Page 48 of That Time I Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend

She unties the small pouch, flips it over and blinks at what drops into her hand. “It’s a snowman,” she whispers, staring at the tiny charm cradled in her palm.

“For your bracelet. To symbolize our first Christmas as a real couple.”

She gulps again and nods, then she turns to me, her eyes welling up. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

Her cheeks flush pink, and she comes toward me, shoving the sleeves of her Beau Slater pajamas up her arm. Then she lifts her wrist and hands me the charm. “Will you do the honors?”

I gently turn her wrist over and release the clasp to add the new charm to the rest. And as I clip the bracelet back on, my whole body floods with warmth. From the softness of her skin. The shine in her eyes. The bright future ahead.

For us.

“I love it, Beau. I loveyou. Thank you so much.” When she moves in to kiss me, I glance over her shoulder out the bay window.

“What if I told you there’s more where that came from?”

“I don’t need anything else,” she says. “You and Nicolas Cage’s hot abs and this snowman charm are all I want for Christmas.” When I reach for her hand, she tilts her head.

“Trust me,” I say. Then I lead her to the entryway. There’s a pair of boots and a jacket on a bench that Brady planted for me earlier. While Kasey tugs on the boots and jacket, my pulse starts to race. I wait for her to stand and, with a flourish, I pull the door open wide.

There, in the middle of the Graham’s walkway, is a freshly-built snowman. But this is a real one.

He’s got on a top hat and a carrot for a nose. Three Oreo cookies act as buttons. His arms are two sticks with a silver tray balanced across them. In the center is a small velvet box.

“Beau!” Kasey squeaks. “Thatis not a charm.” Her knees start to buckle, and I wrap an arm around her waist.

“Don’t quit on me now, Kasey Graham. Let’s go say hi to Frosty.” As we trudge across the yard, I gulp, trying to act cool, but my heart is banging against my ribs. When we reach the snowman, I pick up the box and drop to a knee.

If the snow is cold, I can’t tell.

“Ohhhhh.” Kasey sucks in a breath, and I gaze up at her.

“I know this might seem fast,” I say quickly, “but I can’t wait any longer.” My voice catches, and Kasey exhales. It’s like we’re in sync, breathing for each other. “I can’t believe I waited this long in the first place,” I continue, and she nods at me, lids fluttering. “I waited all morning. And six months before that.” My heart pounds inside my chest. “The truth is I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment. Everything between us has all been leading up to … this.”

I pop open the box with a soft snap, and inside is the ring: a perfect solitaire with sapphire baguettes on either side.

“Beau,” Kasey says on a gasp.

“The two smaller stones are for our past and our present,” I tell her.

“They’re beautiful.” She sniffles, her eyes bright.

“Those sapphires are just drops in the bucket compared to the diamond that represents what I want for us.”

“What do you want?” she asks.

“Forever,” I say. “With you.”

A bright tear rolls down Kasey’s cheek, and I almost leap to my feet so I can kiss it, but I have to ask the question first. And if she answers yes, I’ll be there for every other drop of joy life brings us. For the rest of our lives.

“Kasey Elizabeth Graham, will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife, while I travel this world as your devoted husband?”

Another tear dribbles down the other side of her face, and she sniffles and nods and blurts out, “Yes. Yes. YES! I’m dying to marry you, Beau Slater!”

I leap to my feet and wrap my arms around Kasey, who buries her face in the neck of the suit. It’s possible dressing as Santa was a miss. But the woman I love said yes to me anyway, so I wouldn’t change a single thing about today.

“Your proposal was perfect,” Kasey says, tipping her face up to mine. “Better than anything I could’ve come up with. And I’m the writer in the family.” Then she goes up on her toes and presses her lips to mine. They’re soft and sweet and wet with tears. Happy tears.

The happiest tears.

---