Page 55 of You’re Mine

I hand it over, smiling. Jace closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Haley Jones, will you marry me?” He holds up the ring box.

I nod, with tears in my eyes.

“Yes, Jace, of course I’ll marry you!” He takes the ring out and slips it onto my finger. It fits perfectly.

Letting out a big exhale, Jace gives me a passionate kiss. His hands cup both sides of my face, and I hold on to his arms, not wanting to let go. When we break apart, we realize that both of our towels have fallen.

“We can just leave this segment out when we tell our grandkids,” Jace says, deadpan. I giggle and kiss him again.

After more making out, Jace and I finally leave the bathroom. We get dressed, but I keep stopping and starting, obsessed with staring at my finger. I’m going to be Mrs. Jace King. I was writing that name in my notebooks years ago, and now, it’s becoming a reality. Our wedding is going to be amazing, and even if it’s a train wreck, being married to Jace will be worth it all.

Once we’re both fully clothed, Jace leads me to the kitchen. There are a bunch of ingredients on the kitchen counter, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with this information. He throws me a sheepish look.

“I was going to cook this while you took a shower, but things got pushed way off track, so I’ll have to make the meal now,” Jace explains. I laugh because his proposal was thrown out of whack with my discovery, and all because of our shower sex.

“You’re sweet,” I say with a smile. “How about if we cook together? It’s so much more fun.” Jace considers it and then nods.

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll talk you through what we’re making.”

It’s cute how he’s orchestrated this whole thing, only to see it go off the rails. But still, I appreciate the effort he’s made. I’ll always appreciate this man. Jace gets out the food we’ll need from the fridge and then starts preparing like a professional chef. The meal is a lot more complicated than I predicted because usually, when we cook together, we make something simple like pasta. But I guess Jace wanted to be fancy for the proposal. Thus, he’s making a French dish with a name I can’t even pronounce. Again, I’m touched by his eagerness, and smile through my tears again.

We’ve finally reached the end, and the two of us have plated our individual creations. Jace’s looks like something you might serve in a restaurant, while mine looks like something you might put in the garbage pile at a restaurant.

“I tried,” I giggle.

“You did.” I can’t help but compare our plates since they’re right next to one another. Mine looks pathetic, but then Jace just switches our plates so that I can have his creation.

“I’m sure it tastes good.” He goes to sit down, and I pick up the one he made, going after him.

“Wait, you should have the good one since you made it. I feel bad that you’re swapping them out.” He always giving me all the good stuff because he’s generous that way, and loves to treat me well. He refuses.

“Hey, you’re my new fiancée, and I want to spoil you a little, okay sweetheart?” I’m not going to argue, so I take my seat across from him and bite into the cheesy goodness. It’s so delicious that I audibly moan.

“Yum, it’s so good!”

“Yours isn’t half-bad, baby,” he adds, chewing thoughtfully. I smile and dive in again, taking heaping spoonfuls.

I finish it way too soon, but hunger still gnaws in my gut. I get a sudden craving to dip some pretzels in mayo, so I help myself and start snacking away. Jace throws me a weird look.

“What is it?” I ask innocently with a satisfying crunch.

“That’s just a weird combo. I’ve never seen someone do that before.”

“Well, be prepared for weirder ones,” I comment.

He throws me another strange look.

“Why?”

“You know, cravings?” I’m in disbelief. How can Jace not understand cravings? Salty is my downfall, although sweet sometimes has its day too. Suddenly, he shoots me a sharp look.

“You have cravings? Haley, you don’t get cravings. Wait a minute, are you pregnant?” Why is asking me if I’m pregnant. Didn’t I tell him after the proposal? I thought I did…

Oh wait, maybe I didn’t.

I just super bungled my pregnancy announcement. Suddenly, I laugh out loud, filled with joy. It seems that Jace and I are two peas in a pod, since neither of us is good at delivering important information in a graceful manner. He reads my mind.

“Give me your speech.”

“Huh?” I ask.

Jace merely grins.

“I got to give you mine, so I want to hear yours too. I’ll pretend like I’m hearing it for the first time. Just start whenever you’re ready.”

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