She lifted her fingers to her lips. "Where's the ring?"
"In my suitcase," he admitted.
She nodded. "Then I think you should try."
It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did, he pulled his hand back and marched into the bedroom. He wouldn't dare tell her how much the thing had cost, because that didn't matter. It had been custom-made by an artist who worked in jewelry that Mycah was friends with. The stone was delicate, the band intricate, and the whole thing would look perfect on her slender fingers. He'd known it was the right one as soon as he'd seen it.
Bending to unzip his suitcase, he found the little blue box and walked back. His guts were twisting. His hands were clammy. Adam couldn't remember the last time he'd been nervous, but that was exactly what this was. When he stood before Kate again, he opened the hinged top and knelt down on one knee.
"Darlin', I will love you always because I can't get enough of how you rush in with your gun ready, are always willing to play support, and think it's cute that I can be a complete idiot sometimes. You get my jokes, love my family, and have made my life better than I thought was possible - and my life's pretty damned good. But without you in it, I'm missing something." He looked up, unable to read anything on her face. "Would you, Katelyn Gaskill, consider being my wife? Could you ever marry the guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and would you ignore that I found a way to the right side? Can you accept that my bank account would be ours, that I don't want a fuckin' prenup, and that the only thing I have in my life that I'm worried about losing is you?" Still nothing. Not even a smile. "Kate, I just want to be your husband. I want to win the one prize that I can chase but never own. Will you please consider marrying me?"
"This would be a contract, right, Mr. Degrass?" she asked, and he heard that sensual little sneer in her voice. It gave him hope.
"It would be," he agreed.
"Then I'd like to set my terms. I will not have some massive celebrity event. If you can consider some kind of small family gathering with no more than thirty people, a venue that is neither elaborate nor pretentious, and having another Degrass in the building, then yeah. I'll marry you, Adam. I hated the idea when I thought all men were like my ex, but over and over, you've proven that my problem was his words whispering in the back of my head, not anything you've ever done. I'll marry you, but I don't want your money. I want the little boy who put his brother in a headlock, the insane family that has become my own, and to finally learn how to cook for my man, because you are worth it."
"Say it again?" he begged.
"Yes," she told him. "I'll marry you, Adam."
When he pulled the ring from the box, his hands were shaking, but he managed to get it on her finger. "You're going to change your name?"
She nodded. "Yeah, and next we'll have to talk about kids."
"I can go either way," he promised. "Having them, adopting them, or spoiling my nieces or nephews. I like kids, Kate, but my worth isn't based on them. I'm also not the one who'd have to do the hard part. So as far as I care, that's your decision."
"Do you want to be a dad?" she asked.
He smiled. "Yeah, but I'll figure out a way to do that even if they aren't biologically mine. I just want to spend forever with you."
Kate threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to his feet. "I love you, IceMan. And Adam Degrass, and whatever other name you'll use next. I love you enough to spend the rest of my life with you, for richer or for poorer."
"Then teach me how to sneer like that when I call you Mrs. Degrass," he breathed just before his mouth found hers.
And Kate melted into him. His fianc茅e. His woman. His match. She was everything he'd ever dreamed of, and that she'd negotiated her terms made him love her that much more. She always kept him on his toes, but as their tongues danced and swirled, he guided her back toward the bedroom, taking his