“Is it true?” she asked, pinching me playfully on the ass. “Do men get all clenched up when someone brings up weddings?”
I gave her what I hoped wasn’t too awkward of a smile. “I wouldn’t say that.” My heart began to beat a little wildly in my chest, though. And not because weddings scared me.
Quite the opposite.
She lifted her chin to kiss my jaw. “This is an awfully nice spot in the world. Maybe the nicest spot anywhere. I predict there will be lots of romantic moments happening out here.”
“Yeah?” I asked, stealing a kiss. “Should we test that theory out?” My pulse accelerated again, because I was about to do something a little reckless.
“Sure.” Her smile was playful. “Kiss me, then.”
I pulled her into me, skimming my lips over hers. The last couple of months had been a dream come true. My job was going well and every night I came home to someone I loved. There was nothing like walking into the house we shared to hear her call out, “In here!” from our kitchen. I always kissed her hello, then ran off to take the fastest shower ever so I could go back and help with dinner and hear about her day.
And the nights? Heaven. Holding her in my arms every night was all I ever wanted.
I took a sweet sip of her mouth now, and she gripped my biceps and sighed. It took all my willpower to break the kiss and step back. I jammed my hand into my pocket and closed it around something my father had given me earlier.
That’s when I got down on one knee.
My girlfriend tilted her pretty face to the side, as if waiting for the punchline of a joke.
“Sophie, I’ve waited a long time to be able to ask you this. There were years I didn’t think it could ever happen. Will you be my wife?”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Are you teasing me right now?”
“Not at all.” I opened the top of the little box my father had given me earlier, revealing my grandmother’s antique wedding ring.
She put her hands to her mouth.
“Holy shit!” Griffin crowed. “What the hell is happening here?”
Sophie grabbed me around the neck and pushed her face against my cheek. “Of course I will.”
I stood up and lifted her off her feet, while Audrey whooped and May shrieked.
“Holy shit,” Griffin said again. ““You’re making the rest of the men look like assholes now.”
“Oh, shut it,” Zara complained. “The word you’re looking for is congratulations.”
Their voices barely registered with me, though. I held my girl tightly and fought off misty eyes and a scratchy throat. “I will do everything in my power to be good for you,” I promised.
“I know,” she said, kissing my cheek. “We’ll help each other.”
“You make me feel so lucky,” I told her. It was the truest thing I’d ever said.
“We’re both lucky,” she insisted. “Let’s plan to stay that way.”
“It’s a deal.”
The End