Heiress for Hire (Cuttersville #2)(67)
Author: Erin McCarthy

The feather-light touch of his finger across her swollen lip, up to the tender flesh under her cheekbone, made her shiver. "Yes, I’m fine. But did you hear me, Danny, when I said I wanted to stay?"

Maybe it was wrong to ask, needy and grasping, or shrewish and demanding, but the truth was, she just needed to know. She needed to hear what her future was going to be, and for all his enthusiasm that morning, he seemed reticent. Thoughtful.

"How do you want to stay?"

She didn’t understand the question. It seemed like what she was saying should be obvious. He had told her he wanted her to stay, as his wife. She was telling him she would. "What do you mean?"

His eyes were opaque, shuttered. When she caressed the front of his shirt, she noticed that his shoulders slumped in fatigue.

"Amanda. Staying will be a big sacrifice for you. Do you want to because you love me, or is this because you love my daughter?"

That he would be the one doubting, feeling vulnerable, amazed her. "I love you, and I would even if there was no Piper. I love Piper, and I would even if you were a complete jerk. The two don’t have anything to do with each other." She gripped his chest, shook him a little so he’d get the point.

Danny covered her hand with his. He shook his head. "I don’t have any money and can’t buy you fancy gifts or take you around the world."

That was irrelevant, because she had enough money for all of them. And even if she didn’t, and Danny couldn’t stomach the idea of a wealthy wife buying him things, she would give the damn money away. If she had learned anything in twenty-five years, it was that money wasn’t worth much if you didn’t have anyone to share it with.

Daddy Warbucks knew that, and now so did she. She liked expensive things, had been raised to always have access to them, but at the end of the day, you can’t curl up with your Prada pumps. At least not without taking an eye out.

"Danny…" How did she explain what he had given her? That he had softened her jaded edges and coaxed a trust from her that she hadn’t thought could ever exist again after Logan?

Before she could speak, he did the unthinkable. He dropped to

one knee, her hand still in his. "I can’t give you the world, Amanda Delmar, but I’m offering you my heart, my friendship, my land. And my daughter. Will you marry me?"

Oh, God, oh, God. He was on his knee. Amanda’s hand shook, pure joy rising up in her, tears queuing up to drop.

"I’m not Veruca Salt, you know, the bratty heiress from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I don’t want the whole world. I never did. I just want a little love and a family." And the fact that she could say that out loud in front of Danny without him criticizing her as trite and simplistic was further evidence that he was the man for her. He understood what she was asking for, what she had been missing.

Danny stood back up and cupped her uninjured cheek. "You’ve got a boatload of love and a family, if you want it. I love you, Piper adores you, and my parents think I’m stupid for not proposing sooner. Of course, technically this is the third time I’ve asked you to marry me, and I’m hoping the third time’s the charm. I’m starting to get a complex."

She laughed, a teary, blubbery, happy laugh. "Yes, I’ll marry you. Right this minute if you want."

Danny kissed her, a pure, passionate, promise-filled kiss that made her toes curls and her heart sigh.

A few delicious minutes later, Danny pulled back and studied her. "You sure you’re not going to mind being stuck here in Cut-tersville? Once Piper starts school, you’ll be on your own all day. Maybe you can get a job or something."

The horror. She’d seen what working for minimum wage was like and she’d pass, thanks. "I’d rather stay here and dust, if you don’t mind. And I might look into breeding poodles. That would be fun, having more dogs."

More yippy poodles was a small price to pay for having the pleasure of Amanda’s company. Danny would say yes to just about anything within reason now that she’d agreed to marry him. Become his wife. The thought made him grin all over again. "Sure. And maybe one could be a Labrador while you’re at it?"

"I’ll think about it," she promised, with a sexy little smile.

"You can go back to Chicago and see your parents whenever you want, you know. We’ll make it work." He would do whatever it took to make it work. There was still some worry rattling around in him, that she would miss all the conveniences she was used to, but he had to suppress those insecurities. He’d seen Amanda when she’d first come to Cuttersville. She had been running away from an unhappy life, discontent and hurt, and she had opened up, thrived here on the farm.

She kissed his chin. "Of course we will. I might make a couple trips back a year to see my parents and to do some shopping, but I won’t really miss anything. Except for gingerbread lattes, and that’s a small price to pay. And then someone’s got to take care of those chickens, you know, so it might as well be me."

"You’re going to feed the chickens every day?" The thought made him laugh.

"Sure. Not if it’s raining or anything like that, but I was thinking someone needs to look out for their interests. I’m going to initiate a chicken coop revitalization project. No hen left behind. That sort of thing. Fair shelter for all farm animals."

After swallowing almost all of the obnoxious laughter that rose up in his chest, he shook his head and grinned at her. Danny hadn’t been unhappy, but he had been lonely. Now he had everything he could ever ask for. He clasped his hands around her waist and lifted her a foot off the ground. "Damn, I love you. You’re smart, sensitive, and sexy. How’d I get so lucky?"

"Want to get even luckier?" Her br**sts pressed against his chest as she traced a line across his lip with her tongue.

Uh, yeah. His body reacted accordingly and he got a massive hard-on. "Everyone’s right there in the house… but what’d you have in mind?"

"You’ve never shown me the barn."

While he was tempted, it was no place for Amanda. "No, Princess, it’s dirty and full of cobwebs in there. Just stay for dinner tonight, and after Piper’s in bed, we can sneak off to my room." The thought sent his blood racing thick and hot to his groin.

She slid back down to the ground but kept her ankle wrapped around his calf. "We’re going to do a lot of sneaking for the next ten years or so, aren’t we?"

"Lots of sneaking. Tons of sneaking." Sneaking morning, noon, and night if he had his way. "You know, practice makes perfect."

Kissing the side of his mouth, Amanda sighed. "Well, I’m committed to being perfect."

"You already are." He held her tight, then let her go so they could head into the house. "And you’re damn good with a can of hairspray."