There hadn’t been a right time yet.
He wished he could spring to take her to a romantic place like the top of the Eiffel Tower, but his XO had been a slave driver lately and he flat couldn’t get away. But this was his life, and he wanted her to be a part of it, even though some of it was crappy and definitely wasn’t what she deserved.
Except he wasn’t an idiot, and he was not letting Lilah Houston get away a second time. She kept his body in tune with his heart, and when he had her near, all of his senses worked with laser-sharp precision.
“Hey,” he murmured later that night as she snuggled up next to him in bed as they came down from a simultaneous climax that had put him on the ceiling. “You weren’t scared to move cross-country to be with me even though we haven’t been together all that long?”
“Of course I was.” She rolled to face him, her arm draping over his waist to toy with his back. “But I can’t let fear drive the bus. Plus I wanted to be with you no matter what. You’re worth it.”
That’s exactly what his instincts had been telling him she’d say. When it came to her, they were always dead-on, and he could see everything he’d ever wanted in her eyes.
So he returned the sentiment. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She didn’t even have the grace to sound surprised, even though it was the first time he’d said it. “I was mostly there even before you rescued me from that island.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he countered and kissed her on the nose.
Now it was the right time. He fished around until he found the ring he’d hidden in his pillow and pulled it out to reveal the plain silver band encrusted with diamonds. “You rescued me. And I want to spend the rest of my life indulging in taste tests, taking dirty pictures, and carrying you places. Marry me?”
Without her, nothing in his life worked right, and he needed her to keep him in tip-top shape.
A couple of tears slipped down her face, and she smiled. “If I take your name, can I be Fitz too?”
He laughed. “If you want. I’d rather call you my wife.”
“That’s the best nickname of all.” She let him slip the ring on her finger and curled her hand into a fist. “We should probably elope. Maybe fly to Vegas.”
“Really?” She didn’t want a big wedding with flowers and dresses and all that nonsense that girls liked? He’d totally give it to her if she asked.
She nodded, dead serious. “It’s the only way to avoid printing Theodore on the invitations.”
And that was all the confirmation he needed that his gut had steered him right into happily ever after.
Is Thora suffering from temporary stomach flu, or something that might last a little longer, say… nine months? Don’t miss Marrying Her SEAL, a full-length novel in the ASSIGNMENT: Caribbean Nights series!
Read the rest of the books set on Duchess Island: Claiming Her SEAL (Dex's story), Revealing Her SEAL (Evan's story), Commanding Her SEAL (Charlie's prequel story), Redeeming Her SEAL (Charlie's full-length story) and Protecting Her SEAL (Miles's story).
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