She closed her eyes and a short, harsh sob escaped her. She stepped out of his embrace, then around him, and headed for the door.
That’s what did it. He’d always look back on it and blame that very moment, the moment he thought he’d lost her. “Marry me, Grace Cooper,” he shouted across the filled room.
To a voice, everyone fell silent.
Grace stopped, her shoulders bowed and shaking, her sobs muffled behind her hand.
“Marry me,” he repeated, walking toward her.
“Why?” she turned slowly. “Because of all the reasons you listed? You missed the biggest one.”
He searched her face, his heart pounding. “Because I love you,” he said softly. “Marry me because I love you.”
Her direct stare made his gut cramp.
One eye narrowed before she asked, “Enough to get me the three-ring circus?”
“I’m not shoveling elephant crap.”
A hard sob ripped through her. “You have to be who you are.”
“We’ll deal with things one day at a time. Together.” He held out a hand, dropping it to his side when she shook her head and stepped back. “Don’t do this.”
“Baltimore—”
“If it’s where you need to be, I’ll go with you.” He took a step toward her. “Marry me because I’m not the man I was and I’m only half the man I might be without you. Marry me because the thought of living without you makes me sick. Marry me because I’ll love you to my last breath, whenever that happens to be. Forgive me for who I’ve been and focus on who I am.” He closed the gap between them with another step. “Marry me, Grace. Marry me because I’ve loved you for so long. I won’t ever intentionally bring violence to our doorstep, and I won’t let my history bleed into our future. I’m not that man anymore, but I will always protect what’s mine.” And that, he realized, was the truth he’d been seeking from himself all along. “I’m not that man anymore,” he repeated gently.
“You’re right. You’re not that man anymore. And I’m not the girl I was. I don’t have to leave to escape. Loving you is what set me free.”
Reaching out, he pinched a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing gently. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”
She hiccupped and laughed then threw herself at him. “Yes.”
He wrapped her in a fierce embrace, burying his face in her hair. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. Don’t you ever do this to me again. Ever.” She hiccupped harder. “I’m going to get a job nearby so I can crisis negotiate your ass out of a sling if someone comes to kill you again. You need to be here, need to give your experiences to these kids, and I need to be with you.”
His heart slammed into chest in a rapid-fire rhythm. “You’ll stay.”
“My heart is where you are, so yeah. Besides, I may have to go back to school after the university finds out about us.”
“I spoke to the director while they were taking your statement. After today’s blowup, he doesn’t think we can sweep the ethics violation under the rug. I’ve accepted a short suspension, and he believes that’ll satisfy the university. I might have to pick up a couple of extra shifts at the club, but you’ll graduate.”