“Shit. She’s awake,” I mumble, only mildly disappointed that I can’t continue my exploration as I pull my lips from hers. Avery urgently buttons up her pants and straightens her top.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” Avery says as she spins around and picks Brooklyn up.
I lean in and kiss her perfect little face. “Merry Christmas, baby girl.”
“Pwesents!” Brooklyn is already shimmying down from Avery’s arms, heading toward the overflowing tree. We left the living room for last in Project Packing to ensure that everything was perfect for Bean on Christmas morning.
“You better get in there before she starts without us. I’ll bring the coffee.” I lean down and kiss her lips one more time.
“You just need a few minutes alone to get yourself together?” she sasses back with a knowing smile.
“I’ve already started thinking about mygrandma and gardening.” She laughs and walks into the living room, my eyes instantly mesmerized by the swing of her hips, which doesn’t help the tightness in my pants.
When I get in the living room with two hot cups of coffee, Brooklyn is bouncing around on the floor in front of the tree. “Now?”
“Yes, now,” I reply with a smile.
“Here, let Mommy help you read the tags.” Avery crouches down on the floor and helps distribute presents. There’s a big stack in the back and to the side of the tree for her family and mine. My girls are going to her parents’ house after I leave for work this morning, and we’re heading to my parents’ this weekend after we close on the house.
There’s a huge pile of presents sitting in front of Brooklyn. She dives in with all the energy that comes with a three-year-old. She unwraps books, dolls, Barbies, clothes, and even bedding and décor for her new room. She barely has the last one opened before she’s moving on to the next, and she does it all with a huge smile on her face.
Avery has a few gifts in front of her too. I found an unbelievably sexy satin robe and nightgown set that I can’t wait to see her wear.When I saw them in the store, I imagined her wearing them in front of the fireplace in our room. I can’t wait until we get settled in the new place. She also opened a diamond watch, her favorite perfume, and a new e-reader with tons of memory for her books.
“You spoil me,” she says as she plants another kiss on my lips.
I finally open the presents sitting in front of me. A new leather coat, tools for the little shop area in the man cave that’s attached to the back of the garage at the new house, a CD player with every AC/DC CD ever produced, and a framed photo of the three of us taken in the park a couple of weeks back during an unusually mild day in early December. That picture alone could be the best gift I’ve ever received.
When all the presents are opened, the paper is picked up, and the boxes are being ripped open to retrieve the treasures inside, I start to get a little nervous and sweaty. The presents aren’t all opened yet. There are two more little boxes sitting under the tree, toward the back, that Avery hasn’t seen yet.
“Hey, Brooklyn, will you grab those two little boxes that are hidden behind Grandpa Mike’s present, please?” Brooklyn takes off over to thetree and starts digging behind the present. I can feel Avery’s questioning eyes on me, but mine remain focused on my little girl. She brings me the two gifts that aren’t wrapped; just two black velvet covered boxes. “Thank you, sweetie.”
“Are doze for me?” she asks.
“One is for you, and one is for your mom. Let’s do your mommy’s first, okay?”
“Otay,” she says very enthusiastically and runs to play with her new toys.
Avery is standing in the middle of the living room, watching our exchange, the questions written in her beautiful blue eyes. I stand up and walk toward her, stopping when I’m directly in front of her.
“I have something else for you. I knew deep down on our first date that we would get to this exact spot sooner or later. It may have taken me a little while to realize it then, but you are everything to me. You and Brooklyn. When I think about my life without you and Brooklyn in it, I realize that it’s no life at all. You are my life. We have made a great life together, but I want to build it into something so much more.” I take a deep breath and pop open the ring box. Avery lets out an audible gasp as she looks at the ring I chose for her. Actually, she chose it before I even knewit. Sitting within the little black velvet box is the two-carat chocolate diamond. The one she saw in the window of the jewelry store in the mall. When I saw the expression on her face as she looked dreamily at that ring, I knew it was the one I would eventually put on her finger.
I slowly kneel down in front of her, taking her shaking hand in my equally shaky one. “Avery, you are the best person I’ve ever known. You are caring and kind and passionate and the love you have for your daughter is evident in everything you do. You look at me with so much love and trust in your eyes that I can’t imagine not having you by my side every single day. So, today, I have a very important question to ask you and Brooklyn.” I take another shaky breath and notice she’s holding hers. “Will you promise to be with me for the rest of your life so I can show you how much I love and adore you for the rest of mine? Avery, will you marry me?”
I hold my breath as I gaze into Avery’s glistening blue eyes. Her tears are flowing unchecked down her face.
“Yes,” she whispers. “YES!” And she throws herself down into my arms, almost knocking me over from the unexpected force of her body. I stand up with her still in my arms and kiss the hell out of my fiancée.
When we finally pull apart, I slip the ring on her trembling finger, a gesture I used to believe I would never do. My lips seek hers one more time, her body pressed firmly against mine.
I pull away and wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Wait, I have one more gift.”
I take the second box and walk over to where Brooklyn is playing with her new toys, completely oblivious to the proposal that just took place behind her.
“Brooklyn, honey, come here a second. I have a question for you.” Brooklyn walks over and leaps onto my lap on the couch.
“You know your mommy and I are moving in together in the new house, right?” She shakes her head yes. “Well, we’ll be moving in the new house in a little over a week. But I want to do more than just live with you and your mommy. I want to marry your mommy. Do you know what that means?”
“You get to sweep in the same bed. Emma’s mommy and daddy are mawied and she said they sweep in the same bed.” I chuckle at the simplicity of her three-year-old logic.
