Kissing Felix’s lips.
Ohmigod. I’d kissed Felix! I couldn’t say yes to Ramirez now. What about that kiss? What would he say? I mean, it had been an accident. It didn’t mean anything. It was all a big mistake. A misunderstanding. Yes, that was what it was, a misunderstanding.
I realized that the panic pounding in my ears was so loud it had drowned Ramirez out. I gave myself a mental shake, willing my heart to stop drag racing.
“…all I’m saying is that I don’t want to keep you out anymore.” Ramirez made a move to open the case.
Instinctively, I slapped a hand over his. “Wait, Jack. I…” I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “There’s…there’s something you should know.”
Ramirez looked down at me, his eyes dark and sincere, filled with emotion that this time I didn’t have to guess at. It was plain as day. It was the most tender look I had ever seen from him. My throat suddenly closed up and I couldn’t breathe.
“Just let me say this first, okay?” he asked, covering my hand with his and extracting the box.
I bit my lip. Oh lord, I was going to cry. I was going to bawl like a baby.
And I was pretty sure that if he got down on one knee, I was going to have a heart attack.
“Maddie…”
Oh God, this was it. This was the moment. My stomach churned, those chocolate-covered pretzels threatening to make a repeat appearance.
“I want you to have this.”
Ramirez opened the jewelry box.
I took a deep, fortifying breath, willed my stomach to stand still, and looked inside.
To find a key.
What the…?
“It’s a key to my house.” Ramirez pulled it out of the box and dangled it from his index finger. “I want you to have your own key. That is, if you still want it?”
A key.
I let out a big breath, emotion draining from me. Whether it was relief or disappointment I wasn’t yet ready to examine. But on the upside, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a heart attack.
Ramirez opened my hand and pressed the key into my palm. He’d had a copy made onto a pink metal key with little red lipstick kisses all over it. Very cute. Kinda sassy. Very…me, I realized.
I guess Bad Cop did know me, after all.
“Thanks, ” I said, thoroughly meaning it.
Ramirez leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. “You’re welcome, ” he whispered. “Is that a yes?”
I would tell him about that accidental kiss. Later. Possibly when I knew he wasn’t armed. But not now. Not in the middle of this perfect proposal of almost cohabiting, or at least sleeping over without notice.
“Yes.”
Ramirez’s grin was so big, twin dimples popped out on his cheeks. “Good. Now, let’s get to your mom’s before the Terror drools on every available seat.”
I grabbed my purse, slipping my new pink key inside. Somehow it felt a little heavier. Fuller. Actually, it felt kind of nice. Like I had a little piece of Ramirez with me everywhere I went now.
I bit back a big, goofy grin.
“By the way, ” Ramirez said, his lips close to my ear as I closed the door behind us, “I do expect you to use that key tonight.”
My stomach flipped, sending a shiver right down to my toes.
Oh, boy.