Page 250 of Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout)
“I don’t deserve you,” he said, sending a glance over my shoulder. “But a smart man once told me that what matters most is that I spend the rest of my life trying to be the kind of man who deserves you. So that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna remember how fucking lucky I am, every single day. And I’m gonna do my best to be the best for you.
“Because you, Naomi Witt, are incredible. You’re beautiful. You’re sweet. You’ve got a fancy-ass vocabulary. You make people feel seen and heard. You make broken things whole again. Me. You made me whole. And every time you smile at me, I feel like I hit the lottery again.”
The tears were threatening to spill over, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. He opened the box, but I couldn’t see anything through the waterworks. Knowing Knox, the ring was over-the-top and somehow still exactly perfect.
“So I told you once. And now I’m gonna ask you. Marry me, Daze.”
I didn’t point out that he hadn’t exactly asked—it was more like he ordered. I was too busy nodding my head.
“Need you to say it, baby,” he coaxed.
“Yes.” I managed to get the word out and found myself against the very solid, very warm chest of my fiancé. Everyone I loved was cheering for us, and Knox was kissing me—in a very inappropriate way for having an audience.
He pulled back just an inch. “I love you so fucking much, Daisy.”
I gave a hitching sigh and tried not to start wailing. I managed a not very dignified nod.
“Now
you can say it,” he prompted me, cupping my face in his hands, those gray-blue eyes telling me exactly what he needed to hear.
“I love you, Knox.”
“Damn right you do, baby.”
He held me tightly, then released one arm and opened it. Waylay appeared and slid under it, grinning up at me through tears of her own. I wrapped my free arm around her, binding the three of us together. Waylon wedged his head between us and barked.
“You did good, Knox,” Waylay said. “I’m proud of you.”
“You about ready for some cake?” he asked her.
“Don’t forget to make a wish, honey,” I told her.
She grinned up at me. “Don’t gotta. I already got everything I wanted.”
And just like that, the tears were back.
“Me too, honey. Me too.”
“Okay. New family rule. Neither of you is allowed to cry ever again,” Knox said, his voice hoarse.
He sounded pretty serious about it. That just made us cry harder.
Later that night, after the party was over, the guests had gone home, and Knox had gotten me naked again, we lay in the dark in our room. His fingers traced lazy lines up and down my back as I cuddled against his chest.
Down the hall, half a dozen girls giggled in Waylay’s room.
Liza had wasted no time making good on her promise. She’d packed a suitcase and the dog dishes and was spending her first night in the cottage.
“Today was the best day,” I whispered, admiring how the ring on my finger caught the light from the bathroom and twinkled. I was right. It was over-the-top. A massive solitaire diamond flanked by three smaller stones on each side. I was going to need to start lifting weights with my other hand just to keep my muscles even.
Knox pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Every day since I met you has been the best day.”
“Don’t be sweet, or I’ll break your new family rule,” I warned him.
He shifted under me. “I got a couple of other things for you.”
“Knox, no offense, but after the best birthday party this town’s ever seen, Liza giving us the house, and you demanding I marry you in front of all our friends and family, I don’t think I can take anything else.”
