Page 71 of Rescuing Riley
Josh nodded, his eyes shifting back and forth. “I need to tell you something.”
Riley brought her finger up to her mouth and bit her nail.
He grinned. “It’s not that bad.”
Riley slapped a hand to her heart in an attempt to slow it down. “Josh Bandon, if you don’t tell me right now, I will throw you in the ocean.”
He let out a belly laugh. “Baby doll, you couldn’t if you tried.”
Riley raised an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?” She was up for a challenge but maybe not at that moment. The Pacific was cold even on a warm day.
His fingers danced in her hair. “The last time I was in love with a girl was in high school. Since then, I haven’t gotten serious with anyone, mainly because of my SEAL days. And the past six months have been excruciatingly painful with you in Boston and me here. We’ve talked a lot on the phone, and during those phone calls, I’ve always been dying to tell you one thing, but I didn’t want to over the phone. What I have to say can only be said face to face.”
“That you love me?” she asked, her heart galloping a mile a minute.
He lost his smile. “No.”
Riley’s heart fell to the sand, and if she weren’t mistaken, the retreating wave took her heart with it. One of the reasons she’d chosen to move over three thousand miles was Josh. If she’d read him wrong, then boy, she needed some serious help.
His slow grin parted into the most belly-tingling smile. “I’m in love with you. There’s a difference.”
Riley punched him playfully on one of his tattooed and muscled arms. “Semantics. And for that, I should dunk you in the ocean.”
As if the ocean had heard her, a wave crashed to shore, knocking her over, and before she could do anything, the undertow was taking Riley with it. Water filled her mouth as she took in a breath. She could swim, but the undertow was strong. She bobbed to the surface, choking, when a hand grabbed her foot.
The wave receded, allowing Josh to get a better grip on her before he lifted her in his arms. “I got you, baby doll.”
Riley locked her hands around his neck as the ice-cold water seeped into her pores.
Josh carried her a good distance from the ocean’s edge then set her down on dry sand. He rubbed her arms, her head, and her legs. “Are you okay?”
Riley laughed. “You saved me once again.”
“I’ll always save you, Riley. I’m so darn in love with you, I can’t eat. I can’t sleep, and if you don’t marry me, I might die.”
She spit sandy water out of her mouth. “Wait. What?”
“I’m asking you to marry me.” He locked eyes with her as water dripped from his hair onto Riley’s face.
If she were still cold, Riley didn’t feel a thing. She had planned to tell Josh how she felt, but she’d never expected a marriage proposal.
She lifted her head and pressed her lips to his. She wanted a future with him. Actually, she wanted forever with him. “Yes, I will marry you. I’m hopelessly in love with you.”
They rolled around in the sand, laughing, kissing, and laughing some more. It wasn’t the way she’d expected to be proposed to, after falling into the ocean, but she would never forget that day.
