I snorted. “Don’t think so.”
The crowd laughed and Helen giggled. “That’d be pretty epic. But Blake, I know the world’s been dying to ask you this question.” She glanced out at the crowd and then back to him. “How did you even think to go searching for Hadley? What made you think she wasn’t dead?”
His arm tensed around me as he went into detail about hearing of my death, and the struggle he endured thinking I was gone forever. Over the next five minutes, he answered questions about the mission to find me, how he was dealing with the paparazzi, and even more questions about his boots. The crowd adored him. But how could they not?
The show was about to be over and I couldn’t wait to get off stage and head back home. Blake and I hadn’t been back to Wyoming at all since the rescue.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a few minutes left and I do believe Blake has something he’d like to say.” She looked at him and he acknowledged her with a nod.
This was a surprise to me.
The stage lights brightened, and the lights over the audience dimmed. Blake stood, then got down on one knee. Gasps erupted from the women in the audience.
I clasped a hand over my mouth. “What are you doing?”
Felicity came out, handing him a small black box, winking at me before scampering away.
Blake squeezed my hands, his gray eyes swirling with raw emotion. “The day you showed up on my doorstep, I took one look at you and knew you were going to be trouble.” Snickers could be heard from the audience and I smiled.
“I didn’t want to care about you, but you made it impossible. I fell in love with you, knowing you could never be happy with a guy like me, or at least I thought you couldn’t. That’s why I’m here today, in front of all these people and the world, to ask you two questions.” Lifting my hand, he kissed it gently, his gray gaze never swaying from mine. “First, do you think you could be happy with a guy like me?”
Lips trembling, I nodded vigorously. “Yes,” I whispered.
“That leaves just one more question.” Taking a deep breath, he blew it out and opened the box.
“Oh my God,” I cried. Warm tears fell down my cheeks. It wasn’t just any diamond ring in that box . . . it was my mother’s.
He pulled it out and held it up in the air. “I promise from today on to protect you, body and soul. I won’t be happy until I know you’re mine for the rest of my life. So, with that . . . Hadley Rivers, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes,” I burst out. “Yes, oh my God, yes.”
Beaming, his eyes lit up as he placed the ring on my finger and lifted me in his arms. The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. “That was fast. You sure you don’t need to think about it?” he teased.
I shook my head. “You’re all I want, Blake Evans. There’s no thinking twice. The real question is, will you be happy with me, with my life?”
He kissed me again. “As long as I have you, I’ll let nothing come between us.”
“Promise?”
“On my life.”
Hadley
Eight Months Later
Belonging to a small community was better than I thought it would be. When everyone around Jackson Hole first realized who I was, it was a little crazy, but now they treated me just like everyone else. I didn’t have to worry about walking down the street and having a gazillion people trying to chase me down for autographs. However, a lot of that was probably due to Blake always being with me.