Obviously, I hadn’t been using my brain at all, and my damn heart had completely betrayed me.

  I had the most amazing woman in the world, and I was completely blowing it.

  All because I was afraid I’d cause her an even greater injury that was never likely to happen.

  Yeah, some of Wyatt’s annoying comments had gotten through to me.

  “I’m moving out, Chase,” she stated firmly as she stopped beside me. “The condo I was looking at is still available. I’m signing a lease tomorrow. I’ll be out by Friday, if not sooner. I’m sorry if I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

  I stopped swinging abruptly.

  The punching bag swung back and hit me in the head, but I didn’t even feel it.

  What? Wait!

  I met her gaze directly for the first time in two weeks.

  She was deadly serious, and I’d brought this on myself, Goddammit!

  It was all there in her gaze.

  Uncertainty.

  Sadness.

  Anguish.

  Anger.

  Along with a longing mournfulness that made my blood run cold because it told me she’d already accepted this decision.

  Oh, fuck, no!

  She wasn’t leaving.

  I had hurt her. Badly. And that was the most painful realization I’d ever experienced.

  Screw the fear of her getting physically hurt.

  I’d wounded Vanna’s spirit, and if I never saw this look in her eyes again, it would be much too soon.

  “Vanna,” I said hoarsely. “We need to talk.”

  She folded her arms in front of her obstinately. “About what, Chase? About the fact that you don’t even want to be with me long enough to eat dinner? Or about the fact that you haven’t touched me or even kissed me in two weeks? Or maybe about the fact that you don’t even seem to acknowledge that I exist in the same house that you do? Or possibly about the fact that you barely speak to me anymore, even though I’ve tried repeatedly to get you to tell me what’s wrong?”

  Okay, there was the fury, and I could handle that a lot better than the sadness.

  I’d rather she be pissed off than hurt any day of the week.

  But then, a single tear rolled down her cheek, and it broke me.

  I felt completely gutted.

  I couldn’t fucking ignore the pain I’d caused her, and I didn’t want to. I had to find a way to make it right somehow.

  “You can’t leave,” I croaked as I reached out for her hand.

  She pulled away and backed up.

  That hurt, but I knew I more than deserved her disdain right now.

  “I doubt you’ll ever even notice that I’m gone,” she bantered furiously.

  “Bullshit!” I bellowed. “I’m fucking in love with you, Vanna. I’ll admit it, I got scared. After what happened with Kruger, I had no idea if I could keep you safe in the future with my high-profile name and face. Don’t you know that if something happened to you, I wouldn’t want to live on this Earth anymore? But there’s a problem with that, because I don’t want to live without you when you’re still on this Earth, either. So I’m totally fucked.”

  Her expression softened ever so slightly, but she wasn’t about to give in. “You think you love me?” she asked cautiously, her expression still wary.

  “No! I know I love you, Vanna. Probably have since Vegas. Hell, maybe it was even before that and I was in denial,” I corrected.

  “You certainly haven’t acted that way for the last two weeks,” she said suspiciously.

  “I know,” I said remorsefully. “And I’m more sorry about that than you’ll ever know.”

  “Are you?” she questioned, her gaze still livid. “Do you have any idea what all of this has done to me? I’ve turned myself inside out, wondering what in the hell was wrong with me because you wouldn’t even talk to me—”

  “Jesus, Vanna. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re so goddamn perfect that it scares the shit out of me sometimes—”

  She held a hand up. “Stop! I’m not done. I’ve always been an all in or all out kind of woman. Sometimes it takes me a while to commit to something or someone, but once I do, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I was scared, too, in the beginning. I held back. I didn’t want to hope for things that would never happen between the two of us. But the moment you made yourself vulnerable to me by taking off all of your clothing in the middle of the kitchen to show me those scars, I was all in, dammit! Did it ever occur to you that I might not want to live in a world without you in it, either?”

  I shook my head slowly, both stunned and ensnared by her passionate wrath.

  Oh, she was entitled to it and more, but I’d never seen Vanna quite this upset and furious before.

  “Well,” she said, her voice starting to waver. “I did feel that way. Furthermore, I’ve also gained eight pounds from stress eating a truckload of junk food over this situation, and I’m about to lose the ability to button my jeans. So I need to give it up before I need a new wardrobe. Even poor Axel is gaining weight because he has no problem commiserating by eating those cookies with me. That’s why I really…need to go.”

  “You look beautiful,” I told her, and I meant it. “Don’t go, Vanna. I love you.”

  Hell, I’d buy her whatever size new wardrobe she wanted as long as she stayed.

  Tears began to pour down her face as she asked hesitantly, “Do you really mean that? I don’t even know anymore.”

  I felt sucker punched that she actually doubted me, but I’d brought that distrust on myself.

  Vanna had given me everything, and in return I’d given her reason to be this damn uncertain.

  Fuck it!

  I pulled the ring I’d gotten her out of the pocket of my sweatpants and handed her the box. “I’ve had this ring for almost a month now. I was going to ask you to marry me when we got home from dinner the night of the attack. I had to wait a while to get it custom-made from diamonds that came from the best Montgomery mine. They’re quality, and I couldn’t give you anything but the best.”

