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“I love you, too,” I said. “But wait just a goddamn minute.”
“For what?” he said. “You’re my queen. My goddess. Let me love you forever.”
“Liam. One little detail here. You’re still bruised from the first time you had to defend me from Snake Eyes, let alone the second time!”
“So Snake Eyes is his name now?”
“As good a name as any. He’s out there, and he wants something. I can’t give it to him. He’ll never stop coming after us. This is mine and my sisters’ problem, not yours. Backing away from me is the smart thing to do, Liam. Much better for your health. Being with me puts you in danger.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “That day in the parking lot, I got a good, long look at what life would be like for me if Snake Eyes got you. I couldn’t take it. I will not let that happen.”
“But he got my necklace,” I said, my voice bleak. “It was our only clue. Without it, we’ll never solve this puzzle. We’ll always be tense, on edge, waiting for the hammer to come down.”
“I don’t care. I want you. Your problems are now my problems. End of story.”
I sniffed back tears. “That’s extremely romantic, but it doesn’t say much for your judgment, dude.”
“Probably not, but is that a yes? Will you marry me?”
“It means that I love you, certainly. But I just don’t know if I could handle being engaged again.”
“So let’s skip the engaged part, and go straight to the married part,” he suggested. “Let’s run off to Vegas. Tonight. We’ll take a red-eye flight. Go to the courthouse to get the paperwork done tomorrow morning, as soon as we get there.”
I was laughing, tears filling my nose. “For real?”
“For real. We can get married by an Elvis impersonator. Spend three days on a vibrating bed. Play some blackjack. Drink champagne in a hot tub.”
It sounded surreally wonderful. “But what about that invitation to your dad?”
“We’ll do another wedding for your sisters and our friends and my dad,” he said. “This one is just for us. Our hot, sexy, secret elopement. Makes me hard just thinking about it.” He hesitated. “Your schedule permitting, of course,” he added. “It can wait. If you’ve got work commitments.”
“Wow, Liam,” I said demurely. “That speech sounds extremely rehearsed.”
“Is it so obvious? Come on. Give me credit for trying.”
“You can have all the credit you want.” I slid my arms around his waist. “You’re so thin. Have you been eating?”
“Hey. That’s my line.”
“I have to feed you up. There’s this great little Vietnamese place down the block. Great barbecued beef skewers. Killer noodles.”
“Do you have noodles here? Spaghetti, linguini? Some tomato sauce, some garlic?”
“Are you kidding? With a name like D’Onofrio?”
“If we make our noodles here, we can get naked while the water boils,” he said.
She laughed at him. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“That’s awesome. I’m thrilled. But you still haven’t answered my proposal.”
I threw up my hands. “Liam, I love you. You love me. Isn’t that miracle enough for now? Can’t we just be grateful? Let’s not push our luck!”
He looked mutinous. “I want you to be my wife. I want it all signed and sealed.”
“Hmm,” she murmured. “I thought you were working on the concept of compromise.”
“Sure, but let’s not overdo it.” He touched my face, as carefully as if I were one of Lucia’s orchids. “I almost lost you. It would have ripped my heart out. I’ll never stop loving you, Nancy. We can push our luck all we want. For the rest of our lives. It’s endless. Deeper than the ocean. Wider than the sky. You get me?”
The sweet, hot glow in my chest swelled into something huge, until my heart was about to burst. There was no more room for fear.
“Yes,” I said, reaching for him.
* * *