Page 179 of Cautious Love

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Sore, but nothing I haven’t felt before.”

He growls and leans back to look at my face. “I’m sorry,” he raps.

“Please stop apologizing. It’s not on you, and it’s over, and I want to move on,” I tell him.

While I waited at that cabin, wondering if Ledger would survive the day, I told myself I would leave all of this in the past. He is my future. Now we have one, and I’m going to dive in headfirst. Yes, I’ve been hurt in the past, but Ledger hasreminded me what it’s like to hope for more in life. To work for it because it’s worth having.

“Yeah, about that,” he mumbles.

I groan. “What now?”

“This is just the beginning. Now that we have them in cuffs and all the evidence, this will go to trial. And you’re the star witness.”

I puff my cheeks and nod. “Fine.”

“I’ll be with you the entire time. We’ll have to drive to the city. But it will all be fine.”

“Wait, do I have to go into, witness protection or something?” I ask as panic sets in.

He huffs. “No, baby, we got everyone, and I will make sure this doesn’t blow back on you.”

“Okay.”

He nods and kisses me lightly. “I have a question for you.”

“Okay?” I frown.

He grins and spins around, opening a drawer.

I sit up on my elbow, wondering what he’s up to.

Ledger faces me again, holding a fist between us.

“What? Did you find a missing puzzle piece or something?”

He chuckles and opens his hand. “Shiloh Hayes, will you marry me … again?”

I laugh and take it out of his hand, but he snatches it back, sliding it onto my ring finger.

“Is that a yes?” he asks.

“Obviously,” I mutter.

He chuckles, drawing my mouth to his, and every weight of my past lifts off my chest, and I feel like a flower blooming from the dry, cracked dirt, and he is the water I so desperately crave.

“Do you have to go in today?” I ask him.

He sighs and pushes my hair back. “I should.”

“I can come with,” I offer.

He smiles and kisses me again. “I can go in later. I like where I am right now.”

I smile and rub my nose against his. “What will we do with all this free time?”

He chuckles, slipping his hand down to my ass. “I know I’m not the most romantic of husbands, but…”