“Not at all. I mean, of course I miss them, but the thought of more than two hours of sleep at a time makes me a little giddy.” I rested my head against the seat and started counting down the minutes until I could climb into bed and drift off. “Taylor wasn’t mad, was she?”

“No.” He laughed as he shook his head. “She offered to keep them all day tomorrow, too, but I told her she’d have to talk to you about that one.”

We pulled into the garage and he turned the car off. “Ready?” he asked.

Without lifting my head off the seat, I turned to face him. “I’m too tired. Just leave me here and come back in the morning.”

He laughed. “Come on. It’s only a few more steps, then you’ll be to our bed.”

“Fine.” I groaned and pouted my way into the house and through the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” he called out just as I got to the bottom of the stairs.

“What?” I called back incredulously. He didn’t answer, so I went to see if I’d heard him correctly. “Did you ask if I was hungry?”

He stood at the island and nodded. “I think I’m gonna make something to eat. You want something?”

“Yes, I want sleep,” I said sarcastically.

“Fine. You can go up to sleep. On your way out of the kitchen, can you grab the big pot from the cabinet and set it on the island?”

I rolled my eyes. “I seriously can’t believe you’re going to cook at four o’clock in the morning. If you were hungry, you should have said something. That’s what Taco Bell is for.” I bent over and grabbed the big silver pot and set it on the island . . . then I froze.

The pot was one I’d never seen before, and something was engraved on the lid. I squinted my eyes and leaned in closer to read it.

 

Every pot has a lid. You’re my lid. Will you marry me?

 

 

My eyes shot open as I straightened up and looked over at a grinning Viper.

“What . . . how . . . when . . .”

“You do that stuttering thing a lot, you know that?” He walked over, lifted the lid of the pot, and pulled out a black velvet ring box. Opening it, he got down on one knee. He licked his lips, took a deep breath, and smiled up at me. “Well. Will you?”

Ten minutes ago I’d been exhausted and practically crawling up the stairs, but suddenly I was wide-awake and fighting back tears.

“Oh my God, Viper. Yes!” I put my hand over my mouth as he stood and wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“You already said the most important thing, so you don’t have to say anything else.” We stood in the kitchen, hugging and swaying back and forth for at least two minutes as tears dripped from my eyes onto his shirt.

“Here,” he said as he eventually pulled back. “I want to see how this looks on you.” He took the ring from the box and placed it on my shaky left hand.

I stared down at the ring. It was a simple diamond set in a platinum, antique-looking band. “Viper, this is beautiful.”

“I’m glad you think so. It’s Gam’s.”

“What?” My eyes shot up to his.

“I told Gam a while ago that I was going to propose, and she insisted that I use the ring that my grandfather gave her. Well, the stone anyway. I had it reset.”

“I already loved it, but that makes it one hundred times better.”

“The only thing she asked is that we leave it to Maura one day. She wants her only great-granddaughter to have it after us.” He pressed his lips together and lifted the corner of his mouth in a sweet, humble smile.

“Your grandmother is an amazing woman.”

He nodded. “She is. And she helped raise me, so of course I turned out pretty amazing, too.”

“I’ll agree with that.” I hooked my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his. His hands slid down my sides and cupped my bottom as he opened his mouth for a deeper kiss. “Wanna go upstairs and show me just how amazing you are?”

“Fuck yes!” He grabbed my hand and led me around the house behind him as he locked the doors and shut all the lights off.

“By the way, what would you have done if I’d gone right upstairs and didn’t get the pot for you?” I asked matter-of-factly.

He glanced back and raised a sexy eyebrow at me. “How do you know that ring hasn’t been sitting in there for months already? It’s not like you take the pots out to cook very often, so for all you know it’s been sitting in there for a long time.”

“You’re such an asshole.” I rolled my eyes.

He shot me a wink and tossed me playfully onto the bed. “I am, but I’m your asshole. Forever and ever.”

 

 

Single dad Andy Shaw loves his job as a sports agent, with one exception: it doesn’t leave him much time for his kids. No parent likes being sidelined, so Andy decides to hire someone to share the workload. But when one of the hottest agents in the industry applies, Andy knows that this deal is definitely trouble.

Danicka Douglas works her butt off, but being an attractive woman in a testosterone-heavy industry isn’t exactly a cakewalk. She guards her professional reputation fiercely, which means no crushing on her gorgeous boss. But the more they ignore that sexy little spark, the more it sizzles . . .

Just when it looks like romance might be in the game plan, Dani is threatened by a stalker with dark intentions. To keep her safe, Andy must cross the line between professional and very personal . . . because this time, he’s playing for keeps.