He stepped closer, letting Dr. Stine know she was taken. Lindsey didn’t even have time to think before he leaned in and kissed her intimately, making her lips tingle. When he pulled back, she was almost dizzy, grateful for the arm holding her up.

“I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Maverick Armstrong,” he said to Dr. Stine, holding out one hand while possessively holding her with the other.

“Dr. Jesse Stine,” the doctor said, taking his hand as he assessed him.

“Thanks for keeping Lins company, but I’ve got it from here.”

He pulled her away before she had a chance to say anything. It took several seconds before she was able to get her wits about her. Just as Mav got her outside on the private balcony, Lindsey decided to put her foot down.

“That was incredibly rude, Mav. What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, taking a step back from him, pulling herself more into the shadows.

This was too much. First he’d made that display a few days ago at Joseph Anderson’s house, and now he was doing it again here where a lot of her coworkers could see.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

Her anger was quickly draining and a sense of hopelessness began to fill her.

“I don’t want to be without you, sug,” he said as he stepped closer again.

“No. Stay there,” she warned before taking in a deep breath. “I know we have great sex together, but I can’t do this, Mav. It’s breaking my heart,” she told him before sucking in more air. “I love you. I love you so much that it hurts me when I see you.”

She hadn’t meant to tell him that—to guilt him—but it just came out. It was his fault for continuing to bombard her with his presence.

“And I love you, sugar,” he said with a smile. He moved toward her with even more assurance.

“What does that even mean?” she asked, not wanting to get her hopes up, but unable to completely squash her dreams either.

“It means that I thought I could walk away, that I thought I would be able to just go on with my life, and we could see each other occasionally and be nothing more than friends. That isn’t working for me—and I know it’s not working for you. We have something that is so rare and beautiful that we’d be fools to let it go.”

He dropped to his knee in front of her and pulled out a box, holding it out.

“I didn’t think I would ever want to spend my life with just one person. But from that moment on the beach when I actually looked into your eyes for the first time, I haven’t had another thought for anyone other than you. I love you, Lindsey, so much that I can’t find joy anymore if you aren’t with me. Please forgive my foolishness, and please say you’ll marry me.”

Lindsey’s knees shook as this strong, confident man kneeled before her. It was everything she’d ever hoped for. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure the moment was real.

But that look of fear in his eyes that she might not say yes told her the moment was real—told her that she would have him forever.

“You saved me, Maverick,” she began as tears started running down her cheeks. “And there’s nothing more now that I want than to save us both,” she said.

He took the beautiful diamond from its case and slipped it on her finger before standing up and pulling her into his arms, her feet lifting off the ground.

“I’ve learned something very important in my time with you, sugar,” he said, his lips so close to hers. She wanted the talking to stop, but she also wanted to hear what he had to say.

“What’s that, my love?” It was amazing how much better she felt just being in his arms again.

“I’ve learned that sometimes in life a person chooses love, and sometimes love chooses you. It’s not a choice that you get to make no matter what people might say.”

“If it’s not a choice, then what is it?” she asked.

“Simply put, it’s fate,” he told her.

And then his lips were on hers and she was in heaven. She cared so much for him. Rather than hide away and live in fear, she could now see the perfection in giving herself to another. What a fool she’d been to not want that. Maverick was her everything and she had no doubt that he felt the same for her.

Fears would never rule her heart again.

EPILOGUE

The sun dipped low on the horizon, illuminating the sea before the Coast Guard Cutter Orca. Its bow sliced the calm, frigid seas as it traveled westward. The ship was on routine patrol in the Bering Sea and, being the biggest in the fleet, it was ready to take on any task.

With all the swagger of a helicopter cowboy, Nick Armstrong leaned against the low perimeter railing just beyond the helicopter landing pad and stared out over the darkening sky. A flash of lightning caught his eye as he peered into the ominous distance. A low rumble could be heard, but the storm was at least forty miles away.

“That’s one heck of a storm,” he murmured under his breath. He was thinking about the time he and his father had been caught in one of Puget Sound’s storms during a fishing trip . . .

“Hey, Armstrong, stop staring at the sky and help me finish checking the gear,” said his copilot, Gail, startling Nick out of his memories.

Nick turned in time to see Gail toss him a coiled rope.

“I was just taking the time to appreciate the awesomeness of Mother Nature . . . you should try it sometime,” Nick said with sarcasm.

“I will,” she replied. “After my shift.”