Page 136 of Romancing His Heart

“I-I didn’t know where else to go,” she whispers.

“What do you mean? I want you with me, always. Is that not what you want, too?”

“I didn’t get to make a grand gesture with you guys, so you’ve obviously missed a few steps,” Dexter gloats as he enters the room.

Irritated at the situation, I snap, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, if we had made a grand gesture, Sloane would have known how you felt. As it stands, you might have to spell it out for her.”

“Yeah,” Preston’s brother, Colt, chimes in, entering the room. “Fuck grand gestures. Sloane here took care of that on her own. She shot up mobsters to save your stupid ass. I think she wins hands down in the grand gesture department.”

“What the hell are you morons talking about?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Colt asks.

“Apparently not,” I say through clenched teeth.

“Oh, bless your heart.” Dexter laughs. “Sloane is going to Preston’s house because you haven’t made your intentions known.”

I gape at everyone in the room. “Is that true?” I ask, turning my attention on Sloane.

“I-I …” She glances at everyone, silently asking for help.

“Oh, hell no.” I march to her bed and look her square in the eyes. “My intentions, Red, are forever.” Dropping to one knee, she gasps. “I had hoped to do this with a ring, but since my intentions are in question, I’m going to tell you right now. I intend to marry you. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you. I intend to have a family with you, and I intend to spend the rest of my life making up for all the assholery I’ve put you through.”

“That’s a lot of intentions,” she giggles.

“Don’t mess with me right now, Red. I need to hear you say yes.”

Cough. “Ah, you didn’t actually ask a question,” Dex interrupts.

What? Yes, I … Oh for fuck’s sake.

“Sloane Marie Camden, this is a placeholder proposal. I’ll do it right when we’re not in the hospital, when you’re not in pain, and when we don’t have an audience …”

“Ah, that’s not how we do things, Loki. Everyone witnessed mine and Lanie’s. Same with Trevor and Julia. And we were all in on Emory’s real one, so … ya know.”

“Oh my God, Dex. Shut the hell up,” I yell.

“Sloane, please say you’ll marry me. We will redo this whole shitshow at a later date, but I want to be very clear, my intentions with you are forever.”

Through a mix of laughter and tears, she nods her head yes.

“Thank Christ. Put Westbrook Bay down as our address. We’ll have to renovate to make it our own—”

“And an exorcism,” Colt interrupts.

Shaking my head, I take a deep breath so I don’t kill someone. “Okay, maybe that, too. But, baby, I had a great childhood there. I have amazing memories, and that is where you showed your badass self for the first time.”

“We all saw the cake smashing video,” Colt laughs. “That was fucking awesome.”

Sloane hides her face in embarrassment.

“No, baby. You’re not allowed to be embarrassed about that. Look what you accomplished that day. Seth, Luca, Ashton, and I are all alive because of you. Because of you, Sloane, but this isourfuture, not mine. If you can’t go back to that house, we’ll tear it down and build a new one, or start fresh anywhere you want. Just tell me what you want,” I plead.

“Welcome to the world of rich husbands,” Emory jokes.

“What do you want, Red?” I whisper, ignoring everyone else.