Page 35 of Falling for Her Grumpy Boss

And staying there. The porch suddenly feels too far away, the distance between us irritating under my skin. She stands beside Clara with tension written plainly across her face, dark eyes fixed on me with an intensity that cuts through every other sound in the yard. I know that expression. I’ve seen flashes of it before when I forget to eat, when exhaustion starts slipping through the cracks after another fourteen-hour day, when I rub a hand over the back of my neck trying to work tension out before another meeting. Concern tightens her mouth slightly, sharpens her focus, pulls her body subtly forward like part of her is already moving toward me before she consciously decides to. And god help me, the sight of it hits harder than the punch Jeremy landed a few minutes ago.

Jesus Christ.

My pulse starts hammering so hard I can hear it in my ears.

Tess Ramirez.

Fierce enough to command a room full of submissives with nothing but her voice and posture. Sharp enough to untangle operational disasters before my management team even realizes there’s a problem. Controlled enough to walk into my office every morning looking immaculate while I spend half the day trying not to think about dragging her into my lap again.

And soft in all the places that matter.

Soft with Clara.

Soft with Lily.

Soft with me in those rare moments when she forgets to guard herself.

I’m suddenly overwhelmed by the terrifying certainty that I do not want another day of my life without her in it.

I don’t hesitate. Don’t weigh consequences or timing or whether this makes any goddamn sense after knowing her for such a short time. The decision settles through me with terrifying clarity instead, locking every scattered thought abruptly into place. For weeks, I’ve been fighting this thing between us, trying to contain it inside rules and professionalism and temporary labels that stopped fitting almost immediately.

Standing here now, watching Tess move toward me with worry written openly across her face, something inside me simply stops resisting. My pulse steadies. The noise in the yard fades into the background. Even the lingering irritation from the fight with Jeremy burns off beneath the sudden certainty settling hard in my chest. I know exactly what I want. More than that, I know exactly who I want beside me when every other part of my life eventually shifts again. Tess reaches the bottom step of the porch, and before she can say a word, I’m already moving toward her.

I know exactly what I need to do. The realization settles through me with the same solid certainty I’ve trusted my entire life, the kind that takes chaos and cuts a clean path straight through the middle of it. Everything that felt tangled five minutes ago suddenly sharpens into focus. The fight with Jeremy. The noise in the yard. The restless tension that’s been riding under my skin since Tess walked into my office for the first time. None of it feels complicated anymore. My breathing evens out. My shoulders loosen. Even my heartbeat steadies beneath the rush of adrenaline as the decision locks firmly into place. I stop searching for reasons to slow down or pull back, because for the first time since this started, every instinct I have is pushing me in the exact same direction.

Then I drop to one knee.

The motion happens fast enough that her breath catches audibly.

Everything around us stops.

Conversation cuts off mid-sentence near the grill. Music keeps playing somewhere behind me, but nobody moves anymore. Even the sound of Caleb scraping the spatula across metal disappears.

Blood rushes loudly in my ears as I look up at her.

At the woman who somehow walked into my office and dismantled my entire fucking life without even trying.

“Marry me.”

Tess stares down at me. Shock floods her face instantly, wiping every other emotion away beneath it. Her lips part, but nothing comes out. Her free hand lifts halfway to her throat before stopping there, fingers curling against her collarbone as if she suddenly forgot how breathing works.

Consternation follows a second later, confusion flickering visibly through her expression while the entire yard continues holding its breath around us.

And for the first time in years, I realize I’ve done something completely insane.

And I don't regret it for a moment.

CHAPTER 10

Tess

“Marry me.”

The words hit me so hard that my entire body locks for a second. Sound disappears beneath the violent rush of blood pounding in my ears as I stare down at Dylan kneeling in the grass in front of me with my hand clutched tightly in his. The warm evening air suddenly feels too sharp against my skin, every sensation amplified until I can feel the rough scrape of his palm against mine, the slight tremor in his fingers, the tension radiating through him despite the terrifying steadiness in his eyes.

My mouth parts.

Nothing comes out.