My heart was not prepared to see him. Not even a little bit.
“How’s my girl?” he asks, scooping her up in his arms.
Her arms wrap around his neck, and she buries her head in his chest.
His eyes stay trained on me.
I force a swallow and beg myself to stay together.
I can’t cry in front of Danny.
“Boone! I slept in your bed last night,” Rosie says, grinning. “I didn’t even try to sleep in mine.”
He makes a face at her but then quickly returns his eyes to mine. “Did Jaxi let you get away with that?”
Rosie nods.
“Well, that’s okay,” Boone says. “I bet she had a hard time sleeping last night. Just like I did.”
Tears flicker in the corners of my eyes, and I blink them back.
Danny hops off the desk and, frustratingly, stands right in my line of vision.
“I have to apologize to you, Miss Thorpe,” Danny says. “There’s been some miscommunication, and it’s all my fault.”
I furrow my brows but don’t speak. I don’t trust my voice.
The chair squeaks as Boone stands with Rosie still in his arms.
“I don’t have the authority to rent you an apartment,” he says, smiling at me.
“Why?” My voice sounds like it’s wrapped in a wet T-shirt.
“Because,” he says, “I sold this complex. And two of my others, actually. All rentals have to be approved by the new owners. It’s a stipulation in the purchase agreement.”
My heart pounds in my chest. My body and brain war whether to join Rosie in Boone’s arms or not.
I know he’ll catch me if I jump.
My jaw drops open, and a hurried breath escapes my mouth.
He’ll catch me if I jump.
I’ve never been able to say that about anyone before. I’ve never been confident that someone would even try to reach for me if I fell.
But I know he would. He’d catch me just as quickly as he caught Rosie a moment ago.
“Who should I speak with then?” I ask even though I know the answer.
Danny grins as he heads for the door. “You’ll have to speak to Mr. Mason.”
My gaze flips to his and he snatches it up like he was waiting for the opportunity. The greens are vivid and bright. They pull me like a moth to a flame.
“I’m going to lunch,” Danny says. “We’ll get the details worked out this week, Mr. Mason. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Thank you,” Boone says. “We’ll be out of here in a moment.”
“Take your time.”
With a final smile and a little wave, Danny exits the room.
The room grows smaller in an instant. The temperature increases. I tug at the collar of my shirt.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Making sure you don’t get away from me.”
The tears well up in my eyes again. He wants us. He wants us to stay.
“Boone …”
“The plan I wanted to go over with you yesterday was the purchase of this complex. I thought it might be a good way for you to see if management was really something you liked. Even if it wasn’t, these places are gold mines. It would be money we could set aside for Rosie.”
I don’t fight the tears. There’s no point.
His words are more than a balm to my wounds. They’re a salve to my fears.
“I understand why you were scared,” he says. “I get why you internalized everything wrong. But I’m the one who let you down. And, for that, I’m sorry.”
The pieces of my heart float back together. The sincerity in his eyes mend them into one.
Not only does he want us in his life but he’s also thought of my dreams and Rosie’s future.
Who is this man? How am I this lucky?
“I panicked,” I tell him. “I got so scared and ran. I thought it would be easier to end it on my terms rather than it ending on yours.”
He smiles sadly. “But I didn’t want it to end.”
He sets Rosie down on the floor. She grabs his wrist and presses her finger to the dial, following the minute hand around and around the glass.
“I didn’t want it to end,” he says again. “What I wanted was for it to be for forever. I was just scared too. I terrifies me to think that I can love you with everything that I have and have it not be enough.”
My breath stalls in my lungs. My knees begin to shake.
“I meant what I said last night. I love you, Jaxi. I love Rosie. I want us.”
He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a light pink box.
“Oh, my gosh,” I whisper.
He picks Rosie up and walks across the room, then bends down on one knee.
Tears flood my face, my body shaking with adrenaline and excitement.
My heart explodes with love.
“You broke into my life like a thief in the day and flipped my world upside down,” he says, making me laugh. “You woke me up, made me see that I had more to give. More to live for. You make me want to be the best person I can be for you and for Rosie.”
“And Wade,” Rosie says.
“Rosie … no,” Boone says, shaking his head. “Not Wade this time.”
“Oh.”
I giggle, covering my mouth with my hands.
“Last night was awful. I want it to be the last night we ever spend apart. I want to make our family official. Boone, Jaxi, and Rosie Mason.”
“Rosie Mason,” Rosie says.
Boone shakes her, making her laugh.
“That’s right,” he says. “Rosie Mason. Do you like that?”
“Yes, but my name is Penelope Rose Woods, Boone,” she says, blushing.
“You’re right. But I want you and Jaxi to have the same name as me,” he explains softly.
I love this man.
“What about Penelope Rose Woods Mason?” he asks.
I blink back tears.
“Yes! Boone! I love it,” she sing-songs.
“Then, that’s what your name will be.”
“But what’s all your names gonna be?” she asks.
He sighs and then chuckles. “My name is Boone Michael Mason. It doesn’t change. Just yours and Jaxi’s”
“Oh. Okay. I like that.”
He kisses her forehead and then sets her down next to him.
She takes his hand back.
And then, he looks at me, and I struggle to take in air.
The intensity. The love. The absolute confidence. In me. In us.
“Will you do me the greatest honor by becoming my wife?”
His voice is strong and sturdy, reliable and trustworthy—all the things I know him to be.
I close the distance between us and take his face in my hands.
Tears drip down my chin and onto my shirt. I vaguely wonder what I look like right now.
But I don’t care. All I care about is making sure this man knows that I love him for the rest of his life.
“Um, yes or no, Jaxi. I’m dying here,” he whispers.
I laugh. “Yes. I would love to be your wife.”
He slips a ring out of the pink box. It’s a cushion-cut yellow diamond in a yellow gold band.
“My mom designed this. I saw it in her shop and knew I had to have it,” he says as he slips it on my finger. “When I saw it, it reminded me of how you make me feel.” He pulls me into his chest and kisses the top of my head.