Page 93 of Summer Kisses

My forehead creased. "Why's that?"

"You were miserable before you two figured things out, and I couldn't imagine a lifetime of dealing with your grumpiness," Hudson said.

I shook my head. "I suppose you're right."

He placed his hand on his chest. "Of course I am. As the oldest brother, I'm always right."

"Thank you for the assist. I won't forget it."

"What are your plans? You can't build a woman a library and expect her to fall on her knees for you." Cooper asked.

I raised a brow. "Have you met Hazel? I'm fairly positive the library is all I need."

Hudson just gave me a look. "She'll want to be asked properly."

I chuckled. "Of course I'm going to ask her to marry me. I never got a chance last time. She had the ring on her finger, and I just announced I was her fiancé." The only thing was, shehadn't mentioned the engagement. Or asked if she should take the ring off. I liked seeing it on her finger. But it felt incomplete somehow.

I wanted her to be my real life fiancée. "You don't think it's too soon?"

"I've been a little slower with Elena because we're cognizant of her grandmother's health. She moved here to keep an eye on her, and I don't want to push Elena too fast to move in with me. I want to be sure Sofia's okay with it too."

"There's nothing holding us back. I want to make things official."

"We'll support you. No matter what," Hudson said, moving past me.

Shep leaned against the shelf, his arms crossed over his chest. "I can't believe you went to all this work for a woman."

Cooper shook his head. "I think it's nice."

"One day, you'll find someone who's worth all of this and more." I was confident there was someone out there, even for my middle brothers, and I couldn't wait to see them fall for a woman.

"I don't think so. I can't even imagine caring about someone so deeply that I'd build a library for them." Shep's tone wavered slightly.

"You never know what's going to happen. Your life can change in a second," Cooper said, and I assumed he was talking about Dalton. That had certainly been the case for him.

Dalton had bought the beach house we'd toured and moved in. We were working on getting his bathrooms and kitchen updated in time for the baby's birth. Next, Mom would throw him the baby shower, and we'd decorate the nursery. I was proud of how much Dalton had grown up with the news that he was going to be a father.

I clapped my hands together. "I need you guys to get out of here so I can get everything ready for tonight."

Once they were gone, I jumped in the shower to get rid of the residual sawdust. The caterer would be here soon with the food. I didn't want a server interfering on our night together, so I'd only paid for the food and the delivery.

I wore slacks and a button-down, nicer than my usual clothes but not so nice that I'd reveal the surprise when Hazel arrived home.

Downstairs, I threw a white tablecloth over the desk and set it with the nicest dishes I owned. Once the food arrived, I kept it on warming plates in the kitchen.

I lit candles throughout the room to give it ambiance and then waited for Hazel to come home. When her car pulled into the driveway, I met her on the porch.

She threw her arms around my neck. "This is a nice surprise."

"I missed you." I buried my face in the crook of her neck. The nightly talks on the phone were nice, but there was no substitute for her being in my arms.

"I want to take a bath and sleep. In that order."

I raised a brow as she eased away from me. "I ordered food."

She grinned. "Perfect. I'm starved."

"Can I show you something before we eat?" I asked her, suddenly nervous.

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