  There wasn’t a turquoise center stone that would do her justice, but I’d mixed a few in with the smaller accent diamonds. The center stone had to be a big ass diamond. Well, at least it had to be for me.

  If she wanted something else, I’d be happy to accommodate her.

  Anything she wanted.

  Everything she wanted.

  If she’d just say she was fucking mine and put me out of my misery, I’d make damn sure I never saw that mournful, broken look in her eyes again.

  It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Vanna stared at the box.

  My heart was pounding so hard that I wasn’t sure that I wouldn’t have a heart attack and keel over in another minute or two if she didn’t say something soon.

  She’d be perfectly justified if she told me to fuck off after I’d been such a dick for the last two weeks.

  But Christ! I really hoped that she wouldn’t.

  “You’ll never be able to save me from every single bit of pain or danger in my life, Chase,” she mentioned in a less angry tone.

  “Maybe not, but I’ll sure as hell give it my best shot,” I said stubbornly. “If I can’t prevent the pain, I’ll be there with you, Vanna, good or bad. I know I’ve acted like an idiot. I guess I was terrified that you were in danger because you were with me. I hate what happened at the restaurant.”

  She raised a brow. “So you were planning on dumping me because of that?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes! No! Oh, fucking hell! I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m crazy in love with you. My head wasn’t on straight after that happened.”

  She kept holding the box tightly in her hand but didn’t open it.

  Vanna took a deep breath as she whispered, “I was in love with you, too.”

  Was? She was in love with me?

  Oh, hell, no. That wasn’t going to fly. She still needed to love me.

  “Do I take it you’re not in love with me anymore?” I asked hoarsely, that possible heart attack starting to look more like a reality.

  “Chase, you can’t just close me off when you’re worried or upset. We’re supposed to be partners.”

  My gut rolled as her tears just kept coming.

  “Vanna,” I said huskily, really needing to hear the answer to my question.

  She held up a hand. “Wait. This is really important to me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore. I thought you wanted me to go. I thought you realized that you made a mistake when you asked me to stay. It hurt me, Chase. I never want to feel like that again. It ripped my heart out. I’m not afraid of being with you. I’m afraid of being without you.”

  I got exactly what she was saying.

  It was crystal clear.

  I felt the same damn way.

  I was also now completely aware that she still loved me, but just hadn’t uttered those words…yet.

  I knew because Vanna and I were connected.

  Yeah, I’d damaged that connection for a short time, but it was still there.

  “It won’t happen again, sweetheart. I swear,” I vowed, meaning every single word. I’d learned my lesson about just how many misunderstandings could come from silence.

  She raised a brow. “Promise?”

  I started to sweat. “I promise.”

  “Then I guess I can finally tell you that I love you, too, you crazy man. I’ve wanted to say that for a very long time.”

  My breath released in a giant whoosh of relief.

  “Marry me?” I asked, my voice hoarse with relief. “This isn’t the way I planned on doing this. I stink, and it’s not exactly romantic, but I can’t wait another second to ask.”

  “You haven’t touched me in two weeks,” she reminded me.

  “Believe me, I’ve felt every moment of that,” I grumbled. “There will never be a time when I look at you and don’t want to be touching you, Vanna.”

  “Is that why you barely looked at me?”

  “I haven’t analyzed it yet, but I guarantee if I had looked at you, I would have had you naked so fast that you wouldn’t have even seen it coming. I guess that’s why I didn’t. At the time I didn’t want to cave in. I wanted to do the right thing,” I said openly. “Can I kiss you now?”

  “Wait,” she insisted as she slowly opened the box.

  I nearly groaned out loud, but I was also impatient to see how she liked the ring.

  “Oh, dear God,” she whispered as the velvet box popped open.

  I wasn’t exactly sure if that exclamation was good or bad, so I waited.

  “It’s enormous,” she gasped as she gingerly touched the large diamond center stone.

  Any other time, I’d welcome that comment, but I still wasn’t certain that she was happy with the ring.

  The center stone and surrounding diamonds set in platinum amounted to a fairly high carat count, but not so big it made her a target from a mile away. Besides, big and gaudy just wasn’t Vanna’s style, so I’d settled for…quality.

  “The workmanship is incredible, Chase,” she said, her tone reverent.

  “It’s custom. I know a guy who does really nice work,” I told her.

  She looked at me with tears in her eyes as she replied, “Of course you do. I love it, especially the little turquoise accents. It’s perfect.”

  I finally relaxed as I saw the joy that had seeped into her beautiful eyes.

  She handed me the box as she asked, “Are you going to put it on my finger?”

  I snatched the box before she could change her mind.

  Hell, yes, I was putting it on her finger.

  Right. Fucking. Now.

  Savannah

  “You’re not mad at me anymore?” Chase asked as he slipped the stunning ring on my finger.

  I shook my head as my heart skittered inside my chest. “Not now that I know you were reacting out of fear. I didn’t like it, but I understand. Please remember that I love you the same way, Chase. I never want to see you hurting, either. But…if you ever do that again for any reason, I swear I’ll take your sister’s advice and smack you upside the head until you’re sensible again.”

