No Strings Attached by Nicolette Day Page B

couldn’t come, I just thought…”
    Her heart sped up and she feared it might burst through her chest. “Why? Why would you do all this?”
    He looked down at their twined fingers and swallowed before meeting her gaze.
    “I love you. I always have.” His voice was gruff, reminding her of the way he sounded last night when he was all over her, inside of her, owning her in every way. His gaze flicked down to the closed box on her knee, and he popped it open to reveal a glittering ring inside. “You don’t have to give me an answer today. Hell, you don’t even have to say yes next week. But I’ll be damned if I let you walk out of my life and lose the chance that you might say yes someday.”
    He pressed his forehead to hers, leaving her awash in sensations she shouldn’t be feeling in a room filled with this many people. “I’ve wanted you for far too long, Hayden,” he said. “I’m not waiting anymore. I want you for the rest of my life, and I want the rest of my life to start right now. Marry me. Please.”
    Hayden shut her eyes against the tears. She’d been so stupid to think she could ever live without this man. For a year. For a day. He was her best friend. Her everything. No one had ever come close to touching what she felt inside for him, because of this . They belonged together. She belonged to him.
    Hayden choked on a sob and threw her arms around his neck, unable to hold back any longer. Jace loved her. He wanted to marry her. If this was a dream, it was one she never wanted to wake up from.
    “I love you,” she whispered into his neck. Jace detangled her arms from around his neck and pulled back. When their eyes met, his were full of disbelief and awe.
    “You love me?” he asked, touching her face, soft and reverent.
    She placed her hand over his. “Yes.”
    “Yes to you loving me? Or yes to marrying me?” he asked, hesitant.
    Hayden wanted to kiss the worry from his face, erase it with everything she was feeling for him. “Both. Yes to everything.”
    And then she was in his arms, lips and bodies pressed so close it started to feel as if they were one person instead of two. He pulled back and let out a laugh full of relief and joy. Hayden blinked away happy tears as she watched him slip the perfect princess-cut diamond ring onto her finger. He kissed each one of her fingers and smiled.
    “Last boarding call for flight 1442 to Atlanta.”
    “Are you on this flight with me?” she asked hopefully.
    He pulled a boarding pass out of his back pocket and smiled. “I doubt I’m on all of the same connecting flights, but I did get this one.”
    Hayden glanced at the boarding gate where the last passengers were handing their tickets to the customer service agent. She didn’t want to ruin this moment. She wanted it to last forever. She pressed her lips to his ear and murmured, “I guess it’s time to go then, hotshot.”
    He shuddered between her legs, making a low, guttural sound in his throat. His lips grazed hers, and he stood abruptly, grabbing his bag and hers, then held a hand out for her. His eyes looked glazed over, laden with desire.
    She grinned. “What are you thinking right now?”
    “I’m thinking that I love you,” he said, tugging her up and pulling her against his chest before placing his lips to her ear. “And I’m thinking I’m really glad you wore that skirt, because there is no way I can wait fifteen hours.”
    His words set off fireworks under her skin, and her heart swelled. She was done waiting for him, too. As he laced his fingers with hers, she made a mental note to thank Lilly for more than she could possibly know. If Lilly had never dragged her to that club, no way would she have Jace here now. Maybe she had the universe all wrong. It wasn’t a cruel bitch, hell-bent on making Hayden’s life a disaster. It had given her more than she could ever have hoped for. It had given her Jace. Forever. No strings attached.

Acknowledgments
    A big thank-you to my editor,