“I love you too,” she says between kisses, and my heart squeezes so tightly I think it might burst.
“Then it’s time to make this official,” I say as I take a step back, and she looks at me in confusion.
“What are you—” For the second time, her words are cut off as I kneel down in front of her.
“Marry me,” I say, and it’s not a question. “You’re already my better half, my best friend, my pride and joy, and my soul mate. Now I want you to be my wife too.”
“You know I could probably find a way to write you a ticket for this.” She sniffs as her smile widens, and she holds out her hand. “But let me check out the rock, and I might let it slide.”
“Good to know you’re open to bribes.” I kiss her finger before I take the ring out of my pocket and slide the large oval-shaped diamond onto her hand.
“Holy shit,” she says a little loud, and I look up at her, laughing.
“If I told you I bought this the day after we first met, would you think I was crazy?” I ask as I pull her against me while I’m still kneeling in the snow.
“I’d think you were crazy for having it all this time and acting like an asshole.”
“It’s a good thing you love me,” I say as I grab her ass with both hands.
“You’re so lucky.” Her smile is wicked as she presses her lips to mine and we officially seal our fate.
Epilogue
TINSEL
“What are you doing?!” I snap at Jack when he slips into the passenger seat of my cruiser.
Where did he even come from? I’d bet my life he has a tracker on me. I suppose it’s fair since I have one on his phone. Some might find it odd, but it’s not like we share a Facebook account or something. Jack doesn’t have social media, which is good because I would use it to stalk him harder.
“I could be asking you the same question,” he says. “I didn’t call the police, so technically you're trespassing.”
I glare at my fiancé, and he shrugs.
“Are you serious right now?”
“I mean, if we were married, then this resort would be yours too, but at the moment you’re trespassing.”
I roll my eyes. If it was up to him, we'd have been at city hall and married already. Neither my mom nor I are having that. I might not be super girly, but I want a wedding, and more than that, I want Carol to make my wedding dress and Frostie to make the cake. As of right now, Carol is supposed to be taking it easy, so things are on hold until she’s okay.
“I’m undercover, and you’re ruining it.”
“Undercover? In a police cruiser?” Sarcasm drips from his words, so I reach over and smack his chest.
“Hey, I’m the one who went to the police academy. Not you. I don't tell you how to do your job; don't tell me how to do mine.”
“You don’t tell me how to do my job?” He chuckles. I might have made a few suggestions, but what can I say? I’m helpful.
“There!” I whisper as if the man in question can hear me from inside my vehicle.
He strolls through the front doors of the resort, right where I figured he’d end up. This is the only place to stay in town. I pull my phone out and text Emily. If he’s checking in, she’s going to have his name. His vehicle didn’t give me shit because it’s a rental, but I have a suspicion something is up.
“You want to tell me why you’re checking this man out?” Jack grumbles.
“He’s been wandering around town and poking his head into places.”
“Isn’t that what most tourists do around here?”
“See, this is why I’m the cop and you're the sugar daddy.”
“Sugar daddy?” Jack lets out another laugh.
“What? I’m marrying the richest man in town. I think I get to call you my sugar daddy. I mean, look at this thing.” I hold up my hand, showing off my wedding ring. “Plus, you spank me a lot.”
“Fine, I’ll take it.”
“Good, that giant tree we put up last weekend has so much room for my gifts,” I tease him, but honestly, I’m sure Jack will be going overboard and filling all the space under it.
He’s been trying to make up for the years he thinks we lost. At first, I was annoyed that he waited so long to make his move but then he made me understand. He’s lost so much in his life that I can see how he thought if we did get together and things went bad that he would not only lose me but my parents and my brother too. They’ve all become his family over the years, and he was worried it could all disappear.