Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek, #3) (81)

“You're apologizing to me?”

She reaches for my hand, and I let her take it, then sit on the bed next to her.

“Yes, and I'm not gonna make excuses for my behavior but I wanted you to know how sorry I am and that I will never again treat you that way.”

“Ellie…” I choke up because I was prepared for the worst. “You could run me over with a four-wheeler, spit in my mouth, and kick me in the nuts, and I would still love you with every fiber of my being.”

Her eyes widen, and I grin. “I knew you were a masochist!”

“Only for you though, remember?” I wink.

“Do you accept my apology? For real…”

I cup her face, lean in, and press my forehead to hers. “Yes. I accept. But I don't blame or resent you. You acted out based on what you knew at the time. It'd be different if you continued hating me after knowing the truth.”

She pulls back, meeting my gaze. “Would you believe me if I said that even though I wanted to hate you, and said I did, I couldn't. I definitely hated that I was attracted to you but I fought it hard.”

“I fuckin' knew it!” I shout victoriously.

She sighs, rolling her eyes. “I shouldn't have admitted that.”

“But it's nice to have the validation so I can rub it in the twin's faces.”

She snorts, shaking her head at me, and I flash her a wink.

“I have to ask…what happened with Angela when she was in here?”

“I told her I never wanted to see her again. That I wanted her out of my life for good.”

Tilting her chin, I meet her sad eyes. “For your sake, I'm sorry you had to do that. It hurts gettin' betrayed by someone you trusted.”

“It does but the pain is worth it to get something much better in return.”

I lean in, stealing a kiss. “When I was lookin' up stuff on memory loss, I came across something interesting. After death, it's said that the human brain continues to be active for several minutes to replay its best memories before we fully die.”

“Really? I never knew that. That's devastatingly beautiful to think about.”

Threading my fingers through hers, I bring our joined hands to my lips and then press them to her knuckles. “When it's my time, every minute I have left will be spent replaying memories of you.”

“Landen…” She squeezes her eyes as tears fall down her cheeks, but I quickly catch them before capturing her mouth.

“I do not deserve you.” She wipes her face. “Are you sure you still wanna be with me after everything I've said to you?”

Amusement bubbles inside me as I fight back a laugh. “If I got offended by every snarl and snarky comment you sent my way, I would’ve stopped tryin’ to get your attention years ago. But speakin’ of, I was hopin' we could discuss this fake engagement and make it a real one.”

“Whaddya mean?” She twirls the band between her fingers, and I'm not even sure she realizes when she's doing it.

“You're already wearin' my grandmother's ring, so I have nothing to give you at this moment, but I'll happily get on one knee and beg you.”

“Landen…” Her breath quickens as she lowers her voice to a whisper. “We haven't even had sex.”

“Well no…but…” I mock her soft voice even though no one else is in the room. “I've wanted to for the past four years. Does that count?”

She nudges me, fighting back a laugh, but failing. “No, it doesn't, but I do appreciate you makin' us wait because now I know it's going to be even more special.”

“Trust me, it wasn't easy keeping your hands off allllll this.” I slide my hand down my chest and abs.

She crosses her arms. “You are just so full of yourself, aren't you?”

“Is this where you tell me you remember why you hated me in your past life?”

She scoffs. “Oh, I'm remembering in this lifetime, too, Major Ego.”

“Aye.” I waggle my brows. “Now, say you'll marry me.”

“Hmm. On one condition…”

“Name it.”

“We can only get married after I win first place at the NFR.”

“You only get that chance once a year…” I remind her.

“Yep, so you better make sure I win next year if you wanna make me your wife.”

I confidently hold out my hand. “Alright, deal. As long as you’re prepared for my trainin’ sessions, which will include a lot of stamina exercises.”

She holds out hers too but then pulls back. “Okay…but I'm keepin' my last name. It's part of my career now.”

Lowering my brow, I counter, “Hyphenated.”

She blows out a breath, contemplating. “What about our kids? That seems cruel to do to children.”

“They get mine.” I push my hand closer. “And I'll build us our dream house.”

Her eyes light up and she beams. “With double wraparound porches and a view of the lake and sunset?”

“Yep, and I'll even throw in a few dogs.”

She sucks in a breath, gasping at the idea of having dogs for the first time in her life. “You play dirty.”