Page 27 of Tempting Bo (Montgomery Dreams #2)
KENZIE
It was a surprise when Maggie called me and asked to spend the day together, but I had no plans. I get being lonely, especially with Oakley gone so much for school.
She's a teenage girl, and while she's plenty popular, it's still good for her to have older role models around. She hasn't wanted to hang out as much as she got older, but I remember when she was younger and would hang off Oakley and I like she worshiped us.
So I accepted the invitation for a girl’s day without a second thought.
And it's really nice.
She's a bratty little shit, through and through, but she’s still the same sweet kid I remember. We banter and tease each other as we shop and get our hair trimmed and our nails done. It's been forever since I had a manicure, but Maggie seems so excited that I can't say no.
It's not until the day is wrapping up that I notice a shift in her demeanor.
We're all freshly decked out in pretty new dresses and perfectly painted nails, but she's being oddly quiet. I let her sit with whatever’s on her mind for a little while as I grab us each a cup of coffee from the little place at the entrance of the mall.
She's still staring aimlessly at the table when I return, and she hardly flinches when I slide her coffee over to her.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I ask lightly. “You seem down.”
She startles, looking up from the table with wide eyes and a forced laugh. I just wait patiently, sipping at my latte.
“I'm not… I'm not upset or anything,” she says quietly. “I guess I'm just a little lonely. It sounds silly, I know.”
She laughs and shakes her head before taking a sip of her own sugary concoction, but I don't say anything. There's clearly something on her mind, and if I can help, I want to.
“It's just that Oakley and Bo both found, y'know, their person,” she continues. “You all met in high school, and it’s cute, but I just feel like I'm behind . I haven't met anyone I care about like that, and I feel like I'm going to miss out if I don’t find someone soon.”
I bite back my laughter because I know she won't understand. Sometimes I forget how young Maggie is, but she’s hardly past seventeen, and she's a romantic at heart.
She always used to say she was waiting for her own happy ending.
“You'll find your guy,” I promise, casual but not careless.
“It's not about how soon you find him, it's about knowing what's right for you.
If you look for someone to fill that gap right now, you'll just wind up compromising on important things.
But if you wait for the right guy, for the right time , it'll all click into place.
I promise, Maggie, you've got nothing to worry about.”
Doubt flickers in her eyes for a second, but she shakes it off quickly enough. I don't push her to talk about it more when she downs her coffee and starts babbling about something else, but the soft edge of my smile doesn't go anywhere.
It's good knowing that she trusts me like that.
She slowly ramps back up to her usual whirlwind self, snagging some of the bags as we make our way back out to the car. It's been ages since I went shopping just for the fun of it, and I think I had just as much as Maggie did today.
We sing along to the current top ten as we drive back to the farm, joking easily and teasing each other lightheartedly. It feels a lot like being a kid again.
My brows furrow in confusion when we pull up to the farm to find two extra cars in the driveway. A sleek little convertible I don't recognize is parked next to Jamie's beat up old truck, and Maggie snickers to herself as I park.
“Something I should know?” I ask jokingly.
My curiosity is burning, but Maggie has a playful light in her eyes that tells me there's a surprise coming somewhere.
“Nothing crazy,” she says with a shrug, already climbing out of the car. “Oakley and Jamie are back for the weekend, and your mom flew in for a few days too. Bo wanted to have a party.”
My heart warms at the thought of Bo putting something together for everyone. After all this mess, we deserve to let loose. And I haven't seen my mom in ages . She'll be so thrilled to see me and Bo together at long last.
I follow along as Maggie confidently leads me through the house and toward the back porch. We set our bags down on the kitchen table before making our way outside.
My jaw drops in shock at the sight I'm greeted with.
I've never seen the farm this spruced up. The back porch is decked out in twinkling string lights, coolers of beer and soda placed on one of the tables. The pathway back toward the pastures is for once clear of both dirt and cow shit.
It looks like something out of a movie.
The sun sets slowly behind the crop of trees at the edge of the property, casting everything in a warm orange glow.
It's still pretty cold out, and the temperature will only drop once the sun properly disappears, but I'm sure Bo won't mind if I steal a coat from his room.
Or just tuck my hands in the pockets of the one he's wearing.
Maggie ditches me as soon as we make it past the porch steps, scampering off to convince Oakley to let her have a beer. My mom and Hailey are wrapped up in conversation, David chuckling as he joins in every so often. Bo immediately disentangles himself from the group when he sees me.
I make my way over to him, drawn in like a magnet, and he holds out his arms with a delighted smile.
He’s a bit more dressed up than I expected—although with him, all that means is a clean shirt and jeans without holes in them.
Still, he looks good, wavy brown hair combed back out of his face and his stubble shaved to the barest shadow along his jaw.
“Are we celebrating successfully banishing the wicked witch?” I ask with a grin.
He laughs as he wraps me up in a hug, squeezing me tight.
“Something like that. Did you have a fun girl’s day?”
He's all jittery energy and wide smiles, bouncing on his heels as I tell him about the day and how nice it was to spend time with Maggie.
We chat for a little about nothing important, but then Bo clears his throat and takes my hands in his. I raise an amused brow as he squares his shoulders and rakes his gaze over my face.
“I wrote a whole speech, but I'm real bad at memorizing stuff, and I can hardly think when you're in front of me,” he says, his voice soft and sincere, but plenty loud enough to carry.
Everyone stops chattering and turns to look at us as my heart does somersaults in my chest. “I'm just so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you’re with me. I love you so much, and I don't ever want you to go anywhere.”
If I didn't know better, I’d say he was gearing up for a proposal.
Oh shit. Oh shit .
I got a haircut, and my nails done, and Maggie talked me into buying a pretty new dress and wearing it tonight. And Bo is spilling his heart out in front of his family, his hands shaking a little where they hold onto mine.
There's no way this is real.
There's no way this is happening.
“I don't want to spend a single day without you by my side, Kenz.”
He drops my hands and fumbles in his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box. My hands fly up to cover my mouth as I laugh, but there's no hiding the shocked, thrilled smile on my face. He gets on one knee in front of me and pries the box open.
Inside lies the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen in my life. The center is a small, teardrop shaped diamond, surrounded by tiny, glittering green stones. It's set in delicately wrought gold twisted to look like leaves.
My heart damn near flies out of my chest.
I'm nodding before he even gets the words out.
“MacKenzie Cross, will you make me the luckiest man in the world? Will you marry me?”
I don't even know if I say yes.
I shriek and squeal and toss myself into his arms, littering his face with kisses. I laugh, lyrical and bright, as he slips the ring over my finger, and I stare at it for a second before cupping his face and kissing him again.
I feel so light, so perfect, so happy .
He picks me up and spins me like a princess, his lips never once leaving mine.
“God, Bo.” I giggle the words against his mouth. “I'm going to be your wife.”
“Damn right you are,” he says proudly.
The rest of the night is a whirlwind of congratulations and pictures, and I cling to Bo’s side through it all. The ring glitters beautifully under the light of the moon as the sun finally sets, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at it.
I won't ever get tired of any of this.
I finally got my own happy ending, and I'm going to hold onto it with everything I've got.