High Octane (15 page)

A
MONTH AFTER HER DARING JUMP
from a plane, Sabrina hadn't jumped again. Ryan was still trying to convince her, though. It was Saturday and, to Sabrina's pleasant surprise, one of a number of the new charity days at the Hotzone. There were kids' rides and barbecue, and even a horse or two.

Sabrina stood under the shade of a tree and watched Ricky and Mindy Patterson, ages six and eight, ride one of those horses, their mother, Cheryl, by their side. They were the dead soldier's family. And with the help of the Aces, Cheryl had been convinced that her husband would want her to be safe and accept their help. They'd provided a trust fund for the kids, to which Marco had donated heavily, and so had many others. And the kids had surrogate fathers—three Aces determined to be role models.

There was also skydiving this Saturday, and Sabrina
watched as a plane took off. Her father was inside, about to tandem with Ryan. If that wasn't male bonding, she didn't know what was.

Hours later, when her parents had retired to their hotel room, and the Hotzone was quieting down, Ryan pulled her aside. “I have a surprise. I finally found a home to buy. The Realtor said he could show it to you today.”

Sabrina's heart fell to her feet. He was buying a house? Moving out? She'd thought…well, lots of things. Right after accepting the book deal, she'd had an offer to syndicate her column and taken it, hoping it would boost her book sales, ensure her future was filled with choices. Ryan had been supportive.

He kissed her, his eyes twinkling as he led her to the truck. “We need to swing by the condo. I left my checkbook there. If I want the place I've got lined up, I have to act fast.” He winked and put the truck in gear. “No more temporary for me.”

She tried to smile, but it was hard to work through the swell of turbulence growing inside her. No more temporary for him. Just for her. “Are you okay?” he asked about halfway to her place, when he couldn't draw her into conversation about her father.

“I think some of the barbecue hit me wrong,” she lied.

“Do you want to postpone this?” he asked, concerned. “I can cancel.”

“No,” she said quickly. “I'm fine.” The last thing she wanted was to wait and wonder where this was leading. Which was pretty obvious. Him leaving.

“I'll wait in the truck,” she said when they pulled into a space in front of her building.

“Come upstairs,” he said. “You can take some meds and lie down a few minutes. We aren't meeting the Realtor for another hour.”

Reluctantly she conceded. They exited the elevator, and Sabrina pulled up short. In front of the door was another box.

She grabbed Ryan's arm. “How can this be? Cheryl says she's fine now. She's happy. Surely someone else isn't sending me packages.” It was too much on top of Ryan leaving.

“Let's check it out,” he said, seeming remarkably calm for someone who prided himself on his “tough guy protectiveness.” He walked toward the box and tugged her with him.

“Hey,” she said. “Don't you want to check it out first?”

He eyed the box and then picked it up. “Doesn't look dangerous.”

She frowned. He was acting weird. She followed him to the dining-room table, his now infamous potentially-dangerous-package opening center. He pulled a pocket knife out and opened the box lid. “It's for you.”

“What if it's dangerous?” Oh, my God. When had he checked out of their relationship so much that he wasn't
even worried about her? How could she not have seen it? How could they have made wild, crazy love this morning, and she not sensed the change?

“Fine,” she said, hurt expanding inside her. “I'll check it out.”

She opened the box lid and removed some papers and frowned when she looked at them. “It's some sort of contract for a home sale.” Her eyes went wide as she caught the address. “It's for here.” Suddenly, she realized what was happening. “Did you…? Ryan, did you buy this place?”

“I put in an offer,” he said. “For us to buy it. Not me. It's not official until we both sign the offer. And a down payment, of course, which I'm prepared to give them today. There's only one thing holding me back.”

“What?” she asked, almost afraid to breathe.

“Look in the box.”

With an unsteady hand, Sabrina did as he asked. Her fingers brushed a velvet box, and her eyes shot to his. His lit, filling with a combination of excitement and trepidation. She pulled the box out, and he dropped to his knee in front of her.

“It would be my greatest honor if you would be my wife,” he said. “I love you, Sabrina. Not only am I not home without you, I'm not alive without you.” He popped the lid open to reveal a white diamond that sparkled and gleamed like the hope she'd thought she'd lost not so long ago. She flung her arms around his neck.

“Yes,” she said and kissed him. “Yes. Yes. Yes.” And then she proceeded to find all kinds of inventive ways to say yes all over again.