Page 91 of Tattoo My Heart
Cal takes a step forward, slides a hand under my hair, cupping the back of my head, then massaging slowly.
“How about we both ask what we want to ask at the same time?” he suggests.
My eyes fill with tears that blind me in their quest to spill down my cheeks. Cal’s voice is soft and soothing. I am so in love with him, even more today than before, I can’t think straight for most of the time.
“Okay,” I whisper back.
“Okay,” he repeats, sounding a little nervous now as well. That makes me feel better. “We’ll say it together. At the count of three…”
“Three,” I start the countdown, ready to get this done and over with. My heart can’t handle anything more. “Two…”
“One,” he finishes.
I am holding my breath, waiting for him to say what he needs to, but he does the same.
“You cheated!”
“You did!”
We both bust out laughing when we say it at the same time. We should’ve known that nothing ever goes according to plan when it comes to us. It’s always off the seat of our pants, improvising as we go.
“I want you to marry me,” I finally say, absolutely no tact to my words.
“Will you marry me?” Cal says at the same time.
We both freeze, our faces a mask of shock as we stare at each other. I swallow hard, waiting for what’s next.
“Yes!” we both say again.
Laughter bubbles in my chest. It hurts from the effort I’m making not to act like a fool. When Cal grabs me by the waist and picks me up, then starts spinning me in circles, I let it all out.
From somewhere in the near distance, I can hear our parents and friends clapping and yelling their congratulations, but I can’t focus on much other than Cal right now.
“I love you so fuckin’ much,” he whispers in my ear when we finally stop. “I want to yell it off the top of my lungs, but their kid would probably run around repeating thefword until Carrie killed us both.”
“I agree,” I snort in laughter.
They all stay away just long enough to give us a moment to ourselves before they swarm us. First, James and Carrie’s small son slams into our legs, almost causing us to topple over. That’s followed by his parents, who are now dealing with a bit of a fussy baby, and our own parents, who are just besides themselves with happiness.
“Everybody, hold up,” Cal calls over the group. “There’s just one more thing!”
“Yes, I have one more thing, too,” I squeal, my voice coming out a bit higher than I was hoping. I manage to startle the baby into getting quiet.
They all take a step back as a unit, which leaves me and Cal standing in the middle, staring at each other.
“My thing is more important,” Cal grins at me as he reaches into the pocket of his jeans.
My hand goes to the pocket of my skirt. “Wanna bet?”
“I got a ring!” He raises his arm above his head, ring shaped box proudly held up.
I try to match his energy and do the same, but my voice refuses to cooperate all of a sudden. My hand is shaking so hard when I finally pull it out of the pocket of my skirt, I feel like I am about to pass out.
“I have a baby,” I say softly.
Everyone falls quiet, with Cal leading them into it. He just stares at me, then his eyes drop to my stomach. It’s still looking flat because it’s early days, but… there’s definitely a baby cooking in there.
“Are you serious?”
