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together. In Oregon. I love you. Marry me.”
    “What?” He must be kidding. Please be joking.
    His gray eyes twinkled with joy and hope like a boy at Christmas as he drew her into sitting up. “Stop saying ‘what’ and say ‘yes.’ See, it’s easy: ‘yes.’ Just repeat after me: ‘yes.’” He tucked the film canister into her hand. “Open it.”
    He was dead serious.
    “I—” Kay fumbled the lid off. How could he want to marry her?
    A ring slid onto her palm. A black opal, all blue and green fire, set in a silvery swirl with stars of diamond. No joke. “Why—” She jerked away, and dizziness washed through her. “Marry?”
    He flushed, pain flickering across his face, and he sat back. “Wow, I thought—Well, I know we’ve been pretty casual. The fact is I love you, Kay. Always have. From the moment I first saw you.” He stared at her, his steady eyes brimming with passion and hurt.
    Oh, me and my wish-making. Horribly, tears welled and overflowed.
    She was crying. She never cried.
    “Hey, why the tears? I love you.” He opened his arms to her.
    Stunned, unable to breathe, she could only shake her head, unable to answer him at all, with either the answer he expected, yes, or the one her panicked gut yelped, no. She slid into his embrace, as if holding on to him would somehow halt everything.
    Numbly, she watched him take her speechless movement as happiness, as yes.
    As he slipped the ring onto her finger, he touched a kiss to her mouth so gentle and sweet her tears poured all the more. “I love you, Kay.”
    Emotion flooded his voice like rich crimson, coloring, changing everything. The warm salt and musk and clean sweat scent that was uniquely Nate filled her. He was all around her, in her. She felt utterly cherished and utterly trapped.
    The band was too loose. With a deep flush and an apologetic smile, he moved the ring to her middle finger, where the band fit perfectly, as if meant to be. She’d never seen a more beautiful ring.
    But he loved her.
    Oh, this ruined everything.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Oh, hell. Well, that was a complete screw up. Nate cursed himself left and right and cuddled Kay close as she wept huge, silent tears. Her tears gave him a chill. He’d never seen a woman cry so still and silently.
    This is what happens when you let your heart and cock do all the thinking, asshole .
    She’d let him put the ring on her finger, but those sure as hell weren’t happy tears. He’d envisioned a variety of responses to popping the question. Stunned tears weren’t on the list.
    Shit. Now what should he do? And where did he stand? He’d jumped the gun and made her cry, but she was letting him hold her. That was a good sign, right?
    His ideas that had seemed so inspired on the long flight over the Pacific were in desperate need of a retake. Asking her here, in the peaceful privacy of a place she loved, the place they shared all these years should have been the right thing to do. But no, because his brain was all scrambled with sex and love he had to babble everything out, and then, worse, he mistook her moving into his arms for a yes.
    And he couldn’t exactly take the ring off her once he’d comprehended his fuck-up.
    But she hadn’t taken the ring off or said no, either.
    He held her close, stroking her hair, and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, Kay? Babe?”
    She shivered with a thin inhale, her body tight, and scrubbed a palm over her eyes before tugging against his grip for him to let her go. He loosened his arms reluctantly. Here it comes.
    She sat back, blinking and looking lost. One more tear rolled down her cheek.
    Damn, he hated not knowing what to do or how to fix this. He wiped the stray tear from her cheek and caressed her face. “Babe? Talk to me.”
    She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
    With his heart wedged into his throat, he readied himself for her to hand back his ring.
    She sucked in a long draw of breath. “We should get cleaned up. See