Page 25 of 12 Months of Mayhem

Chapter Eleven

Ryian

Valentine’s Day

It was Valentine’s Day, but it seemed so surreal. It didn’t seem possible that only yesterday I was wondering if I’d ever see Dalton again, and yet today we were walking back into his house like it was just another day.

We had dropped my mom off on our way home, and I’d gone up with her to get my gift for Dalton. Part of it was in the fancy bag I had neatly prepared; the rest was in my pocket, and I couldn’t wait to give it to him.

Anson ran for his room to play with his toys that he’d missed during the days we were holed up at my uncle’s clubhouse. I hung up my jacket and turned to face the man I loved.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmured as he took me in his arms.

“I haven’t even given you your gift,” I argued, then laughed.

“I believe that’s false. You have given me the second most precious gift anyone could give me. And it’s even better because this time I get to be with you through your pregnancy. I’ll get to see you grow our child,” he excitedly said.

I rolled my eyes. “You mean grow big and fat?”

He swatted my butt playfully. “Hey, you are beautiful, and growing my child is only going to make you more beautiful.”

I snorted.

He smacked my butt again. Then he took my hand and excitedly led me to his bedroom. “Sit,” he encouraged as he gently sat me on the edge of the bed. Then he went to his closet and bent down. For a moment, he seemed to rummage around. I thought I heard the clink of glass at one point. He stood up with something big in his arms. When he turned around, I busted out laughing.

His grin was huge, and he was so proud of himself.

He set the basket on the bed next to me—the laundry basket full of what looked like all of my favorites. As I went through it, I squealed at each discovery.

“Oh! I have one more thing!” He moved to get to his feet, but I stopped him.

“Wait, I have your gift first,” I told him. I reached behind me for the bag, but he stopped my hand.

“Me first?” he pleaded.

“How about we exchange them at the same time?” I asked, then bit my lip. I was suddenly nervous, even though I knew he would love my gift.

“Okay,” he agreed.

As I pulled the bag around, he dropped to his knee at my side. My heart stopped. Because surely he wasn’t….

“I’m waiting for my gift. I decided I wanted mine first, then you get the rest of yours,” he teased, and I shook off the unexpected disappointment with a laugh.

I handed him the bag, and he pulled out the tissue paper. When he peeked in the bag, his jaw dropped.

“You like it?” I asked, worried for a moment that I may have messed up. I knew nothing about tattoo guns at all.

“Damn, baby, I love it. I just… I think I maybe mentioned this to you once.”

I chuckled. “Um, you mentioned it a few more times than once, but um yeah. They said you’ll still have to get the needles since I had no idea what type you used or anything about it.”

“Thank you so much,” he said before setting the bag on the floor next to him. “My turn.”

“Okay,” I replied with a smile.

He reached in his pocket, and the sparkle hit me before I realized it was a ring. It quickly registered, though. “Ryian, will you marry me?”

I burst into tears, and his face fell.

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