CHAPTER 26
Summer
Declan stares at me in shock.
“A couple months after I arrived at the ranch, I decided that I wanted it to be you. And I’ve been waiting ever since. For you. For this.”
Declan’s mouth falls open in disbelief, then he snaps it shut. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me, Summer?”
“The same reason you didn’t tell me.”
“I thought you weren’t interested in me that way.”
“Same.”
“So you’re saying we could have started this years and years ago?”
“Not necessarily. Maybe we’re only just now ready to be honest with each other.
Maybe now is the right time for reasons we can’t even see.
The only thing I’m sure of is that I don’t want this to ruin our friendship.
I can survive most anything, but I couldn’t make it without you in my life, in some way.
You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and ever will have. ”
Declan pulls me closer and then moves us so that we’re on our sides under the covers, our heads on the same pillow as we face one another. He strokes my hair. I may have dozed off, and when I open my eyes, Declan’s still there, watching me.
“’Sup?” I ask.
He grins. “I’ve been thinking.”
“That’s never smart.”
He laughs and pulls me close enough for our foreheads to touch. “Summer Stevens,” he says, “would you make me the happiest son of a bitch on earth and be my wife? Would you marry me?”
“Excuse me? Did you say something?” I wriggle out of his arms and put some daylight between us.
“You heard me.”
“Hold up. You want me to marry you? Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Summer, listen. It may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, but it really isn’t. I assure you.”
“Just last night I was calling you an assclown. And today you want to marry me? That can’t be right.”
“Maybe it’s right for us. We’ve always done things our own way.”
I shake my head, dizzy with confusion. He looks serious. His eyes are clear and hyper-focused. He’s searching my face like a man who is making plans and needs to know if I’m on board.
But I can’t process this.
“Summer. Remember what I said when I was buried deep inside you?”
Uh-oh. I may be sore, but my pussy is already perking up and paying attention.
“You said a lot of things.”
“You’re mine, Summer. I meant it and I’ll always mean it.”
“Okay…”
“I don’t want to waste another second in bullshit indecision or stupid games and I don’t want to let another day go by without this—the way we are right now. You’re mine and I’m yours and I’m telling you that we really need to get married.”
Declan is as intense as any of the MacLaines, and I’ve seen him laser-focused on many occasions and for many reasons. This is a level I’m not used to, however. The man’s not fucking around.
“But why?”
“After what I did, it’s my duty to marry you.”
I laugh. “Whoa, dude! What you did? I think I did some stuff, too.”
“I took your virginity. You deserve the utmost in respect and care, and I’m honored to provide it.”
“Say what? Hello? Are we trapped in an old-timey romance novel or something?”
“A what?”
I sit up. He sits up.
“That statement—my duty to marry you—sounds like a line of dialogue from one of those black-and-white movies Phyllis makes me watch with her. Or wait—how far back should we go? The Middle Ages? Do I need to provide a dowry? I might be able to rustle up a pig and a couple goats, but—”
He’s on me. His mouth is all over mine and his hands are gripping my ass, and this is not fair. In the past, he couldn't shut me up by kissing me because kissing wasn’t part of our deal. Now it is, and I can’t fight it. I can’t fight him when he’s on me like this.
I don’t want to.
I throw my arms around his neck and press myself against him. The kiss goes on and on, and eventually, I understand that this isn’t about shutting me up. It’s just a new way we can communicate with each other.
And Declan is telling me that everything will be all right. That he will take care of me.
His face looks tortured when we separate.
“Declan, you don’t have to do this. You’re a very good man, a very honorable man, but you aren’t obligated to marry me.”
“Of course I am. You’re a virgin, Summer.”
“Not anymore!”
He points at me. “Exactly! Not anymore! I took that from you. I didn’t have the right. We absolutely have to get married. I have to do right by you. You deserve nothing less.”
“Are you done?” I ask.
He slouches. “Yeah.”
“You didn’t take anything from me, Declan. It was my choice to lose my virginity. And I’m damn glad about it, too. I told you what I wanted, and you gave it to me. I’ve waited a long time for it, and it was awesome. So thank you.”
He’s still upset.
“This isn’t a ‘you break it, you buy it’ situation, okay?”
That gets a chuckle out of him. But then I suddenly realize something. “Wait. Hold up. Am I your first virgin?”
“Are you?” His answer comes in the form of a question.
“Am I the first woman you’ve asked to marry you? Let me rephrase that—am I the first woman you’ve ordered to marry you?”
“Perhaps that’s none of your business.”
I laugh. “So, that’s how our blessed union is going to work? You’re going to tell me to shut my trap and mind my own beeswax? I never knew marriage could be so magical, Declan!”
“Of course you’re the first, Summer! What a question! And I refuse to fuck this up or dishonor you. You’re the kind of woman a man marries and keeps with him his whole life.”
“A man? Which man?”
“This man.”
“Just checking.”
“We’re getting married. Now.”
Declan’s absolutely serious. His violet eyes are hard, and his jaw is tense. I pause a moment to think, and then I feel it, a flash that changes everything for me.
Here I am, ribbing him for demanding that we get married out of some false sense of chivalry. But in reality, I think maybe I’m testing him. Because I want to marry him.
I do.
Want to be his wife.
I want this to be real.
The understanding shocks me, but I try not to let on that I’m amazed and excited by the idea of living happily ever after with Declan, the only man I’ve ever loved.
There’s an issue, though. A couple of them.
One, he’s a player.
Two, I’m still not sure it would be fair for me to marry him. Because he’s not hearing what I’m telling him. That he’s under no obligation to marry me. Like all the MacLaines, Declan’s decent and kind. The rock-solid foundation of all he does is integrity, loyalty, and courage.
Yeah, it’s definitely a SEAL thing. Cal has a SEAL motto for every occasion, and in my years at Yosemite, I’ve probably heard each one of them a dozen times.
But it’s a MacLaine thing, too. It’s how Declan’s parents raised him. I’ve heard that Declan’s late mother, Stella, was a straight shooter, laying down the law and insisting on respect from her five wild-ass boys.
I’ve seen first-hand that Jamie is a tough son-of-a-gun wrapped up in dad jokes and silly barbecue aprons. The man is dead serious about his family’s legacy of Yosemite Ranch, though, and anyone who gets between the land and Jamie MacLaine is a fool.
I’ve always thought that Declan is more like his father than any of the other MacLaine boys. Jamie and Declan are all fun and games on the outside, and rock-hard towers of strength on the inside.
So with that in mind, I can’t help but wonder what will happen tomorrow, when reality sinks in. What if Declan looks around, finds himself married to me, and regrets falling into the snare of honor and integrity? What if he feels like he’s been trapped? What if it ruins his life?
If so, happily-ever-after won’t even be an option. We’ll end up with tragically-ever-after instead.
“You’re really serious, aren’t you?”
Declan nods. “Damn right I am. I want this. I want to marry you. Please marry me, Summer. Now.”
“Okay. Let’s do it. Now.”
“Can we grab a burger on the way? I’m starving.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”