He swallowed. “The other day, you asked me how I felt about you.”
“And you didn’t answer,” she said, pain slicing into her heart.
“I was being stupid.” His hands moved down to her waist, and he drew her close again. “I smartened up, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. So ask me again.”
Emotion clogged her throat, but she managed to get out the words. “How do you feel about me, Owen?”
“I love you,” he said simply.
Their gazes locked, and Maddie was overwhelmed by what she saw on his face. No fear, no panic, just love and sincerity.
“You mean it, don’t you?” she breathed.
“I mean it.” His voice cracked. “When I heard that you were leaving town, I wanted to die. I couldn’t imagine living here, working here, without seeing you every day. And I realized that if you really did go, you’d be taking my heart with you.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A part of her was still plagued with doubt, refusing to accept that he actually meant any of this, but there was no mistaking the tenderness in his eyes.
“You drive me crazy sometimes,” he said with a deep laugh. “You can be really annoying, you’re a know-it-all, you take risks that make me want to throttle you—and I love you for it. I love everything about you, Maddie, the good and the bad.” He slanted his head in the most adorable way. “Do you think you can love me again? I know my bad sometimes outweighs the good, but—”
“Love you again?” she cut in, her throat so tight it burned. “I never stopped loving you.”
He blinked. “But…you were going to leave town.”
“Because I couldn’t bear to stay here, feeling the way I did about you and knowing that you didn’t feel the same way.”
He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I do feel the same way. I think I always have, I’ve just been too damn scared to admit it. But I’m not scared anymore. And I don’t want to be with anyone else. Just you, Maddie.”
She leaned into his touch, the warmth of his fingers seeping into her skin and heating her entire body. She knew she ought to be angry with him, outraged by his stupidity and the way he’d pushed her away, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything negative. Maybe she was a fool, but she’d loved Owen Bishop from the moment she’d met him. Despite all his flaws—and he had a good deal of them—she knew without a doubt that this was the man she wanted to be with. She’d always known.
“I want you too,” she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to brush a kiss on his mouth.
He pulled back, urgently searching her face. “You do? Even after the way I acted?”
“I do.”
He had the nerve to look surprised. “Why?”
“Because I love you too, idiot.”
His face broke out in a grin as he bent his head to kiss her, so passionately they were both gasping for air when they pulled apart again. Owen reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly, then glanced at the boxes littering the room with a look of concentration on his face.
“Let’s get to packing,” he said briskly.
She hissed out a breath. No, he hadn’t just said that, had he? He’d just declared his love for her and now he was going to pack up her stuff and ship her off to—
“Yes, you’re still moving,” he said, interrupting her angry thoughts.
She glared daggers at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope.” He grinned again. “If we’re going to be married, we can’t be living in separate houses, baby.”
Maddie was stunned speechless. Didn’t happen often, but there was no other way to react to this.
“You’re moving in with me,” he said in his typical and grating commanding tone.
“I am?” she sputtered.
He faltered. “Well, yeah.”
She slowly regained her composure. “And I’m going to marry you?”
Owen’s forehead crinkled. “Of course you are.”
Maddie choked down a laugh. “Do I get a say in any of this?”
“Nope.” There was a playful twinkle in his eyes, which told her he knew exactly how arrogant he was being. “We can argue about it for a while, if you want, but we both know I’ll win. Actually, we’ll both win.”
Well, he had her there. Moving in with Owen, marrying him—it was all she’d ever wanted.
“I’m not going to argue.” She cocked her head. “But I do want you to get on your knees.”
He raised one dark brow. “Oh really?”
“Really,” she confirmed. “Because I may be a tomboy, but I’m still a woman, you stupid jerk. And if you’re going to propose, you’d better do it right.”
Proving that he wasn’t a total jerk, Owen obediently sank to his knees, gripped her hand, and raised it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, then looked up at her with sexy, heavy-lidded eyes. “Madeline Wilson, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“You bet your ass I will.”