She curled her arms around his neck and hugged him. Not content with any part of her not touching him, she crawled into his lap and burrowed into his chest until they were smashed together like two lovebugs.
“There’s still Stanley,” she sighed.
He tensed and pulled slightly away. He tipped up her chin until their gazes met again. “Stanley won’t ever be a problem for you again.”
She frowned at the conviction in his voice. Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What did you do?”
“Let’s just say that me, Rio and my brother Donovan took care of the little a**hole. He might have fallen down a flight of stairs. Twice. Or at least that’s the story, and I’m sticking to it.”
She laughed helplessly, appalled that she found such satisfaction in the image but at the same time desperately wishing she could have witnessed it all. Then she squeezed him tight again.
“I love you, Garrett. I do. I want us to be together. You make me not so ... afraid. You make me think that things really will work out.”
“They will, honey. They will. I want to take you home. You’re going to love my family and they’re going to love you. I have some things to work out too. For instance, right now, I live with my two brothers and my oldest brother’s wife. It’s kind of crowded,” he said ruefully. “Sam—that’s my oldest brother—has started construction on a complex for the entire family. It’s impressive, really. We’ll have all the facilities we need. A private airstrip, a helicopter pad, training facilities, a gun range and most important, we’ll all have our own house. That’s where you come in. I have the decorating sense of a mule.”
Sarah smiled and felt her heart lighten with every beat. “I should warn you I have girly tastes. I won’t allow my living room to be decorated in camo. Oh, and Patches.” She glanced anxiously up at him. “She’s back with me. Can we bring her home too?”
He smiled. “Yeah, you and Patches are a package deal. For you I can put up with a cat.”
“And girly? You don’t mind your house being girly?” she asked with a grin.
He pretended disappointment. “I suppose I can live with girly.”
“You need to get used to it for all the daughters you’ll have.”
His eyes lit up with such joy that it took her breath away. “Did I tell you I have a new niece? She’s beautiful. Not as beautiful as our daughters will be, but she’s cute as a button.”
She squeezed him again, unable to contain her excitement. “All week long I’ve thought of the future with such dread. You’ve made me think it will be filled with wonderful things.”
He slid his hand into her hair and gently ran his fingers through the strands. “I’m making you a solemn promise. For as long as we both live, I’m going to spend every day giving you wonderful things. You will never doubt for one moment that you are as loved as a woman will ever be.”
She smiled and wiped at her damp cheeks in irritation. “I love you.”
“And I love you. Think we can go home now?”
She kissed him, warm and sweet, letting her lips melt over his. She breathed a sigh into his mouth and let herself go limp against him. “I can’t wait.”
He tucked her firmly against him, and they sat there on the steps until the sky shimmered in gold and pink and the sun was a fiery half orb on the horizon. It was the first of many more to come. In the years ahead, they often returned to Isle de Bijoux. Though they enjoyed sunsets in a multitude of places, none was ever quite so beautiful as the ones here, where it all began.