Banks, watching my near-death experience, grinned.
Then he turned his back on me.
The entire stadium was cheering.
“Open the box!” I heard a prominent voice to my left say.
That was when I saw Darby leaning over the railing, only inside the pen, staring at me with avid interest written all over his face.
“I’ll wait until he can do it properly!” I yelled back.
Darby threw his head back and laughed.
The woman at my side laughed, too.
So, she hadn’t been bitter.
She’d been nervous.
I looked over at Jett, then shook my head. “I swear. I thought you were mad that you had to do the video.”
She blushed. “I stuck my foot in my mouth. I’m so used to introducing myself and my business that I just started talking. I didn’t even think. Whew, that was almost terrible. I was hired to do this for you, and then I almost go and ruin all of my hard work!”
By the time she was finished with her explanation, Banks was climbing on the back of the bull, ready to ride.
I squeezed my hand tightly around the box and stared at my man as he got ready to ride.
All the while my fingers practically itched to peel the box open and put the ring on my finger.
That itch went away the moment that the gate slammed open, and Taco Tuesday, the bull that Banks was riding today, came out of the chute.
It was like a bull possessed.
Everything that Banks could’ve hoped for happened with Taco.
He bucked. He shimmied. He shook. Hell, he’d even fallen to a knee at one point.
And still Banks held on.
He went on and on and on.
Until suddenly he lost control and went flying sideways.
The buzzer rang, signaling eight seconds, and Banks tried to roll away.
The bull, however, was going down hard.
One second he was on his feet, and the next Taco was rolling like an out of control weapon of mass destruction.
Banks barely managed to disentangle himself from the bull in time.
But he didn’t land pretty.
In fact, he landed awkwardly and lay there for a few long seconds trying to catch his breath.
Sadly, Taco regained his bearings way faster than Banks did.
He was on his feet and charging toward Banks before I could take my next breath.
But Darby was on his game.
With one second to spare, he caught Taco’s attention and diverted it just long enough for Banks to get dragged up and out of the way by another bullfighter.
And, like the crazy loon that Darby was, he hauled back and slapped the bull on the ass for a second time.
This time, Banks was scrambling over the wall on his own.
I breathed a sigh of relief the moment that Banks was out of harm’s way.
I didn’t start breathing fully until Darby was out of Taco’s reach, too.
“Thank fuck,” I breathed out, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.
Jett laughed weakly.
“I’m not cut out for this rodeo business.” Jett wiped away tears. “Shit.”
I silently agreed.
Being a rodeo man’s woman was tough work for sure.
Whether it be bullfighter, bull rider, or even a barrel racer.
It was a dangerous profession.
And the women behind the scenes deserved some gold medals of their own for staying by their sides.
I was so engrossed in talking to Jett, talking to her about bull riding and fighting in general, that I didn’t notice the man climbing the metal fence until Banks was hopping over the railing in front of me.
I blinked, turned my head, then grinned at my man.
“You sure like to put on a show,” I said teasingly.
He shrugged, then plopped down onto the seat below me.
He looked exhausted.
And expectant.
“Well?” he growled, gesturing to the box.
I tossed it at him.
“I’m not opening it,” I told him. “It’s a no until you ask me correctly.”
He huffed a sigh.
“You’re killing me, Smalls.” He laughed.
I raised a brow, telling him without words that I was waiting.
Not so patiently, might I add.
He groaned.
“Fine,” he said, then went down on his knee in front of me.
My breathing hitched at seeing him there in front of me, down on one knee, giving me everything I ever dreamed of.
He popped the top open.
I started to laugh.
Because inside the box was a fucking ring pop.
“You didn’t think that I’d actually give you the real ring, did you, Candy?” he teased. “In all honesty, I expected you to drop it.”
I swiped at his head and ended up knocking his hat off.
“Hey!” he laughed.
I rolled my eyes and reached for the ring, ripped off the plastic wrapper, and slipped it onto my finger.
“Well?” I said, waiting for the words.
He leaned forward and took a swipe of my ring pop with his tongue, then stood up with a smile.
Reaching into his very tight pants, he extracted another ring box, this one in a darker shade of gray.
Opening it up, he once again went down onto one knee.