Page 87 of From Grumpy to Forever
His fingers trailed down my arm before reaching my hand. He threaded his fingers through mine, his grip warm and sure.
“Avery, being with you is the most real and sure thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
My heart skipped a little, a slow warmth unfurling in my chest. “I feel exactly the same way.”
Reid shifted and put his wine down on the porch rail. His free hand came to rest on my knee. “I’ve been making myself crazy trying to think of the right way to say this, Avery.” His finger brushed absentminded circles on my skin, and suddenly he wouldn’t look at me. “But I think there’s something really important that we need to discuss.”
Just like that, my world spun. It was the conversation I’d been worried about. We never discussed it, but maybe he didn’t want to be married after all. I knew he loved me, but maybe marriage was too much. If that’s what he wanted, I wouldn’t fight it, but?—
“The truth is,” he continued, completely unaware of the tailspin that I’d fallen into, “there’s no fancy way to say it.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse thudding in my forehead. “Say what?” I was almost afraid to ask.
He exhaled slowly, his gaze locked on mine, steady and sure. “Marry me, Avery.”
There was no way I heard him right. “Excuse me, what?”
“Marry me.” He was completely serious.
I glanced around nervously. “You do know we already are married, right? That was kind of the whole thing…”
His fingers tightened on mine. “Marry me for real, Avery. Not for a will or an inn or for anyone or anything except for you and me.” He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “Marry me because we want to. Marry me because I can’t live without you. Marry me because I know you can, but you don’t want to live without me.”
I laughed a little.
“Marry me because we are so good together that we deserve to make this officially official.”
“Officially official?” I raised an eyebrow, but the look on his face didn’t leave any room for doubt.
“Stay married to me, Avery.”
“If this is what I think it is, this is a very strange proposal, Reid.” I try to laugh and make light of the moment to give myself time to catch up to what he was saying. “I mean, where’s the ring?”
He released my hand long enough to reach into his pocket.
For a moment, my heart stopped. “What is…oh.” My hand flew to my mouth as I tried to process exactly what I was seeing. “Is that a…”
“I mean it. Marry me, Avery.” Reid slipped from the chair to the floor of the porch and onto one knee. “Stay married to me and let’s do it all again. Properly this time. With the wedding you want.”
“I don’t need a wedding as long as I’m married to you.”
“Sweetheart.” He held out the ring I still hadn’t taken from him. “I didn’t say anything about need. I said want. And I know you want the wedding. Now, will you or will you not stay married to me, Avery Walker?”
“Yes! Of course. I’d marry you a million times.”
With tears in my eyes, I slipped from the swing to my knees in front of Reid, who slid the most beautiful diamond ring onto my left hand before he pulled me to my feet and kissed me and made our engagement official.
Chapter Forty-Three
Six weeks later…
Reid
* * *
Avery buzzed with nervous energy, and it was damn near impossible to focus on anything else. She bounced from foot to foot and compulsively checked her list.
“Did you?—”
