Page 104 of Make it Real
“Callie Lou.”
She turned and gasped again, clamping her hands over her mouth when I liked nothing more than hearing those sweet sounds.
“I’d like to proposition you.”
She laughed, tears squeezing from her eyes already.
“You are the sunshine of every one of my days. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anybody. The only thing I want in this world is you. I want us. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” She swiped her hands across her cheeks and dropped to the floor with me, wrapping her arms around me.
I slipped the simple solitaire ring with a filigree band on her finger, pleased to see it was a perfect fit. I’d asked Harper to help me figure out the sizing. If Callie had suspected anything when they’d tried on rings ‘just for fun’ at the farmers’ market a few months ago, she’d never said.
“It was my mom’s.” I’d got through my whole proposal okay, but sharing this brought out a crack in my voice. “She wanted me to give it to you.”
“Oh.” She ran a hand over my cheek. “But she didn’t know me.”
“No. But she told my pop to have it ready for when I found the woman I couldn’t live without. And that’s you.”
Her mouth twisted, smiling as she fought tears. “I love you so much, Jed. This house is amazing, the ring is beautiful and so special, but I don’t need any of that. I just need you.”
“You’ve got me.” I pulled her to me, arranging us so she sat in my lap on the bare porch. “Today, tomorrow, for as long as we get.Youare my forever, Callie.”
I kissed her, echoing my promise in every touch of my lips, every stroke of my hands. This was it. A lifetime of togetherness and laughter and babies and farming and loving the heck out of each other awaited us. And I was ready for every minute.
She pulled back, the sassy light in her eyes making my stomach flip.
“I’m so glad I fake dated you.”
I laughed and kissed her on the nose. “It was all real.”
THE END
