Page 187 of Should Our Stars Collide

“Yes.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Please?” Ash puts his other knee down, batting his eyelashes. “Pretty please? I love you, firecracker. Marry me.”

Kieran ignores him, his heart rate somewhere in the stratosphere.

“Please?” Ash repeats. “You’re the light of my life. Ketchup to my fries. Peanut butter to my jelly. Sun to my?—”

“Oh my god, stop! Stop!” Kieran covers his ears. “I’ll do it. I’ll marry your annoying ass. Just stop talking.”

He’s never seen Ash smile so wide and bright. It takes him completely off guard, so much so that he doesn’t resist when Ash reaches for his left hand, which trembles. Ash has the decency not to comment on it.

Plucking the ring from the box, he slides it onto Kieran’s ring finger. He brushes his lips over it and coaxes Kieran to kneel down too.

Then he offers his own hand. “Your turn.”

Kieran’s indignation dissipates, and he returns the favor. He’s still shaking, and it takes him a few attempts to get the ring on. Ash smiles the whole time.

“You’ll marry me too, right?” Kieran checks.

“That’s usually how it works, yes.”

“Just making sure. One never knows with you.”

“Some things you do know.” Ash brings their foreheads together. “Some things never change.”

“True.” Kieran interlaces their fingers. “You’ll always be the mostirritating man on the planet.”

“You’ll always be the brattiest.”

“Match made in hell, huh?”

“Probably. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Good. Me neither.”

They laugh, letting the serene moment stretch, just basking in it.Now everything is perfect.

“There’s, um, an engraving in your ring,” Kieran mentions after a while, feeling his ears warming up.

“How fitting. There’s one in yours too.”

They remove their respective rings, Kieran heart skipping a beat as he reads what’s on the inside.

MINE

“Shit. Talk about coincidence.” He laughs so he doesn’t cry.

The lack of any reaction from Ash makes him look up. Blood rushes between his legs at seeing Ash’s expression, dark with desire and possessiveness.

Uh-oh. I’m gonna be eaten alive.

He doesn’t resist when Ash cups the back of his neck and draws him into a needy kiss. “Mine.”

Kieran gives a jerky nod. “Yours.”

He leans in for more kisses, preparing for some naked action, but Ash stops him.