell?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t have to. Jean-René said he’s known for a long time. So, please. Please, Lauren. Marry me!”
Lauren sat speechless. His veins throbbed in his temples and he felt the fury burning in his face. His eyes radiated with it. He held his breath as she gazed at him.
She took a deep breath and he could see her walls collapse around her. “Okay,” she said, without any further protest. “Okay,” she stated a little more surely. “You’re right.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d asked her to marry him nearly a dozen times and she always had an argument for him. Never had she resigned herself to him, and he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. “Was that ... a yes?”
She nodded and lifted her brows. “Yes.”
He thought his knees were going to buckle again, but he managed to steady himself, and reached into his pocket for the diamond ring he’d carried for years. He picked the pocket lint out of the setting, polishing it against his shirt before he held it out, reaching for her left hand. He hesitated a moment considering that she might not be in any condition to make such a decision. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve been a fool, Rowan. I realize that. I know I have a head injury, but I also know I love you and I want to be with you. If it’s that important to you, then let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
Rowan felt his heart swell. He’d waited so long to hear her say that. Without words, he slid it onto her finger. He inspected it, straightening it before looking up at her. His eyes were damp, and a tear ran down his cheek when he gazed into her dark eyes.
She fixed her eyes on him. He leaned in to kiss her, tenderly. She ran her fingers through the short mop of his already disheveled hair, caressing his cheek, pulling him into her. He withdrew a scant few inches.
“Thank you,” she said, softly.
“For what?” he asked, confused.
“For saving me from the Bigfoot,” she said.