yet.
“Hailey Dashford Reid, since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve known you were mine. I fought it for a long time, because I’m truly not good enough for you. You deserve white picket fences and chubby children with handfuls of wildflowers. A nice man with a good job and a briefcase.”
I’m shaking my head and laughing and crying, because he’s so damn earnest about this and I just want to throw myself at him and scream yes. I bite my tongue.
“One day, maybe soon, we’ll move to the suburbs and get a fence. Maybe before that we can have some of those chubby children, if you promise they have your hair and your smile.”
“I like your smile just fine,” I whisper, then shush again because I think he’s got more.
“But I’m never going to carry a briefcase. I wouldn’t even know where to find one. I’m going to try to be a better man for you, beautiful, but I’m always going to piss you off. Some of the time, I’m going to do it on purpose just so you spit fire at me, because I love that. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I mouth, wet tears plopping on my lips.
“I have no idea what kind of ring you’d want. We haven’t had those conversations yet. I wasn’t even sure what kind of condo you’d want, but I think this one has lots of room for the stripper pole and good lighting for knitting, and it’s warm, like you.”
“Okay.”
“Wait, I haven’t asked you yet.”
“Okay.”
He spreads his hand over mine, his fingers tracing mine as he closes my fist around the diamonds. When he looks up at me, I could swear his eyes are shiny and bright, but if they are, I’ll never tell anyone. That little piece of Cole is just for me. “Will you remind me every day what love is? Give me a reason to be a better man?”
“You don’t need a reason—”
“I need you.” He pulls my hands to his mouth and kisses my knuckles before taking a deep breath and finally asking the question. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” I smile through my tears, vibrant relief coursing through my entire body. This is happiness. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes.”
He surges to his feet, picking me up and spinning me around as I wrap my arms around his neck, the diamonds squeezed tight in my hand. “Really?”
“Yes!” I lay a big, smacking kiss on his cheek. “Did you doubt?”
“Well, not when I was putting a bid in on the condo, but then…” He slows to a stop and lowers me to my feet, his gaze searching my face for some kind of confirmation. “It’s hard to imagine you can see a future with me.”
“Oh, baby.” I pull him in for a slower, sexier, hungrier kiss. His hands skate over my hips and up my back, and I want to touch him, too. “Where can I put these blingy rocks?”
“I was thinking a ring, but…”
I laugh and twist out of his arms. “I meant right now.” I carefully put them in the middle of the kitchen island, then turn around. Cole’s right there, looming over me. “They’re beautiful.”
“Like you.” He’s staring at me like he can’t believe his good luck.
I loop my fingers through his belt and slide our bodies together. “That right there. That’s why I see a future with you. Forever with you. Because you see the best in me, always.”
“I could say the same thing,” he says gruffly as I move up his body, getting in some gratuitous groping of my fiancé before kissing him again.
We both deserved more, and now we finally have it. I can’t be all poor me about my life, but I shouldn’t be the first person to love Cole unconditionally.
That’s just wrong, and I tell him that when I’m finally done tasting his ridiculously fine mouth. He tries to brush it off.
“Hey,” I say, forcing him to look at me, to see how serious I am. “Your first parents made selfish choices that meant they were taken from you. Your second parents had…I don’t know, but some kind of messed up expectations or something. All of them should have loved you for the
“Hailey Dashford Reid, since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve known you were mine. I fought it for a long time, because I’m truly not good enough for you. You deserve white picket fences and chubby children with handfuls of wildflowers. A nice man with a good job and a briefcase.”
I’m shaking my head and laughing and crying, because he’s so damn earnest about this and I just want to throw myself at him and scream yes. I bite my tongue.
“One day, maybe soon, we’ll move to the suburbs and get a fence. Maybe before that we can have some of those chubby children, if you promise they have your hair and your smile.”
“I like your smile just fine,” I whisper, then shush again because I think he’s got more.
“But I’m never going to carry a briefcase. I wouldn’t even know where to find one. I’m going to try to be a better man for you, beautiful, but I’m always going to piss you off. Some of the time, I’m going to do it on purpose just so you spit fire at me, because I love that. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I mouth, wet tears plopping on my lips.
“I have no idea what kind of ring you’d want. We haven’t had those conversations yet. I wasn’t even sure what kind of condo you’d want, but I think this one has lots of room for the stripper pole and good lighting for knitting, and it’s warm, like you.”
“Okay.”
“Wait, I haven’t asked you yet.”
“Okay.”
He spreads his hand over mine, his fingers tracing mine as he closes my fist around the diamonds. When he looks up at me, I could swear his eyes are shiny and bright, but if they are, I’ll never tell anyone. That little piece of Cole is just for me. “Will you remind me every day what love is? Give me a reason to be a better man?”
“You don’t need a reason—”
“I need you.” He pulls my hands to his mouth and kisses my knuckles before taking a deep breath and finally asking the question. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” I smile through my tears, vibrant relief coursing through my entire body. This is happiness. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes.”
He surges to his feet, picking me up and spinning me around as I wrap my arms around his neck, the diamonds squeezed tight in my hand. “Really?”
“Yes!” I lay a big, smacking kiss on his cheek. “Did you doubt?”
“Well, not when I was putting a bid in on the condo, but then…” He slows to a stop and lowers me to my feet, his gaze searching my face for some kind of confirmation. “It’s hard to imagine you can see a future with me.”
“Oh, baby.” I pull him in for a slower, sexier, hungrier kiss. His hands skate over my hips and up my back, and I want to touch him, too. “Where can I put these blingy rocks?”
“I was thinking a ring, but…”
I laugh and twist out of his arms. “I meant right now.” I carefully put them in the middle of the kitchen island, then turn around. Cole’s right there, looming over me. “They’re beautiful.”
“Like you.” He’s staring at me like he can’t believe his good luck.
I loop my fingers through his belt and slide our bodies together. “That right there. That’s why I see a future with you. Forever with you. Because you see the best in me, always.”
“I could say the same thing,” he says gruffly as I move up his body, getting in some gratuitous groping of my fiancé before kissing him again.
We both deserved more, and now we finally have it. I can’t be all poor me about my life, but I shouldn’t be the first person to love Cole unconditionally.
That’s just wrong, and I tell him that when I’m finally done tasting his ridiculously fine mouth. He tries to brush it off.
“Hey,” I say, forcing him to look at me, to see how serious I am. “Your first parents made selfish choices that meant they were taken from you. Your second parents had…I don’t know, but some kind of messed up expectations or something. All of them should have loved you for the
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