Deadly Proposal(75)
“Uh-huh. What else?”
“I thought that you and your brothers could have fight nights out in the saloon, playing pool to your heart’s content,” Mandy said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. “I figured, now that you’ve hired Jake as another employee, he could be there, too. You could finally have even teams.”
“That seems like a practical idea.”
“And I dreamed of that stupid art studio,” Mandy said. “I pictured myself painting in there, getting dirty. I thought we could put a bed in the second room, so when you came to see what I was working on, and we both got covered in paint, we wouldn’t have to go too far to find a bed.”
James smiled. He’d pictured something similar himself. “That sounds really nice.”
“It’s gone.”
“There will be other houses,” James said. “We can build new dreams around another house.”
“I know. I just wanted that house.”
James was quiet for a moment, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “You know what you need?”
“My house?”
“You need to get out of here,” James said. “We’ve spent almost a month straight in this place. I think we both need a change of scenery.”
Mandy pulled back, letting James reach up to wipe away her tears. “Where are we going?”
“Just for a ride,” James said. “I think you’ll feel better if you just get out of here. I’ll even buy you dinner afterwards. Just no seafood. I still haven’t recovered from the puking incident from last winter.”
Mandy glanced down at her outfit, the flannel sleep pants and tank top giving her pause.
“Get cleaned up,” James said. “I’ll be waiting right here for you.”
MANDY had stopped crying about the house, but her heart still hurt. She knew she was overreacting, and she had a feeling that Sheryl’s death was part of the cause. She didn’t want to dwell on that too much, the idea of killing someone – even someone hell-bent on trying to kill her – was hard for her to wrap her mind around.
She had no idea where James was heading, but when he pulled into a familiar neighborhood in Harrison Township, her heart skipped a beat.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re just driving,” James said.
“But … .”
“Do you know what’s great about this area?” James asked, clearly changing the subject. “You have direct access to the freeway, and yet you wouldn’t know it from all the foliage. It’s kind of a hidden gem.”
Now he was just torturing her. “Yeah. It’s great.”
James flicked his turn signal, pulling onto Park Street. He was heading in the direction of the house.
“What are you doing?”
James ignored her, coasting to a stop on the long driveway of Mandy’s dream house. He killed the engine and got out of the car.
Mandy remained inside, pouting. When he didn’t come to collect her, she sighed dramatically and climbed out of his Explorer. “What are we doing here? Are you trying to make me cry again?”
“I just thought you might want to dream a little more.”
Mandy joined him in front of the Explorer, the dreams she’d tried to tamp down flitting through her head again. “It really is beautiful.”
“It is.”
“Do you think we could have been happy here?”
James didn’t answer immediately, causing Mandy to look in his direction. Instead of leaning against the vehicle like he had been a few seconds before, though, he was kneeling in front of her – a blue jewelry box in his hand.
Mandy’s mouth went dry. “W-w-what are you doing?”
James flipped the top of the box open, revealing a huge emerald cut diamond ring. It was two carats, simple, and set in platinum. It was the ring she’d dreamed about since she was a teenager – a dream she’d only ever told Ally about.
“I bought the house,” James said.
“You … you bought the house?”
“I bought the house.”
“Why?”
James pursed his lips. “Because I had the same dreams you did. I saw us here, and we were happy.”
“But … you’re, um … are you doing what I think you’re doing?”
“You seem surprised.”
“I just … I didn’t think you were there yet,” Mandy admitted.
“Well, I gave it some thought,” James said. “Loving you is one thing. Pledging forever is another.”
“Do you want forever?” Mandy’s heart was welling with hope.
“I want you,” James said. “Today. Tomorrow. Forever. You’re all I want. You don’t just own my heart, baby. You are my heart. You’re my whole heart.”