“You want me to move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve never lived with a woman before,” she said, as if that was news to me.
“I’ve never loved a woman before.”
Her gaze softened. “And you have no hesitation?”
“Nope. Do you?”
“I don’t have any hesitation when it comes to you or to Harper. I just don’t know what it means,” she said. “Is it fine to live together when we aren’t married? You know, because you have a child, and I just don’t want to do anything that would be harmful to her.”
I smiled. This was music to my fucking ears.
“Listen, nothing in my little girl’s life has been traditional. Harper has a mother who visited her once a year, who felt more like a stranger. She’s been raised by a single dad who doesn’t have a fucking clue what he’s doing, but she knows that she’s loved. At the end of the day, that’s what matters. Nothing about you loving that little girl is harmful. But if you want to get married, all you have to do is say the word, Firefly. I didn’t think that was something you wanted, but I’m all in. I’d marry you right now, right here in this tent, if you wanted that. I have no doubts. I know what I want, and I’m looking at her.” I intertwined my hand with hers.
Her chest was rising and falling, and she sighed. “I have no doubts either. I just don’t want to do anything that would hurt Harper.”
“Take her out of the equation for a minute, because you and I being married or living together won’t make a difference to Harper. She knows we’re a family, and that’s what matters to her. She asks me why you aren’t there on the nights you don’t sleep at the house. You love her, and she knows it. She loves you, and you know it. So take her out of the equation. Do you want to get married?”
“I mean, that was a lame way to ask me,” she said as her teeth sank into her bottom lip.
I shoved the pizza box out of the way, moving the wineglasses aside as well. I pushed up and settled on one knee. “Violet Delphinium Beaumont, I love you. I want to spend my life with you. I want to wake up with you in the morning and go to sleep with you at night. I want to argue with you by day and then have makeup sex with you before we go to sleep. I want to live with you. I want to marry you. I want everything you’re willing to give me. Hashtag ‘love you, mean it.’”
“Wow. You even tossed in the hashtag. Very impressive. But you didn’t ask the question.” She smirked.
“You are one stubborn ass of a woman. Will you marry me, Firefly?”
“Yes. I want to marry you, Charlie Huxley. Hashtag ‘love you, mean it.’” She lunged at me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
I kissed her hard, tipping her back on the blanket and hovering above her. “I don’t have a ring, but we’ll go get one, okay?”
“I don’t care about the ring, Charles. I’ve got the guy. And my favorite little girl. I’ve already won this whole marriage gig.”
“So we’re doing this?”
“Yep. There’s no rush. But we can tell Harps we’re getting married before I move in.” She smiled up at me.
“I like the sound of that.”
“Actually, I do have all this land, and we love this house. What if we do an addition and make this place our forever home? We can stay in your place while we renovate.”
I thought it over. Her land was spectacular. We could make this everything we wanted. “You sure you can handle doing a renovation like that with me?” I stroked the hair away from her gorgeous face.
“I’ve never been more sure about anyone or anything.”
“Me either.”
“I love you,” she said as a tear slipped down her cheek.
“I love you. And soon I’ll get to call you my wife.”
“Don’t even dream of going all caveman on me. We’re equal partners in everything.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Firefly.”
“You sure you can handle forever with me? I’m a handful.”
