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“You’ll see.” Rashad took her hand again. A moment later, the twins reemerged, carrying large posterboard signs. They held them up over their heads.
“Marry our dad,” Nina read from Kate’s sign, suddenly breathless. “Please will you,” she read from Miles’s.
“Oops, those might be backwards,” Rashad said. Nina turned to him and saw that he was on the floor on one knee, a ring box open in his hand. A bright diamond glittered up at Nina. “The very first day I met you, you began changing my life for the better. You helped me understand that there’s more to life than work. You taught me how to love, even when it’s frightening. You made me a father. I can never repay you for all you’ve done, but I’d like to spend every day trying, for the rest of our lives, if you’d like that.”
Nina felt teary. “There’s nothing to repay.”
“Even so.” Rashad smiled at her. “I love you, Nina. I want to show you that every day. Please, will you marry me?”
Nina’s heart overflowed with warmth as she held out her hand. “Of course I will.”
In a heartbeat, Rashad slid the ring onto Nina’s finger, before standing and sweeping her into his arms for a kiss. A momentlater, the twins were there, hugging their legs, and, smiling at each other, Nina and Rashad bent down for a group hug.
“There’s a celebratory cake in the kitchen,” Rashad told the twins. Squealing with joy, Miles and Kate ran towards the kitchen, and Rashad wrapped his arms around Nina once again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Just like I’ve felt like a dad to the twins for a long time, I’ve felt like a husband to you for a long time, but I’m ready to make things official.”
“So am I.” Nina smiled. “I don’t think I could be happier right now.”
“Just wait until you see the cake.” Rashad winked.
At that moment, little Rafi began to murmur happily. Rashad picked him up, then took Nina’s hand again. Together, they walked towards the kitchen where the twins waited. With her fiancé, soon-to-be husband, by her side, and their three kids around her, everything was perfect.
The End