Page 69 of Baby, It’s Hotter Inside

“Kitten,” I say. But she’s already turned around and is running away from me. I growl and turn back to face the guys one more time. “I suggest you bastards get the fuck out of town before I decide to not be merciful and rip your heads off.”

As I’m walking away I hear Wade Guidry, a former Navy SEAL, tell the guys their tab has been closed and they need to leave immediately.

I love this town. And I’ll thank Wade later. Right now, I’ve got to find my girl because I don’t know what she thinks she heard, but she’s definitely wrong.

Thankfully, I don’t have to go far to find her. Kelli Guidry, Wade’s wife has her wrapped in a big hug right outside the restaurant.

I can hear Roni’s sobs from here and they filet me right open.

“Kitten, no,” I say.

She stiffens at the sound of my voice and it’s like a knee to my balls.

“Kelli, thanks, I’ve got this.”

She nods and gives me a little wink. “Wade is taking the riffraff out back with the trash.”

“Where they belong. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“Roni,” I lightly grab her shoulders. “Where can we go where you’ll feel safe to hear me out? You wanna go across to the park and sit on a bench? Back to the shop? Tell me, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

“I don’t need you take me some place special to break my heart, Nash. You can do it right here on the street.”

“Oh my sweet, sweet, kitten, I’m not going to break your heart. Not today. Hopefully not ever. Never on purpose.” I grab her hand and pull her so we can cross the street diagonally and step into the park. There are a handful of benches and I just find the first one. I sit and pull her into my lap. “Now, we can do this a few ways.”

“Just do it quickly,” she says with a sniff.

“Whatever you heard that I said to that fucker, it wasn’t the whole story. Roni, I am so wildly in love with you, I want to paint your name across the water tower.”

She sucks in a breath.

“You are my whole world, kitten. My everything. I rushed to Gator’s to be by your side when I couldn’t find you and you weren’t answering your phone.”

“My hands were full of crawfish juice and gunk.”

“Which is a good reason for not touching your phone.”

“I should have texted you an invite, but I didn’t really know what to make of what happened between us. You didn’t say anything about the future or tell me you cared about me other than wanting to have sex or whatever, and I was trying to be mature about the whole thing,” she says.

“I had some things I needed to take care of, and I couldn’t have you with me to do them,” I say.

“Oh.” Her voice sounds defeated.

I dig in my pocket and pull out the black box. “I wanted to surprise you with this. I didn’t want you tell me it was too big or too expensive or anything like that. But Veronica, I can’t hold it in anymore. I tried to stay away from you. I tried to be the good guy and ignore how I felt so you could be with a younger guy. But then you had to crawl all over my big body, telling me how much you wanted me and only trusted me. Christ, please say you’ll be my wife.”

She squeals and throws her arms around my neck. “Yes, of course I’ll be your wife.” Then she kisses all over my face. A hundred little pecks of her lips, everywhere she can reach, and it makes me laugh and just lights my fucking soul on fire.

“You are everything to me,” I say, slipping that engagement ring on her finger.

“I love you so much, Nash. I know all that stuff I said about needing a big family might have scared you or whatever. I’ll be happy just being your wife. So it’s okay if you don’t want kids.”

“Who said I didn’t want kids?”

“No one, I just assumed.”

I stand up, picking her up with me. “You want kids, let’s go make one right now.”