Page 168 of Faking It With My Pucking Protector

My vision blurs, tears burning hot at the edges.

When I finally manage to look at Jackson, he’s already down on one knee.

His eyes lock onto mine—open, steady, a little vulnerable, and so achingly sure.

“Ava,” he says, voice low but clear, “I’ve loved you my whole damn life, in one way or another. You’re my heart, the mother of my future child, and the one who makes this house feel like a home.”

He swallows, his fingers tightening around a small black velvet box.

“You’ve taken care of us, loved us. Let us love you. And I can’t imagine my life,anyof it, without you.”

He opens the box, revealing a simple but beautiful ring that catches the late afternoon light.

“Will you marry me?” he asks.

Everything inside me shatters and knits back together all at once.

I drop to my knees in front of him, my hands shaking as I cup his face.

“Yes,” I breathe out, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

Jackson’s arms wrap around me, pulling me in so close it feels like we might never come apart again.

The boys cheer from the steps, whooping and jumping like they’ve just won a championship.

Somewhere behind us, Miss Taylor is clapping and wiping her eyes.

Jackson presses his forehead to mine, breathless and grinning. “You sure?” he teases, his voice rough.

I laugh through my tears, kissing him hard. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Around us, the world spins with laughter and bright summer light.

And for the first time in a long time, everything feels exactly, perfectly right.

We stay there for a long moment, tangled together on the porch, the boys bouncing around us in pure, unfiltered excitement.

Noah is the first to barrel into us, nearly knocking me off balance as he throws his arms around me. “You said yes! You said yes!” he shouts, his voice cracking with joy.

Liam wedges in on the other side, hugging Jackson and then me, his eyes wide and shining. “Now you’re really part of the family forever,” he says, like it’s the most important fact in the entire world.

Jackson takes my hand as he glances at the boys. “Couldn’t have done it without you two,” he tells them, his voice thick.

Miss Taylor steps closer, eyes red-rimmed but glowing. She crouches to wrap the boys in a hug, then gives me a quick, grounding squeeze that somehow says everything without a single word.

When she pulls back, her gaze flicks to the ring on my hand. “Beautiful,” she murmurs softly.

I glance down at it, still half disbelieving. The way it glints in the light is like something out of a dream.

Jackson pulls me in again, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I close my eyes against the sudden rush of emotion flooding through me.

In the background, the boys are already arguing about who gets to draw the next sign for the wedding, their voices already drifting toward wild ideas about dragons and hockey sticks.

I laugh, my chest aching in the best way, as I turn into Jackson’s embrace.

“This is really happening,” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can think.

He pulls back just enough to meet my gaze, his eyes steady and impossibly soft.