Page 123 of Wild Abandon

“Make an honest man out of me. What will people think?”

“Come on, Crystal. Give the guy a break,” Jeremy says.

I give him a nod.

“Living in sin, these two. No way for a boy to be raised,” Ed echoes from the corner.

Crystal closes her eyes in avoidance. “No,” she says sternly. “I don’t need a ring on my finger to prove my love for you.” She puts her hand over my heart, over my tattoo, and says, “What we have is deeper than what any piece of paper can offer.”

I lean back and cross my arms over my chest. “All right, tattoo my name across your chest, and we’ll call it even.”

Naomi walks onto the veranda and sees the visual standoff between Crystal and me. “What’s going on?”

“Crystal’s going to have Nate’s name tattooed across her chest,” Jeremy says.

“Sweet.” Naomi laughs.

Crystal shoots her a death glare. “I’m not having anyone’s name tattooed anywhere.” She looks back at me. “No offense. I’m just not a tattoo kinda gal.”

“I know.” I smirk, and she sticks her tongue out. I put my hands on my knees and lean forward. “That settles it. You’re just going to have to marry me.”

“Nathaniel—”

“Come on, Crystal, marry the man,” Naomi pleads.

“Put him out of his misery,” Jeremy adds.

I call Austin over and set him on my leg. I look at him and pull my bottom lip out in the way Crystal does when she’s upset or deep in thought. When Austin sees me make the face, he makes it, too. With our platypus faces in place, we both look at Crystal, and I even throw in some sad puppy-dog eyes.

“Is this an ambush?” Crystal asks.

I just blink my lashes at her, like a wounded pup.

“No,” she says.

And it just plain sucks.

I put Austin down, give him a kiss on the head, and send him back to play with his grandpa. I rise, down my next shot of whiskey, and turn around to start serving dinner.

For a woman who came to Napa to find love and get married, she certainly is letting her goals fall short. Here I am, practically begging her to marry me, and she says no. I’m gonna have to up my game. Maybe another weekend in San Francisco. I’ll take her to—

“Hey, Nate?”

The way Crystal says my name forces me to turn around with one brow raised.

“Marry me,” she says, like it’s no big deal.

My head rolls back, and I look up at the sky as I run my hands down my face. “Finally!” I shout. My head falls forward as I dramatically shake my head. “You finally agree to marry me, but not when I asked you? A man needs to do the asking.”

“A woman needs to do the telling. And I’m telling you to marry me—right here, right now.”

“Now?” I point my finger to the ground, accentuating the fact that she just said now.

She mouths the word, Now, right back at me. Her mouth is tipped up at the end, her green eyes sparkling.

“Now? As in, let’s-hop-in-the-car-and-drive-to-Vegas now?” I ask.

“Now, as in Naomi became an ordained minister last week and is going to marry us in the rose garden.” She’s smiling a stunning yet conniving smile.