the two of us today.” Colton sits down next to me and opens the basket and pulls out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Will you pour for us?”
“Sure.” My eyes keep darting to all the foods he’s unpacking, and I grin when I see the strawberries and cream. “You’re in a romantic mood today. What did I do to deserve all this?” I hand one of the flutes with bubbly to him.
“Can’t a man just show his woman how much he loves her?” he asks, a secretive look in his eyes.
“Yeah, but I get a feeling there’s more to this picnic. Did you break something, and this is your way of doing damage control before I find out?”
Colton shakes his head, and then he pulls another folded piece of paper out of his pocket. I watch him take a deep breath, and then he holds it out for me to take.
Opening the page, my eyes slowly drift over the words.
Despite our differences, I fell in love with you. Or maybe it was because of them. It doesn’t really matter because with you I’ve found something rare. You’re more than just the love of my life. You’re more than my best friend. Every moment we’ve spent together is imprinted in my heart.
You’re my reason for waking up every day. You’re my reason to push harder because I want to give you the world. I want to reach for the stars and hand them to you. My whole world fits in your heart.
I’ll love you until the sun stops shining, until the moon drops from the night sky, and until the last star has vanished.
Until the world stops turning. Always yours.
Colton.
I stare at the words until they begin to blur, and I don’t get any time to try and process what I just read because Colton holds another note out to me.
My eyes dart to his face and seeing how serious he looks, my heart begins to pound in my chest as I take the paper from him.
I suck in a deep breath of air, then open it.
Will you marry me.
Yes. □
No. □
A sob instantly bursts free from my lips, and I struggle to say, “I don’t have a pen.”
A pen appears in my line of vision, and I’m a mess as I laugh and cry at the same time. I tick one of the boxes, and wetting my lips, I lift my eyes to Colton’s as I hand it back to him.
A smile plays around his mouth, and for a moment, he stares at me before his gaze drops to my answer.
“Thank God.” He darts to his feet, pulling me up, and then engulfs me in a hug. “I’m going to make you so happy.” Framing my face with his hands, he presses a hard kiss to my lips.
The second he gives me a chance to talk, I say, “You’ve already made me happy, Colton. So very happy.”
COLTON
I pull the engagement ring from my pocket and taking Brie’s left hand, I slip it onto her finger. I take a moment to drink in the sight of my ring on her finger, then I lift my eyes to hers. “No pressure, but I want to get married this year.”
Brie sputters out a breath of laughter. “You know it’s July, right?”
“Yeah?”
She shakes her head, and with a happy smile on her face, she frames my jaw and presses a kiss to my lips, then whispers, “Anything for you.”
We sit down again, and my gaze keeps going to her left hand as we pick up the flutes. Brie holds hers in the air. “To us.”
I clink mine against hers. “To our happily ever after.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon eating while planning our future. There’s still so much we want to do. We’ve just bought a new house closer to the center, and want to renovate it.
“How are the plans coming along for our bedroom and ensuite bathroom?” Brie asks.
“I saw them yesterday. James said he’ll submit them for approval by the end of the week.” We’re breaking down a whole section to build another master bedroom. That way, we’ll have our own space, and Mom will have hers.
“Good,” Brie murmurs. She glances around, then says, “It’s starting to get dark. Should we pack up and head home?”
“Just one more thing.” Reaching for her, I pull her closer.
Brie wraps her arms around my neck. “I like where this is going.”
Cupping her cheek with my one hand, I stare into her eyes.