He sighs. “She didn’t want to go out.”
A laugh escapes my lips, and I slap my hand to my mouth.
Cody pops around the corner and spots me. He arches a brow. “You heard all that?”
I nod.
“Shit,” he mutters.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry.” Kathy Anthony comes to stand next to him. “I was just so excited for the two of you, I wanted to be the first to congratulate you.”
“I tried to stop her, but she was coming over here with or without me,” Emelia said.
“You were going to propose?” I ask Cody.
His eyes snap to mine. “I had a plan.”
I bite my lip. “We could recreate that plan here.”
Cody takes my hand and leads me to the dining room. The table has been pushed aside, and there is a blanket on the floor. Flameless candles are lined up outside the perimeter of the blanket.
My eyes well with tears.
“Like I said, I had a plan.”
I give him a hug. “I love it.”
He pulls back and takes my hands in his. “Lucy Taylor, I have loved you since high school. I lost you once, and I can’t lose you again. You are the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
“Hey,” Kathy protests as she enters the room.
Emelia grabs her arm pulling her away from us. “Mom!No.”
Cody rolls his eyes, then gets down on one knee. He takes a breath and asks, “Will you marry me?”
The doorbell rings.
“For fuck’s sake,” Cody grumbles as he goes to rise.
Emelia pushes him back down with a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll get it. You two continue.”
Sweat beads on Cody’s forehead and his eyes are pleading with me to respond.
I grin, then put him out of his misery. “Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you.”
He lifts me up, spinning me around while kissing me.
“Where’s the ring?” his mom asks.
Cody stops mid-spin and lowers me. With his forehead to mine, he chuckles. “I really imagined this going differently.” He pulls a box out of his pocket and opens it.
He holds the ring up. The band is white gold, and it holds one large, round diamond with two smaller diamonds on each side. I cradle his face in my hands and kiss him.
“It’s perfect. All of it. The proposal and the ring. I love you, Cody.”
“I love you too.”
Emelia rejoins us, carrying the pizza. “Mom, we should go, give them their privacy.”
