“Are you kidding? You’re dating one of People magazine’s sexiest men alive! You go, girl.”
“Aw, thanks, Mads.”
“Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“If he asks you to go to the Emmys with him, you have to sneak me into the after-parties.”
Dana grinned. “Done.”
“Nurse Nan, come quickly.”
Dana and I turned our attention back to the screen, where a man in a white coat was hailing Nurse Nan from down the hospital corridor.
“What is it, Doctor?”
“It’s Mr. Culver.”
“Ashley’s husband? What’s happened to him?”
“He…he’s waking up from his coma!”
Two hours later I was popping one last chocolate-covered pretzel in my mouth as I took a final turn in front of the mirror. The short, black DKNY dress I’d picked out at the mall earlier was a perfect complement to my three-inch-high, strappy emerald slingbacks. It was cut low in the front, high on the thigh, and draped like silk with half the wrinkles. As a concession to the faint purple marks still gracing my neck, I slipped a loosely knotted emerald scarf around my throat and topped it all off with a pair of dangling silver earrings.
I was just adding a swipe of Raspberry Perfection when I heard a knock at the door.
“Coming, ” I called, capping my lip gloss and crossing my studio in three quick strides.
I peeked through the hole and got that familiar rush in my belly as two chocolate brown eyes peered back at me above a growth of sexy day-old stubble.
Grinning like an idiot I undid the security chain and opened the door to let him in.
Ramirez hovered in the doorway, leaning his broad shoulders against the frame. He crossed his arms over his chest, that black panther peeking out beneath the sleeve of his shirt as it strained against his larger-than-life biceps. His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip as he gave me a slow up-and-down and did that low growl thing in the back of his throat.
“You like?” I asked, doing a slow turn for him.
The corners of his mouth tugged up until that deceptively boyish dimple made an appearance in his left cheek.
“Oh yeah. I like.”
“Good. ’Cause we’ve gotta go. And Mom invited Molly, Stan, and the kids over, too, so if we’re late, we’re going to have to sit next to Connor, and I am so not getting mashed potatoes flung at this dress.”
I grabbed my purse and moved to walk out the door. But Ramirez caught my arm.
“Hang on.”
I paused. “Yes?”
He leaned in close. I could smell the mingling scents of leather, aftershave, and pure guy as his lips gently skimmed over mine. It was just the slightest of touches, but it made my insides quiver.
Okay, so maybe I could spare a couple of minutes…
But before I could follow through with that thought, Ramirez pulled away.
He took a step back, his eyes intense on me, some emotion building behind them that I couldn’t read. He wiped one hand across his jaw and shifted back onto his other foot. “Listen, Maddie, there’s something I need to say before we go. Something I want to say.”
“Okay…” I waited.
Ramirez did another foot shift. He bit the inside of his cheek. He did some more intense staring. If it was anyone but Bad Cop, I’d say he almost looked nervous.
“Are you okay? I mean, if you want to sit down or something we could…”
But I trailed off as Ramirez took a step closer to me and pulled something out of his jacket pocket. Something small. Something round.
Something in a jeweler’s box.
I froze, my heart forgetting to beat as I stared at a ring box in his hands.
Oh. My. God.
“Maddie, these past few days have made me crazy. Not knowing where you were was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. It made me realize I don’t ever want to not know where you are again.”
And suddenly my heart was beating again. Way, way too fast. Holy shit! Was he proposing? I felt my breath shoving in and out of my lungs at double speed and feared I was hyperventilating. I so was not prepared for this. I mean, marriage? To Bad Cop? He was the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. The bad boy who made your heart go pitter-patter, then rode off into the sunset. He was the I-carry-a-gun-and-I’ll-handcuff-you-to-the-bed-for-a-night-of-really-kinky-sex type. People like Faux Dad and Mrs. Rosenblatt got married. Not people like Bad Cop.
Right?
Right?
“Look, I know we’ve had our moments lately. And I realize I can be a bit of a jerk at times. But not knowing where you were that one night almost drove me crazy.”
That one night. Right. The one I’d spent at Felix’s house. Sitting in Felix’s kitchen. Drinking Felix’s cappuccino.
Kissing Felix’s lips.
Ohmigod. I’d kissed Felix! I couldn’t say yes to Ramirez now. What about that kiss? What would he say? I mean, it had been an accident. It didn’t mean anything. It was all a big mistake. A misunderstanding. Yes, that was what it was, a misunderstanding.
I realized that the panic pounding in my ears was so loud it had drowned Ramirez out. I gave myself a mental shake, willing my heart to stop drag racing.
“…all I’m saying is that I don’t want to keep you out anymore.” Ramirez made a move to open the case.
Instinctively, I slapped a hand over his. “Wait, Jack. I…” I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “There’s…there’s something you should know.”
Ramirez looked down at me, his eyes dark and sincere, filled with emotion that this time I didn’t have to guess at. It was plain as day. It was the most tender look I had ever seen from him. My throat suddenly closed up and I couldn’t breathe.
“Just let me say this first, okay?” he asked, covering my hand with his and extracting the box.
I bit my lip. Oh lord, I was going to cry. I was going to bawl like a baby.
And I was pretty sure that if he got down on one knee, I was going to have a heart attack.
“Maddie…”
Oh God, this was it. This was the moment. My stomach churned, those chocolate-covered pretzels threatening to make a repeat appearance.
“I want you to have this.”
Ramirez opened the jewelry box.
I took a deep, fortifying breath, willed my stomach to stand still, and looked inside.
To find a key.
What the…?
“It’s a key to my house.” Ramirez pulled it out of the box and dangled it from his index finger. “I want you to have your own key. That is, if you still want it?”
A key.
I let out a big breath, emotion draining from me. Whether it was relief or disappointment I wasn’t yet ready to examine. But on the upside, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a heart attack.
Ramirez opened my hand and pressed the key into my palm. He’d had a copy made onto a pink metal key with little red lipstick kisses all over it. Very cute. Kinda sassy. Very…me, I realized.
I guess Bad Cop did know me, after all.
“Thanks, ” I said, thoroughly meaning it.
Ramirez leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. “You’re welcome, ” he whispered. “Is that a yes?”
I would tell him about that accidental kiss. Later. Possibly when I knew he wasn’t armed. But not now. Not in the middle of this perfect proposal of almost cohabiting, or at least sleeping over without notice.
“Yes.”
Ramirez’s grin was so big, twin dimples popped out on his cheeks. “Good. Now, let’s get to your mom’s before the Terror drools on every available seat.”
I grabbed my purse, slipping my new pink key inside. Somehow it felt a little heavier. Fuller. Actually, it felt kind of nice. Like I had a little piece of Ramirez with me everywhere I went now.
I bit back a big, goofy grin.
“By the way, ” Ramirez said, his lips close to my ear as I closed the door behind us, “I do expect you to use that key tonight.”