“So much for the romantic dinner I had planned,” Vince said as he and Cami sat cross-legged on his living room carpet that evening, feasting on fried chicken and potato wedges. Vince had finally gotten a chance to drive her car, taking it out to the police station to meet her, then driving the two of them to the grocery store deli to pick up dinner.
“Did you have a romantic evening planned? You’re just full of those, aren’t you?” After she’d finished with the police, Cami had taken a long, hot shower and changed into fresh clothes. Though she felt better than before, she was still all knotted up from the day’s events. It was just as well Vince changed his mind. Hanging out at his place was exactly her speed right now.
“Well, I had other expectations for Friday night, but then we had a little too much of the wrong kind of excitement. And today—again—things didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped.” He’d barely let her out of his sight since bursting into her place—he even waited in her room while she showered. “I nearly had a heart attack when Joel snagged me on his way to the car saying Trent was holding Jonquil hostage at gunpoint.” He used his knuckle to lift Cami’s chin so he could kiss her, then used a napkin to wipe away the chicken grease he’d just smeared on her lips.
Cami had never been so shaken over anything. When she thought of him bursting into the house, his gun raised and ready to protect her, of how easy it would have been for Trent to turn and shoot Vince, it made her chest ache. “No reason tonight can’t still be romantic. The dogs are outside; we’re in here, eating by candlelight.” In his house— which felt more like home with every visit.
“That’s true.” He changed the subject to something neutral, and the topics wandered while they finished their meal, then topped it off with the Twinkies Cami had grabbed for dessert.
“Don’t tell Rosemary I picked out Twinkies. She’d have a fit if she knew I defiled myself with substandard pastries.” Cami took a big bite and reveled in the over-processed goodness.
Vince chuckled and dabbed her nose with some of the cream filling from his snack cake. “You got it.” He leaned in and kissed the cream away, then moved to her mouth. “You know I’d do anything for you,” he whispered against her lips.
“Even come in guns a blazing to save me.” She was trying to put it all in perspective. “Even move to Chicago next year if that’s what you want.”
Cami froze, then shifted back to look in his eyes. “Why would I want to move back to Chicago?”
Vince paused and blinked as his brows lowered over his eyes. “Don’t you? I mean, you know so many people there—and all of the social opportunities you’re used to. We don’t have that here.”
She let out a full belly laugh, tipping her head back so she could let it out. “Are you crazy? I hate parties! I hate playing the social game and having to remember all of the connections between people so I can work the room and give the right image. Haven’t you noticed how little I eat when we’ve been in things like that? They make my stomach turn. Sometimes I’ve actually ended up puking in the bathroom when the pressure is high. If I had my way, I’d never go back.”
He leaned against the chair behind him, his eyes still narrowed in disbelief. “But you’re the one they always send to work the crowd—you’re really fantastic at it.”
His expression was so comical, filled with total confusion. She could hardly hold back the laughter that bubbled inside her. “So it follows that it has to be the most important thing in my life?”
“But you hate it here.” His brow furrowed. “Or rather, you seemed to when you first arrived. You talked like you were mad at your dad for making you come here and leave everything behind. You were mad about it, right?”
“Yeah, I was. I didn’t like being manipulated. He’d been pushing me for months to take this job, and I hadn’t wanted to be the boss, to start over in a new place. I liked the status quo despite the social obligations. But being here, meeting you—it’s been the best thing that happened to me in years—maybe ever.”
Vince cocked his head. “I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” “Yes, you idiot. Can’t you tell how much I love you?”
He grinned and pulled her close for a kiss, muttering against her mouth. “Tell me. How much, exactly?”
She slid her arms around his neck. “More than anything. More than anyone. Damn I hate it when my father’s right.”
He laughed. “I love you, too. I thought for sure you wouldn’t accept me, that you didn’t want to stay here. If I’d known, I would have done something sooner.” His lips covered hers.
Cami kissed him back, her heart threatening to explode with happiness. “It’s not like you didn’t make yourself clear about your feelings already,” she said when his kisses trailed down her neck to her collarbone. She shivered as his lips teased her skin.
One of his arms fished in his jacket behind them while he made his way back up her neck to her ear. “So this shouldn’t come as a surprise, I’ve waited because I had to know you loved me. I’d hoped tonight…”
Then a blue ring box appeared in his hand between them and he opened it to show off the sparkle of diamonds. “I picked this up when we were in Chicago. I knew this was the one the moment I laid eyes on it.”
Cami’s breath caught in her throat and she had to swallow to clear her airway. “Oh my.” It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. The square-cut diamond was over two carats with side stones in an antique white gold setting. If she hadn’t already been ready to say yes, this would have done it.
“Marry me, Camellia DiCarlo? Stay here with me in our little Colorado town? Or let me come with you if you decide you need the city after all. I can’t stand the thought of being without you. I love you so much.”
The dogs whined from the back porch where he’d banished them before they’d gotten out the food. “See,” he said with a chuckle, “even my dogs love you.”
Tears streaked down her cheeks for the second time that day and she slid a hand behind his neck, pulling him close for a kiss. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, and your little town—and the two monsters you call dogs.”
As they kissed, she felt him slide the ring onto her ring finger—it was a perfect fit, just like him.