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Tucker

One year later

I’m wearing a wizard robe in public. But the look on Sam’s face when I stepped out of the bathroom on the jet was worth a few hours of embarrassment. Per my request, our family and friends dressed in Harry Potter robes.

Sam will never see the plot twist coming. With Eden at her side, Sam points at various places in the village. We can see Hogwarts from a distance, the castle lit up in the darkness. The closer we get to it, the more nervous I become.

Trent is on my left, pushing Teddy and Thea in their stroller with Jemma at his side. My niece and nephew are tiny and fragile twins and only a few months old, sleeping peacefully.

My family is here—Trent, Tye, Ava, and my parents. My half-brother, Blake, and his family even joined us. I hoped my friends could make it, but with our hockey schedules not lining up, it was hard enough to steal Trent away for the weekend.

My dad touches my shoulder to get my attention. “Don’t worry,” he says under his breath. “She’ll say yes.”

I look at Sam, a few feet in front of me, taking pictures with her phone.

“What if everything goes wrong?”

“You can’t think like that, Tuck.” He taps my back. “Sam will remember this day for the rest of her life.”

“Mom told you no the first few times you asked her to marry you.”

He laughs at the memory. “Our circumstances were different. She wanted me to ask her when she wasn’t pregnant with your sister. And then she got pregnant with Tye. We didn’t have the best timing, but she still said yes. Eventually.”

“I hope the timing is right.”

I don’t mean with Sam. The show I’m about to put on for her requires perfect timing. I planned it out for weeks and paid a lot of money to make this happen.

“It will be. I already talked to the park staff. Everything is in place.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Dad.”

He squeezes my shoulder, smiling.

When we approach the castle, security guards are waiting for us. The park closed an hour ago. They allow us to pass, waving us on. My throat closes as we approach the dark castle, illuminated by a bright display of colored lights.

I reach into my pockets for the ring box and my wand.

Sam stops when we reach a roped-off area and turns to face me.

She bites her bottom lip. “I want to go inside.”

“We are.” I take her hand, the wand in the other. “But I want to show you something first.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Okay… what are you up to, Tucker?”

With my family standing a few feet from us, I look at my dad, who nods to keep going. My hands are shaking, and Sam can feel it, too. She glances down and sees the wand in my hand.

“Tucker?”

Her eyes grow as wide as her mouth.

“I love you, Samantha. I love you like Harry loves his parents. I love you like Hermione loves books. I love you like Ron loves food…”

Tears spill down her cheeks, but she manages to laugh. “I love that you now know this. I love you, too, Tucker.”

I hold the wand to the sky and point in the castle's direction. Sam watches in disbelief as each word appears in the sky.

Will.

You.

Marry.

Me.

Sam covers her mouth with her hand, staring at the words for what feels like an eternity before she drops her hand and looks at me.

I get down on one knee, still holding her hand with the ring box in the other. “What do you say, Sam? Will you marry me?”

She drops to her knees, throws her arms around my neck, and kisses me. My family claps. I hear my mom crying. I think my dad is, too, trying to hide it.

When our lips separate, I whisper against her lips. “I guess that’s a yes.”

Her tears wet my face. “I’m yours, Tucker. Always.”

“Always,” I echo.

And with one word, Sam just made me the luckiest man in the world.