“Can I take this stupid thing off yet?” I cling to Garret’s hand as he leads me across unfamiliar terrain.

“Not yet,” he responds. “Just be patient. I’ll tell you when it can come off.”

“You know, Tracy once asked me if I thought you were a serial killer.”

“That sounds like something Tracy would say.” Garret gives my hand a light tug, taking me a little to the left. The gravel we’ve been walking on changes to grass.

“I told her no, you aren’t, but I’m starting to wonder.” My words are a bluff. I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel safer than Garret. He’s the only person in the world I’d trust to take care of my body, soul, and heart.

Garret chuckles. “One of these days, Tracy’s mouth and imagination are going to get her into some serious trouble.” He stops walking. “Okay, you can take it off now.”

“Finally,” I grumble. I reach behind me and rip the strip of cloth he used as a blindfold off my head. The late afternoon sunlight burns my corneas, forcing me to squint. “Do you know how hot that damned thing …” My words dry up in my throat as my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness and I get my first good look at our location. “Wow.”

“You like it?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “What’s not to like?”

I’m standing in the middle of a large front yard that’s attached to a gorgeous stick-built house. A large barn sits beside the house and mountains create the perfect backdrop.

“Good,” Garret says sounding relieved. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close to his side. “I knew you would, but still, sometimes you surprise me.”

Something in his tone has me tipping my head back and narrowing my eyes at him. “You went ahead and bought this place without consulting me, didn’t you?”

Garret runs his left hand through his dark hair. The chain around his neck catches the sunlight. I can’t see the end of the chain, it’s tucked into his shirt, but I know it holds the heavy gold wedding ring his first wife gave him. A few weeks after his arrest, we finally admitted that we were dating. That was the same day that he moved the ring from his finger to the chain.

Occasionally, I suddenly worry that he’s comparing me to Maddie, but more and more time is passing between those moments and Garret always does an excellent job assuaging my fears.

“Yes, I bought it without talking to you, but I first learned about this place when you were at that advertising conference in Toronto. I was afraid if I waited until you got back, someone else would buy the property out from under me.” His fingers play with the ends of my hair. “If you hated it, I figured I’d just sell it.”

For the six months following his arrest, Garret was careful with money. He had to be. Most of his accounts were frozen while the local police, IRS, and FBI tried to work their way through the mess Dillion had made of the files. Dillion finally confessed that, after seeing Garret and me kiss, he’d been so jealous he decided he needed to get Garret out of my life. He decided to put his skills and forensic accounting skills to use and make it look like Garret was breaking every financial law in the book. That was all that was needed for Garret to regain control of his financial assets, which had somehow grown even without him touching them.

“Well, you’re off the hook. I don’t even have to see the inside to know that I love it.”

“Well,” Garret drawls, “since you like the house so much, you’re really going to love your next surprise.”

My brows shoot up. “Another surprise? In one day? How’d I get so lucky?”

Garret reaches into the left pocket of his jeans as he smoothly drops down to one knee in the grass before me.

“Erin Burkely.” He extends the hand holding a small ring box toward me. Inside, a gorgeous ring with a sapphire and diamond setting sparkles in the early evening sunlight. “Will you marry me?”

Screaming nonsense, I fall onto the lawn, nearly knocking him over backwards as I cover every square inch of his face in quick kisses.

He laughs and adds a few kisses of his own to my throat. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.” I twist my fingers into his hair, holding him in place while I place a proper kiss on his mouth, making sure to use lots of tongue. “Yes, a million times over.”

“Great.” Garret stands, pulling me up with him. He sweeps me up into his arms, cradling me tightly against his chest. “How ‘bout we head inside where you’re free to use your body to tell me exactly how much you like the ring? The old owners left the curtains, so you don’t have to worry about the neighbors seeing how wild and sexy you really are.”

His words send a warm glow that’s equal parts love and desire through me. It’s hard to believe that just a few short months ago, I’d never have believed that I’d fall head over heels in love with a tattooed, long haired, former mechanic who not only had the Midas touch when it came to money, but whose magic fingers make me come harder and faster than any heroine in the romance novels I still read even imagined possible.

It’s both strange and humbling to think that if just a few things had been different, this moment, this absolutely perfect, romance novel-worthy moment, wouldn’t be happening.

Garret glances down at me. I don’t know what he sees in my expression, but his steps falter and his hold tightens. “What?”

Stretching, I place a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I was just thinking how, that if it weren’t for fate, I’d still be lonely and desperately chasing every single man whose profile caught my eye and thinking I’m a complete sexual failure, and you’d be locked in your apartment with nothing but a three-legged cat for company, while you grieved for Maddie.”

Garret adjusts his grip and bends to open the front door. “What do you mean?”

“Things would have been so different if I hadn’t been looking at the No O website at practically the same time you were listening to one of my presentations. Or if you hadn’t moved into my building. Or if I hadn’t had the guts to call you after that first text you sent.”

Garret kicks the front door closed sets me down on my feet. We’re standing in the middle of a stunning, Tucson-style kitchen with massive windows that provide a breathtaking view of the mountains. Garret’s hands settle on my hips. He pulls my body towards his and lowers his head until his mouth hovers above mine. “Or if I hadn’t been able to teach you how to come so hard that you see stars.”

I grin. “Or that.”

“Speaking of which.” Garret’s head drops lower and he steals a quick kiss that leaves me both breathless and aching for more. His grip on my hips tightens and he lifts me up, off my feet, and places me on the wide, granite countertop. “How ‘bout we see how many times I can make you come, right here, right now?”

I throw back my head and laugh out loud as he steps between my legs and grinds himself against my already damp pussy.

I loop my arms around his neck and nip his earlobe, all the while silently wondering how I’ve managed to get so lucky. “It’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day.”