Page 63 of Keeping Kasey (Love and Blood #3)

“I’d call that inevitable.”

A smile plays on her lips, and every fiber of my being wants to claim them with mine, but there’s no need to rush. If I get my way, there will be plenty of time for that.

“Does that mean you’re done running?” I ask.

In the cabin, it was easy to imagine a future where Kasey stayed forever, but we were facing imminent death. Now that we’re safe, she could very well choose to run again.

“Depends,” she says, tilting her head to one side.

“On?”

“Would you ever stop chasing me?”

“Never.”

Her smile is so sweet. “Well, I’ll save you the trouble for now. I’m thinking about sticking around for a while.”

“Is that right?”

Kasey looks over her shoulder to the door. “I don’t hate your family as much as I thought I did.”

“They like you.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that .”

“I would. You fit right in.”

Her eyes go wide in mock horror. “In this family? I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

“It isn’t,” I assure her, and her laugh is breathless.

“Is that something you want?” she asks, nerves edging her tone as her smile falters. “For me to stick around?”

“Not at all.”

Her brow furrows, and I shake my head. I can’t believe I even have to tell her this.

Can’t she see how desperate I am for her?

“ Sticking around isn’t going to cut it for me, beautiful,” I tell her. “I don’t just want you right now—I want you forever. I meant every word I said in the cabin. We’re going to get married, have as many little psychos as you’ll give me, and grow old together.”

The look in Kasey’s eyes—so full of hope and happiness—makes me fall in love with her all over again. “You want to marry me?”

“The only reason I haven’t asked you to be my wife yet is because my mother’s ring is in my safe at the manor. That’s the only reason. It is not a question of if it’ll happen, but how quickly I can get home to slide it on your finger.”

“The ring can wait,” she says, so soft I almost miss it.

I study her gaze, and the message is clear as day in her shining blue eyes. But in case there was any doubt, she gives me the slightest nod.

It’s all the invitation I need.

“You’re the most infuriating person I have ever met. You make me contemplate homicide and my own sanity on a daily basis.”

“Horrible start,” she deadpans, and I give a look that silently asks if she’s going to let me go on. She rolls her eyes, and I take it as my sign.

“ But you have brought meaning to my life in a way that I never knew was possible. Marriage has always been an obligation to fulfill, but you have made it an opportunity—a foundation for everything that makes my life worth living. You make my life worth living. I tried living without you, and it almost killed me. And even though living with you might also kill me, I’d like to do it for the rest of my life. ”

“There better be a question somewhere in this monologue,” she says, failing to suppress her smile.

“Kasey Camilla Miller, will you—”

“Wait,” she says, eyes wide.

“You’re the one who told me to ask!”

Only Kasey would make me want to strangle her mid-proposal.

“I figure now is probably a good time to tell you that my last name isn’t Miller.”

“ What ?”

“I legally changed my mom’s and my last name after Dad died,” she says, a bright flush flooding her cheeks.

“What the hell is your last name?”

“McKay,” she says through a laugh, then nods. “Keep going, keep going.”

I shake my head.

This woman.

“Kasey, soon-to-be Consoli, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she says, her smile triumphant and breathtaking.

“You’re awake!” my sister exclaims as she throws the door open and rushes to the side of my bed that isn’t occupied by my fiancée.

I hear the others filtering in after her, but I don’t look at them. I take in the pure joy that has settled between Kasey and me—a refreshing change from the heaviness that’s plagued us for too long.

“How do you feel? Has the doctor been in here yet? What were you thinking going to that cabin without telling anyone? Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be alive?” Elise barely breathes between firing off questions. “How long ago did you wake up? Do you need something for pain?”

Reluctantly, I pull my eyes from my fiancée just as the door closes. James has joined Elise at my side—a look of pure relief on his face—and Damon and Moreno reclaim their seats.

Kasey looks at the clock above the door, then at Moreno.

“Eight minutes? That’s the best you could do?” Without waiting for an answer, she turns to Elise. “Joshua was antagonizing Logan when he woke up.”

The speed with which my sister’s head snaps to glare at Moreno should break her neck. “Are you serious? You promised to be on your best behavior.”

Moreno points to Kasey. “You’re the worst, you know that?”

Elise scoffs, but Kasey just laughs.

“Watch how you speak to my fiancée, Moreno. This hospital bed won’t stop me from kicking your ass,” I tell him with an easy smile.

The change in the room’s atmosphere is instant as concern morphs into surprise.

“Excuse me,” Elise says, peering over Kasey’s shoulder. “I could’ve sworn you just referred to Kasey as your fiancée .”

Kasey and I share a smile, ignoring the charged looks from my family.

“Kasey, did you agree to marry this asshole?” Damon asks.

“About forty-five seconds ago, yeah,” she confirms.

“Congratulations!” Elise shouts.

“What about the Romano girl?” Moreno asks, and when Elise smacks his arm, he only lifts his hands with a raised brow. “It’s a legitimate question.”

“And one that’s already been answered,” James says.

We look to James, all of us silently asking the same question.

He only shrugs. “I’ll be marrying her.”

“What?” I ask at the exact same time as Elise and Damon.

James doesn’t look overly eager to explain, which is fine because Kasey doesn’t give him a chance.

“Can we focus on this engagement first?”

The next ten minutes are some of the best of my life.

I still haven’t been seen by a doctor to assess the damage, and I haven’t been briefed about what I missed while I was unconscious.

I assume Diaz took the traitors, and the impact of that change is going to have catastrophic effects on my family and Moreno’s—effects that could change every aspect of our operations.

But for the next ten minutes, I let myself be a man engaged to the woman of his dreams. I let myself soak in the reality of being her forever. I let myself revel in the joy of what we have survived and what we have to look forward to.

I don’t worry about the rest because I can handle anything that comes our way as long as she is by my side.