Page 201 of Alphas Like Us

Listening to every intimate word as he continues, “And you said you wanted an in-your-face, overjoyed kind of love that knocks you backwards.” He takes a beat. “But our love is that and better. Our love is headstrong. It never yields, never dies. And when it knocks you backwards, it pulls you uprightagain.”

I pinch my burning eyes, and his hand tightens on mycheek.

I feel his smile rise against my ear, his voice gravel tied in silk as he says, “I promise to give you everything you need and nothing less. Never less. Maximoff…” He draws his head back, just enough for us to look at eachother.

My hand falls off my eyes and onto his bent knee. We’re eye-level since I’m crouching, my boot half untied. I don’t know why the fuck I think aboutthat.

His hand runs up through my thick hair, our reddened, welled-up eyes excavating eachother.

I’m smiling. For real. I can’t restrain it. I don’t want to. Notnow.

He sees, and his own smile stretches wider and wider. He nods a few times, and he whispers, “You want to marry the fuck out ofme?”

I nod just as assured, just as overcome. “Yeah.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out a black ring box. “I wantto.”

Farrow laughs in surprise, a tear escapes the corner of his eye. Reallyoverwhelmed.

“You had no idea I planned to do this today,” I realize. I thought maybe he got word this morning since I told everyone about the proposal plan at breakfast, including my dad. My mom and Jane kept the secret, so pretty much everyone found out hoursago.

“None.” He wipes his eyes. “But I’m not shocked that I beat you toit.”

“Because Ioverthink.”

Farrow laughs once, eyeing my smile. “Because you can’t be first at everything, wolfscout.”

It hits me that I’ll hear him tell me that for the rest of our lives. And then it washes over me. Fills me to thebrim.

And we rise to our feettogether.

Both of us standing close, I hold the back of his neck, and our heads dip towards each other. “Since you beat me to it, does this mean I can’task—”

“Ask me,” Farrow says strongly, and I hear the unsaid words:there are no rules,Maximoff.

I blink, and a couple tears slide down my face. And I just say, “There’s no one else, Farrow. You’re it. You’retheone,the onlyone.”

His chest rises against my chest, and he nods,knowing.

Feeling.

And I ask him, “Marryme?”

“Yeah,” he says like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “I’ll marry you, wolfscout.”

Our mouths meet with emotion swelling up inside, water misting around us and light streaming throughtreetops.

I’ve never been happier and more inlove.

After a long swelling moment, we pull back. And I look between the ring boxes that we both stillclutch.

“Let’s do this,” Farrow says like he’s about to share a plan. But he just pops open the wooden box. He plucks out the wedding band that he bought me, and he pinches the ring between two fingers. Showing me the simple gray band, grooved like a tree. “It’s not sterling silver. It’s titanium and didn’t cost alot.”

He knows that makes me love it even more. And now I’m trying hard not to smile, but it’s a losingbattle.

Farrow slips my titanium wedding band on his own ringfinger. Off my confusion, he explains, “I’ll wear yours and you’ll wear mine as engagement rings. And then on our wedding day, I’ll take the ring off and finally put it on yourfinger.”

Alright, my brain is obsessed with this plan. Like way too damn much. “Did you just think of this on thespot?”

“I’d love to say I did, but no.” He waves me on to open the black box. “It’s something I thought about when I realized we were the same ringsize.”