Page 63 of Forever After All

"Carter, are you crazy?" I ask. "Like, genuinely, do you need some help? We've been official for about two weeks," I ask, wondering whether this is a practical joke or not. I’m half tempted to look for the TV crew there to tell me I gotPunk’d.

"Alice, you've been my girlfriend for two weeks, but you've been mine for thirteen months, four weeks, one day, and about"—he looks at his watch—"eleven hours." He grins, like it’s completely normal to say.

"So, fourteen months then?" I ask, not knowing how else to answer, even though I’m aware I sound like an idiot.

"Not quite," he replies with a grin.

"What?" I ask, internally chastising myself for not listening when he told me he was going to marry me. I wish I was more prepared for this incredible moment.

"Will you marry me?" he asks again. "I swear to god, princess, I'll beg you, on my knees, every fucking day if I need to. Alice, I am not worthy of you, but I'll spend every day of my life trying to be."

I nod my head and whisper, "Yes, yes I'll marry you." I press my hand to my mouth to stem the girly urge to scream and jump up and down.

"Say that again." He grins up at me, looking like the happiest man on the planet, and it fills my heart with so much joy.

"Yes, big guy, I'll marry you. I want to be your wife. Now, come up here and kiss me." I hold his head in my hands, and he pulls away from me to stand, then laces his arm around my back, pulling me into him.

Carter brushes my hair off my shoulder and kisses me so gently that I melt under his touch. I lean into the kiss a little more as he explores my mouth with his tongue, and butterflies swirl in my belly.

To be loved, is to be known.

Chapter 32

Alice

One week later, we pull up to Autumn and Sawyer's newly finished home. Keeping our engagement a secret has almost killed me. We promised not to tell anyone until everyone could be together, so for the best part of a week, I’ve avoided my best friend like the plague. We plan to dial my parents in on a video call so they can be part of the announcement, so with every message and call we have made to each other, I've done my best not to blurt out our news.

I hop out of Carter's truck, feet crunching on the ground, and he walks by my side and gently taps my ass. I feel the satisfying bounce as he does. Apparently, he does too.

"Princess, did your butt get even better somehow?" Carter asks in a low whisper.

I giggle in return.

With a bottle of champagne in one hand, I ring the bell with my other, and Jed starts to bark. The Green family are herefor the housewarming. Carter's parents, Claudia and Frank. His other brother Oliver, his wife, Lottie, and their daughter, Poppy. Even Lainey, their sister, has made it home from working overseas.

"Coming!" I hear her shout from the far end of the house, and her distorted image comes into view through the frosted glass. The door swings open and my best friend pulls me into a hug.

"God, I missed you, Ali," she chimes in my ear. "Are you okay? Like, really okay?" she asks, and I nod against her.

"I missed you too," I answer, squeezing her harder. "I'm better than okay," I reply, and she pulls away from me to hold me by the shoulders, looking at be quizzically.

Jed comes running through the house, panting, and bashes into my legs, desperate for attention from his Auntie Alice. I break away from Autumn and crouch down to greet my furry best friend as he slobbers over me

"Missed you too, boy." I ruffle his ears, with the hand not holding the bottle and he playfully howls before getting the zoomies around the house. His feet causing chaos against the wooden flooring. Jed crashes into me and I drop the champagne. It smashes to the floor, breaks and floods the brand-new hardwood.

"Jed!" Sawyer shouts from behind us and he moves faster than I know possible, scooping Jed up into his arms. A big, burly mancarrying a lump of a dog will never not be cute to me. "You're a dumb dog, you know that?" He nestles into Jed's fur. "You could've hurt yourself," he grumbles.

Seeing my best friend's husband treating their dog like a baby is hilarious.

"I'm gonna take him outside," he says. "I don't want him to cut his paws." Then he walks to the back of the house, into the yard, pulling the back door shut behind him.

"Autumn, I'm so sorry." I panic a little, seeing the champagne spreading out slowly on the floor.

"Hey, don't worry," she says, frantically gathering towels and a dustpan and broom. "Someone had to christen the floor, I'm just glad it wasn't me. It wasn't your fault, it was Jed's." She beams at me before throwing a large towel down over the mess, then brushes her dark hair out of her face with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where anything is," I chime in, standing there feeling useless. "Otherwise, I'd help."

"I think that's my cue to leave," Carter says from beside me. "I'm going to find my brother." He dodges broken glass and a puddle of champagne before leaving through the back of the house to join Sawyer and Jed outside.

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