Great. He came home early. Damn it.
“Can you cover for me?” I ask sheepishly.
She stands and goes out to the waiting area. “Hey, Dec. Long time no see? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?”
He is quiet for a second. “Hey, Dev, yes, but it seems I have to put a tracking device on someone.”
“Yeah, I could see you doing that.”
I stay quiet, hoping he won’t figure out I’m here.
“Where is she?” Dec asks, a bit of the anger dissipating from his tone.
“Oh, she’s in there.” I hear Devney say as the door flies open. And then I hear her laugh. “Next time don’t lie to me.”
“Lie?” I yell. “What the hell did I lie about?”
“You said you didn’t know you were pregnant when you did.”
I should fire her, but then I’d really be screwed.
Declan steps into the door frame, brow raised, and a look of relief and irritation mixing in those green eyes. Like I’m screwed right now.
I smile at him.
He doesn’t return it. “Really, Syd?”
“What?” I ask innocently.
“You couldn’t help yourself? You couldn’t just stay home?” he says, entering and then tosses a folder onto my desk.
I shrug. “I needed to do some stuff here. Calm down.”
“Calm down? You promised you would stay home and work in the barn so I could go into New York without worrying.”
I smile at him and his loose tie around his neck—the one we had a lot of fun with last night—and his hair, which is pushed back as though he’s run his hands through it a hundred times, and I see love.
“Yes, well, I got bored, and you weren’t supposed to be home until after dinner.”
He looks heavenward and groans.
My hands rest on my protruding stomach as my son flips around. “You’re upsetting Deacon.”
He steps closer and then squats in front of me. “I’m sorry, Son, but your mother is an exasperating woman and I am going to tie her to the bed.”
“She might like that …”
He looks up at me, a sly grin painting his face. “Not for pleasure.”
“What a pity. We can even use this tie again.” I take the silk between my fingers and pull it tight. “It worked well last night.”
“Woman.”
Declan and I have a lot of things to work out, but together, we’re happy. Sure, he drives me crazy with being overprotective, but I love having him with me. So much so that we’ve made big moves to make our lives permanent.
“Did you get the paperwork?” I ask, hoping to smooth his ire.
He gets to his feet and then pulls me into his arms. “Yes, Milo had a courier meet me outside of the city, which is why it didn’t take me the extra time you thought you had to deceive me.”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t deceive you. I merely failed to mention my outing.”
“Right. We’ll go with that. Anyway, as soon as you sign the paperwork, we’ll be one step closer.”
He kisses me quickly and then grabs the folder he brought with him. I take a seat and then pull out the documents. I read them and then smile when I get to the end.
“You’re sure about this?”
Declan crouches in front of me again. “I’m wondering if we filed the wrong paperwork.”
“What?”
He has doubts? I don’t understand. He’s the one who wanted to approach his brothers about entailing his portion of his family’s farm once it’s eligible. It would give us more land, and protect Connor and Ellie from having anyone around them. Since Connor decided to stay in Sugarloaf, we thought doing the same deal with his brothers was kind of perfect.
Does he regret it? Did he fall back in love with New York City an hour ago?
“I’m thinking that what we set up is fine, but I’d rather sign a different paper.”
“And which one is that?”
“A marriage license.”
My jaw drops, and my breath hitches. “What?”
He pulls a little black velvet box from his pants pocket and then repositions himself to be on one knee.
“You see, I had this big thing planned to propose today, but someone … went and altered it by leaving the house, causing me to chase her. You see, Sydney Hastings, I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you. I knew, even at my young age, that I could never be good enough for you, but I couldn’t imagine not trying. I’ve failed. I’ve faltered, but my heart has always been yours. I want to wake up each morning with you, sleep each night beside you, and raise our kids as husband and wife. I want you to be my wife. Will you do me the greatest honor and give me my second shot? My path is clear—it’s always the one that leads to you.”
Tears fall down my face, and my heart is so full it could burst. “Yes! Yes! Yes! A million times over!”
He pulls me into his arms, kissing my lips as I breathe him in. This wonderful man. This man who I love so deeply it isn’t even normal is mine, and I’m never letting him go.
Thank you for reading Declan and Sydney’s story. I hope you love them and the rest of the Arrowood brothers as much as I do. Sean and Devney’s story is coming next and you are going to be so in love with him, it’s not even funny! I am telling you, Sean will melt your heart. He’s … just … perfect.
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Books by Corinne Michaels
The Salvation Series
Beloved
Beholden
Consolation
Conviction
Defenseless
Evermore:
