Page 79 of A Holly Brown Christmas
“Is there a bell on it? That’s amazing! A little jingle bell!”
“Why don’t you check it out?” Lucas prompted.
“Okay…” Reaching for Shmoop, she gently scratched behind his ears and examined the hat a little more closely. On the fluffy pom-pom, she spotted something silver beside the tiniest little bell. “What in the world…?”
Beside her, Lucas got down on one knee and carefully removed the object.
A ring.
“Holly Brown, you are everything to me. You are light and love and happiness. You are everything that is good in this world. I love the life we are creating together, and I desperately want so much more with you. I want you to be my wife. My forever. Will you marry me?”
As usual, whenever Lucas did anything incredibly sweet or romantic, it made tears come to her eyes. She nodded and slid down to the floor with him, hugging him tightly.
Shmoop barked and danced around them like he was already celebrating.
But she didn’t mind. She was kissing Lucas and he was kissing her back, and it was perfect. And when they broke apart, he slid the ring onto her finger, and it was gorgeous.
“Okay, now this Christmas is definitely better than last year’s!” she told him. “I love you.”
“Love you too!”
And Shmoop got the last word, barking in agreement.
