Before You(97)

She started to squirm. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere private, so I can show you exactly how much I missed you.”

When she opened her mouth to respond, he took advantage and kissed her the way he had been dreaming about since she left.

After they reached the room, he slammed the door and put her down on her feet, still holding her tight.

“Hey, it’s dark in here. What are you doing?” she said, trying to feign anger, but he could feel the curve of her smile against his cheek.

He turned on the lights and then his hand settled on the back of her neck, tipping her head to rest against his. “Bre, I’ve been planning this over and over in my head for months, and I don’t think I can wait any longer. I wanted to write a song or have the band sing to you, but being away from you for the past week, I realized I don’t want to waste another moment. We’ve wasted too many.”

Bre froze. “What?” she whispered.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. Shocked, Bre’s eyes widened.

“Aubrey Keaton, will you do me the honor of marrying me and being my family?”

“Yes! Yes!” Tears streamed down her face.

Jax pushed the ring onto her hand and flung the door open. “You guys can come in now. She said yes.”

Cam, Alec and Marc came into the room, smiling and slapping him on the back. Cam walked over to Bre and whispered something in her ear. She smiled up at him and kissed him on his cheek.

Marc popped the cork on the champagne, letting it overflow onto the floor as he filled the glasses.

“Try to get some of it in the glass,” Alec yelled as he leaned against the wall with a rare smile on his face.

“It’s about time,” Cam yelled as he lifted his glass into the air for a toast.

When the bottle was empty, the guys joined the party backstage, leaving Bre and Jax alone.

“What did Cam say to you?” Jax asked, pulling Bre into his arms, loving the feel of her body next to his.

Bre shrugged her shoulders. “He said it looked as if he wouldn’t need to rescue me from a life as a cat collector after all.”

“What?”

Laughing, Bre said, “I told him that I would consider marrying him if we were both alone and miserable at forty and I started collecting cats.”

“There’s no chance of that happening. You’re mine forever. You’ve agreed, and I’m not letting you back out,” he said, grinning as he lifted her hand and kissed it.

“I wouldn’t dream of trying.” Bre looked away uncertainly. “Cam said he would never agree to release me unless he knew you loved me more than anyone and everything.”

“He’s right—before you, I had nothing.”

Her smile was luminous. “I feel the same way.”