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Story: Hello Trouble

“Or you called and told them about it?” I teased. “Multiple times?”
She shook her head at me. “It wouldn’t kill you to drink a dandelion tea once a day.”
“I’m not willing to chance it,” I retorted, which earned me a roll of her eyes.
“Okay, what next?” she asked.
“The last one is my favorite,” I said. “Can you read the label for me while I get our cups?” I held out the thermos for her. She took it, and I reached for the “mugs” in the cooler before watching her eyes trail across the letters I’d carefully written on the label.
Her pink lips parted. “Hayes?”
I lowered myself to one knee, holding open a white velvet box I thought looked like a marshmallow. Inside rested a vintage engagement ring with character and charm, just like Della. The diamond glittered in the light.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered, freckled hands covering her mouth.
“A year ago today, you brought in a cooler of hot chocolate, convinced that you’d find one I liked. Before you walked in, I was convinced neither hot chocolate nor a relationship were for me.”
She smiled slightly, shaking her head. The tears in her eyes caught the light.
“But turns out you’re great at proving me wrong.”
A teary chuckle passed through her hands.
“Della Dwyer... I want to be your sourdough-recipe tester. Your dance partner. The one you bitch at about safety statistics. I want you to be the one I wake up to in the morning with crusty eyes and bad breath and the one you fall asleep next to with that ridiculous mouth tape on your face and those weird things under your eyes.”
She wiped tears away from her cheeks. “I told you they’re to help with dark spots.”
Smiling, I reached for one of her hands, holding it.
“Della, I want to be your husband. Will you be my wife?”
“Of course I will,” she said.
I slid the ring on her finger, finding the perfect fit. It was barely in place before she lowered herself into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck and holding on tightly.
“I love you so fucking much,” I breathed.
“I love you too,” she replied. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Hayes Brain Madigan.”
EPILOGUE
GRAYSON
I walked down the hallway to Hayes’s old bedroom in disbelief that my son was getting married today. And to a woman as incredible as Della, no less. Hayes was getting ready in the main bedroom downstairs while the ladies used all the bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs to get ready for the big day.
For a long time, I thought Hayes would be a bachelor forever. But Della was exactly what he needed. It was clear in the way he lived his life now. Before he fell for her, it was like he wanted to live as fast as possible.
Now he slowed down. He savored his life with Della instead of racing it away.
I reached the last door in the hallway and knocked.
Soon, the door opened, my daughter-in-law Liv there to greet me. She looked pretty in a mint-green dress, her hair twisted up into a bun. “Hey, Gray,” she said warmly.
I smiled at her. “You look lovely.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a grin. “You’re so handsome in a suit, Gray.” She straightened my lapel for me.
“Any chance I can get a second with the bride?” I asked.