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Where the fuck did that come from?
“Wow. I can’t believe you didn’t ask me this on a sticky note.” Her lips turned up in the corners, and my fucking chest ached at just the sight of her. “I never thought either were for me, but I also never thought I’d tell a man outside of my father that I loved him. Never thought I’d want to move in with a man or spend every night with him. So, I’m open to negotiations when the time comes. How about you?”
“Same. Never thought about either, and I’m definitely not there yet, but I can see it. I think about it. That last day you woke up in my bed, I just watched you sleep, and all these thoughts were flooding my mind.”
“That would normally be super creepy, but I can’t lie and say I haven’t watched you sleep many times. You look so peaceful when you sleep, and it’s the one time you aren’t aggravating me.” She chuckled.
“I like aggravating you, Queenie. I want to spend the rest of my life aggravating you.”
“Well, you did go all in on the tattoo. I think you’re kind of stuck with me now.”
“I hope so,” I said, tugging her mouth down to mine and kissing her hard.
Kissing her like she was mine.
“You think you two will get married someday?” Cutler asked, as he held Ruby’s hand in his, and the three of us walked toward the barn together on Demi’s parents’ property.
This was where they came to ride every Saturday. It was one of the most beautiful places in Magnolia Falls, and where Romeo wanted to ask Demi to marry him.
“I’d ask her today if I thought she’d say yes,” I said, and she shook her head with a big smile on her face.
“I think it’ll happen, and I can’t imagine there being a day that if he asked, I wouldn’t say yes.” She raised a brow as if she’d had the better answer.
“Well, today is about Uncle Ro and Beans.” I saw the group standing near the barn.
We’d been surprised that Romeo wanted everyone here when he proposed because he was a fairly private guy. But he knew his girl would want all the people she loved to be there, and that was what he’d wanted for her.
That was what you did when you loved someone. I used to give him shit, but now I got it. I understood it.
Nash came jogging up beside us, scooping up his son in one swift move. He held up the ring Romeo had left in his glove box. “Got it. And we’re cutting it close. He just texted that they are on their way back from their ride. We need to get everyone in the back room at the barn.”
Ruby, Peyton, Saylor, and Demi’s mom and grandmother had been decorating that back room all morning with Romeo. Ruby said it looked like something out of a movie.
Turns out, me and my boys were romantic as shit.
Never would have guessed it, but I’d been the one putting up a wall of sticky notes a few weeks ago, so you never know what you’ll do when you find that one person who makes you feel whole.
Ruby Rose had taken all my broken pieces and put me back together without even trying. Just by breathing. Existing.
We started jogging toward the barn, Cutler all laughs as we hustled everyone into the back room.
“Hey, River,” Slade, Demi’s brother, said. It was the first time I’d seen him in years, and I’d spent a lot of time hating this dude, but today, I was going to give him a chance. He’d put in the work, and he was coming to live in Magnolia Falls in a couple of months, and I was ready to put the past in my rearview.
Maybe it was because I had something I was looking forward to.
A future with this woman beside me.
With these people surrounding me.
“Hi. I’m glad you made it. Romeo really wanted you here, and I know your sister will be happy to see you.” I shook his hand and looked up to see his mom watching us with watery eyes.
Demi’s father was there, standing in the back corner, looking like an outsider. I still had my issues with the man after all he’d done to me and Romeo, but I was trying to get over that because of Demi. Even she hadn’t made a lot of progress in their relationship, and he and Demi’s mom were still separated, but he was here.
He’d shown up.
And sometimes that was all that mattered.
Showing up for the people you love. The rest would work itself out.
