Russell
EPILOGUE
I'd meant to make it a grand gesture, but that didn’t work out in Seattle. I made up for the grand gesture later. I tried to persuade Paisley to switch back to Graham’s crew with me when we got back to Alaska, but she flatly refused. Ward even backed up her logic.
Whatever. I wanted to have words with Ward about it, but I let it go.
Life stayed busy for both of us after we got back from our jaunt to help her brother.
Paisley had spent far too much time worrying about him, and I was relieved he’d cooperated with the investigation after all was said and done.
Since he hadn’t committed any violent crimes, he managed to work out a deal for monitored probation.
On a more crucial matter, she moved back into the lake house with me.
She had the better bedroom, so I stayed up there.
My mother was over the moon about us. She even fessed up that Janet had suggested she offer the rental to Paisley because, apparently, Janet thought I had a thing for Paisley. She’d been spot on.
As for me? Tender was the only word I could come up with about my feelings.
I ran into Rowan one day in the parking lot at the station. He cracked a rare grin, commenting, “You seem to be in a better mood.”
“I do?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. You're not being stupid anymore. Now, you better lock her down.”
A full six months after his suggestion, I did. I got a ring and everything, and I made dinner—her favorite mac and cheese. Plus, a raspberry cheesecake. The first time I made it, she ate almost half of it by herself. I had it all planned. I even made it a surprise.
“Why am I wearing a blindfold?” she asked as I held her hand and led her into the kitchen.
“For fun,” I teased.
Her lips were curled in a smile, and I bent low to kiss her when I stopped by the counter. We had already eaten the mac and cheese and gone for a walk. Her eyes flew wide when she saw the raspberry cheesecake. “Ooh! I didn't know if you were ever going to make it again.”
“Of course, I was going to make it again.”
“If you make this all the time, I will turn into a butterball.”
I chuckled. She didn't need to worry about that. Hotshot firefighting was not an easy job and pretty much made it impossible to put on any weight.
“Let’s eat dessert,” I murmured, nudging her in the direction of the table.
She was several bites in when she started to sink her fork in, and it came to an abrupt stop, making a little clicking sound. Her eyes flew wide. “What’s this?”
I waited. She carefully pushed the top layer away to see the small glass box, and nestled inside of it was a ring.
I’d cut a hole in the cake from the bottom to hide the box in there.
She carefully smoothed her fork over the top.
When she looked over at me, her eyes were glistening with tears.
“Seriously? Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes, I am,” I said flatly.
She sat completely still, long enough that I started to worry. When she lifted her eyes to mine again, she knuckled away the tears slipping down her cheeks.
“Russell. Oh, my God. Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that I love you? Yes. Am I sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you? Yes, absolutely. Was this too soon?”
She shook her head, her hair swinging around her shoulders with the motion. “I love you.” She leaped out of her chair, raced around the table, and slipped into my lap.
A moment later, she pressed her forehead to mine. “You surprised me,” she whispered.
“You're not easy to surprise. I wanted to make it good.”
I felt the curve of her smile on my cheek. “Maybe you can teach me how to make the cheesecake.”
“No,” I said firmly. Our last episode in cooking lessons for Paisley had not gone so well. She was too impatient and skipped too many steps. “I love you. You're the best roommate I’ve ever had.”
“Am I still just your roommate?” she teased.
“Well, you're my roommate with benefits, and I love you. And now, you're my fiancée, and pretty soon, you'll be my wife. You’re mine.”
“Since when did you become a possessive guy?” she teased.
“Since you,” I said bluntly before sliding my hand into her hair and holding her close.