  He probably didn’t know I was serious, because all he did was shoot me a shit-eating grin.

  He kissed the ring on my finger when he was done putting it on. “Then say you’ll marry me. I wholeheartedly agree with you smacking me if I ever act like that again.”

  I’d obviously said yes by asking him to put it on, but I knew he wanted to hear it. “Yes,” I said in a breathy, delirious tone. “I love you so much.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Kiss me.”

  He moved forward and put his arms around my waist. “I can’t resist that invitation, but I really do stink, Vanna. I need a shower.”

  I inhaled his musky male scent as he lowered his head.

  Yes, he was all sweaty, but it was actually kind of sexy.

  He kissed me slowly, his emotions present with every touch of his lips.

  I felt adored.

  I felt wanted.

  And I definitely felt…loved.

  I was breathless by the time he lifted his head.

  “I plan on making you pay for making me wait for so long to hear that you love me,” he teased in a sexy baritone against my ear.

  I shivered in anticipation. “I can hardly wait.”

  He pulled back with what seemed like severe reluctance. “I have to shower first. Come with me?” he asked as he held out his hand, his low baritone vibrating with emotion.

  He wasn’t just asking me to shower with him.

  His question meant so much more, and I knew it.

  Chase Durand was asking me to stay with him forever, and I didn’t hesitate to accept all that he wanted as I took his hand.

  I knew he’d suffered as much as I had—maybe even more—over the last two weeks.

  Next time, if there was one, I wouldn’t hesitate to get in his face because I knew that he loved me.

  “Need somebody to wash your back?” I offered teasingly.

  “Only if that someone is you,” he grunted.

  I smiled and followed him upstairs to the master bathroom.

  When we were both naked and ready to get into the shower, I looked hesitantly at the gorgeous ring on my finger as I wondered aloud, “Maybe I should take it off.”

  It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever owned, and last thing I wanted was to mess it up. I knew it was going to become the most precious item I owned, not because of the monetary value, but due to the love that was put into the ring.

  “Don’t,” Chase urged, pulling me into the shower. “It was made to last a lifetime, Vanna. You don’t ever need to take it off unless you need to for some reason. It was made to withstand anything.”

  “Just like us,” I said teasingly as I picked up his bodywash and poured a liberal amount into my hand.

  “Just like us,” he confirmed in a more serious tone.

  I ran my hands over his muscular body as he stood willingly and let me simply touch him. He winced a little as my fingers stroked over his fully erect cock.

  “Keep that up and I’ll never make it all the way through this shower,” he rumbled in a warning voice. “Jesus, Vanna! It’s been two weeks. I know that’s my fault but try not to torture me. When in the hell are you going to marry me and put me out of my misery?”

  I took pity on him as I moved to his six-pack abs with a small smile, tracing each one of those defined muscles as I went.

  For now, I was happy just to touch Chase, to have that kind of intimacy back after what had happened.

  I loved every inch of his rugged male form.

  “I haven’t exactly had time to think about that yet,” I told him, bemused.

  Everything had happened so fast, and he’d only told me that he loved me a few minutes ago.

  Did we really have to think about that right now?

  “Think about it,” he instructed hoarsely. “I want you to be my wife, Vanna. If you want a big wedding, we’ll arrange that, but I’d rather not wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Well, unless you need more time to get used to the idea.”

  I started to quickly clean myself up while he rinsed off and washed his hair, not particularly picky about my shower since I’d already had one earlier. “I’m not going to have second thoughts, Chase,” I reassured him. “When I said yes, I meant it. All in, remember?”

  Like I was going to second-guess my answer?

  I’d be marrying Chase Durand, the man I knew was the only guy for me.

  He wrapped an arm around my waist and drew me to him the moment he finished rinsing his hair. “You’re still all in? Even though you know that there will probably always be crazy people who might try to get to me through you?”

  I pushed the wet hair back from his face tenderly as I looked at him, the fierce protectiveness in his tone making my heart race.

  He’d always be worried about my safety and my well-being, and that fact touched me more than I could express in words. “Yes, I’m still all in. I love you, Chase. The chances of something happening again like the last incident is ridiculously minute. You understand that, right?”

  “Unlikely or not, just the thought of ever seeing you in that position again guts me, Vanna,” he rasped as he pushed me back against the wall of the shower enclosure.

  “It won’t,” I said in a soothing tone as I ran my fingers along his stubbled jawline. “But I’m willing to take my chances if that means I’m with you.”

  I knew his fears were very real to him after what had happened, but almost anything in life was a risk. Marrying him certainly didn’t feel daunting to me.

  “I’ll do everything I can to keep you away from the less pleasant aspects of my business,” he promised.

  “I know you will,” I said softly as our eyes locked.

  My breath caught as I saw the bold possessiveness in his gaze.

  “Then marry me soon,” he insisted.

  “How soon?” I asked as my heart tripped.

  “Next month?” he said hopefully.

  I let out a startled laugh. “If we’re going to have a wedding at all, I need longer than that.”

  I didn’t need a huge, pretentious affair, but it was San Diego, and we were quickly approaching the tourist season.