I leaned in closer, whispering in her ear, “Let’s get away. Me and you.” I had a secret plan on proposing to Becky, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to get away, just the two of us.
A small smirk tugged at her lips. “Where?”
“Anywhere. I haven’t planned anything, and it’s about time we got away, just us.”
Her eyes shone with an inner glow. “What about the girls?”
I shrugged. “The guys can watch them for a week.”
She sat up straighter, facing me fully this time. “But I want to take them. I want our first trip to be as a family, all of us—Brad and Mason and Janice if they want to go too.”
I held back my grimace at the mention of Janice. And the idea of my brothers tagging along didn’t appeal to me, not when I wanted to be alone with my girl for once.
Becky’s stare flickered back to the girls, now on the seesaw, and then back to meet my eyes. “We’ll have so many opportunities to take trips with just the two of us. But, I’m still getting to know the girls. My first vacation … I really want it to be all of us.”
I sighed, feeling myself giving in to her even though I wanted her all to myself.
This woman. I didn’t think I could love her any more than I already did.
I raised a dubious eyebrow. “You know where they’ll want to go, right?”
We both responded at the same time, “Disney World.”
She sighed into me. “I’ve never been even though I lived in Florida.” Her smile widened. “We can even take Patty. She doesn’t live far from Disney.”
I took her chin and angled it closer to me, kissing her. “Disney it is.” Because I couldn’t help but give in to her. Her hold over me was powerful in the best possible way, and I vowed to give her whatever she wanted for the rest of our lives together.
She jumped out of my arms, as though the news were a burst of caffeine in her veins. “Girls! We’re going to Disney!”
Mary stilled mid-climb up the slide. Sarah dropped her feet, stopping the swing. And then they both screeched with excitement and ran at warp speed toward us, hugging Becky and jumping and cheering as though they’d won a real, live unicorn.
I shook my head. The girls had been four times already, but they clearly never got sick of it.
Mary bum-rushed me, and I bent down and took her in my arms. Her small hands squished my cheeks, forcing me to make a fishy face. “Thank you, Daddy!” Then, she kissed my lips.
Mary motioned for Becky and Sarah to come closer. “Bubble. I want my bubble.”
“Dad,” Sarah said, her cheeks red with excitement, “are we really going to Disney for summer break?”
I smiled down at her. “Yep.”
“Well, it is the happiest place on earth,” Becky added, her own glow spreading over her beautiful face.
I held out my free arm, bringing the rest of my family in. I was now surrounded with everything I would ever need in life. “No, this, right here”—I pulled them into our bubble of love—“is the happiest place on earth.”
Epilogue
Sweat lined the top of my brow, and as I swiped my forehead with the handkerchief Mason handed me, I knew it wasn’t the summer weather that was causing my perspiration. Plus I was inside, seated in the dining room, watching the waitstaff I’d hired move about the house, getting the food ready for the reception.
I was afraid to move, let alone undo my bow tie.
"You look nervous." Mason laughed, standing right beside me.
"Me? Nervous?" I shifted, placing my elbows on my thighs. I hadn't done this in a while. And if it was up to me, it would be the last time I ever did.
“This is what you wanted, Charles. This is what you need,” Mason said.
"Yeah, I’m just excited to get all the formalities over. I need to get to the kiss-the-bride part, then the drinking part.” I smiled, though nothing could calm my nerves.
Standing in front of the boardroom was different than standing in front of three dozen people, with them watching you proclaim your love to the woman you were going to spend the rest of your life with.
I should have nixed the idea of inviting more than a handful of people, but I relinquished all wedding planning to Mason, who was more than up for it