It wasn’t until his shoulders lifted and fell on a deep breath and he took a few steps toward the trailer that she moved. There wasn’t much she could do about the fact she was wearing a T-shirt that should already be a few years into its second life as a dust rag, but she tried to smooth down her hair. Then she flipped on the light and pulled open the door as she heard his footfalls on the steps.
He stopped when the light washed over him and simply looked at her. She drank in the sight of him, forced to finally admit to herself she’d been terrified of never seeing him again. “Hi.”
“I don’t know what to do, Paige.”
“About what?”
“Us. I don’t know what to do about us. I can’t walk away from Northern Star Demolition. I have obligations. I have dozens of people—and their families—depending on me for work. I have to travel. And I built that company from nothing. I’m not walking away from it.”
He was going to ask her to go with him. Paige tried to brace herself, but the shock of the choice she was about to face almost stole her breath. She could have Mitch. All she had to do was give up her home. Her business. Her friends. And that meant she was about to get her heart broken all over again, because she couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it.
“But I can’t ask you to walk away from this,” he said, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “You bought this trailer and you’ve brought that old diner back to life. You’ve made Whitford your home. So I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He gave her a small smile, rocking back on his heels. “I was hoping you’d know what to do.”
She desperately wished she did. “What is it you want?”
“You. I want you and I don’t want to be a luxury. I want you to need me. I want you to not be able to concentrate because you’re thinking about me. I want you to reach for your phone because you thought of something you have to share with me. I want you to not even be able to breathe at the thought of never seeing me again, because that’s how I feel about you, Paige. I want to be a necessity.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I do need you, because I love you and you make me happy. I can live my life just fine on my own, but it will be so much better if I live it with you.”
“I love you. And we can make this work. I’ll try to cut back on my traveling and delegate a little better, which I’m willing to do if it means more time at home with you. As long as you’re waiting for me.”
“Always.” He kissed her until she could barely breathe, then held her for a long moment. “The women in this town are going to be so disappointed you’re off the market.”
“There are other women in this town besides you?”
“Nice one.”
“I’m trying to soften you up for the big question.” His face grew serious and he took one of her hands in his. “Do you think we can get a bigger bed?”
Laughing, she pulled her hand away. “There goes all that lovely floor space.”
“All three square feet of it. And maybe a TV?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “There you go trying to change everything.”
“And maybe if I have to make a quick trip just to check on something and you can get somebody to cover your shifts, you could go with me so we can have sex in the hotel shower.”
“We’ll have to put your computer on the stove and live off microwave meals.” This time, she was the one who turned serious. “Or, we could find a house together. One with a giant bathroom so we don’t have to have sex in hotel showers. I’d like to stay close enough to town so I can walk everywhere, but there are a few to choose from.”
“I know how much this home means to you, Paige.”
“And I’ll keep it. Rent it out. But the house we pick together will mean even more to me.”
“I want you to marry me. I want to have your ring on my finger so I can feel it when I’m away from home. I want to tell people, ‘I’m going home to see my wife,’ when I’m waiting to board my plane. And someday I’ll tell them, ‘I’m going home to see my wife and kids.’”
She threw her arms around his neck and said “yes” over and over, punctuating each time with a kiss.
“How about we go inside before somebody calls the cops on us.”
“Are you kidding? They’re taking notes—maybe even video—so they can get all the details right over coffee tomorrow.”
He took her hand and led her into the trailer, where he kissed her long and slow. “The sooner we go to bed, the sooner I get the pleasure of waking up next to you. Or, you know, kind of under you, since we don’t really fit side by side.”
Laughing, she pulled him into the bedroom. “It’s going to be fun, being your wife.”
As he lowered her slowly to the bed, he kissed her and then said, “And I’m going to love being your husband.”