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“This?”
He looks down at me. “Loving people.”
I smile up at the best man I’ve ever met. “We really are.”
“And I want to do it with you forever.”
“Me too.”
“So will you marry me?”
I pivot out from under his arm so quickly he nearly stumbles. I turn to face him. “Did you just propose to me?”
“I did.”
“At Cian and Scarlett’s pregnancy announcement?”
“Yes. Because that’stheirmain focus. Butweareourmain focus. And I love you and want to marry you and I didn’t want to wait to ask you any longer.”
I think about that and…yes. Yes, to all of that.
“It doesn’t take anything away from their moment,” he says. “This is just between you and me right now. But I want you to be my wife, and this place and this moment felt like the right time to ask you.”
It really does.
The two people we loved and took care of for so many years are now going to become the ultimate caregivers themselves.
They’re so ready for it.
And the master of over-the-top and going overboard just casually proposed in the middle of this happy, wholesome, almost quiet—relatively—moment because it felt right.
“Yes,” I say. “I will absolutely marry you, Henry.”
His smile is wide and bright, and it makes my heart so full.
“I love you,” he says as he lowers his head and kisses me deeply.
When he lifts his head, I look around. We’ve talked to everyone, hugged everyone, heard the amazing news, and told Cian and Scarlett how happy and proud we are.
And anyway, we’ll see them all for breakfast.
They don’t need us anymore tonight.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say, taking his hand and starting toward the door.
“Uh…” But he looks around and clearly comes to the same conclusion. He nods. “Yeah. We’re done here.”
“Well, for tonight,” I say as we step out of Ellie’s and start for the car.
“Right. Justdone for tonight.”
“Right.” I stop by the car and take a deep, contented breath.
Henry and I will never be completely done taking care of people.
“By the way,” he says as he opens the car door for me. “I’m going to be putting about fifty-thousand dollars in the charity account.”
My mouth drops open. “What? Why?”