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Nine.
Eight.
The chant of the crowd at this year’s masquerade ball is enough to make me shake with nerves.
This time last year I was convincing the woman I was falling in love with to give us a real chance after both of us making assumptions and reacting out of fear, and this year…well, this year is special.
Callie’s eyes find mine and gleam with mischievousness. Over the last year we’ve grown so close that I can tell what she is thinking just by looking in her eyes.
There’s the sleepy Callie that wakes up for work, but can’t function until she has at least two cups of coffee in her system. The one that likes quiet mornings, early nights, and walks through her garden in the spring. The adventurous hiker through the summer, and the curled-up version of her around the fireplace during the fall. The desire-drugged Imp who strangles the fuck out of my cock when she comes for me.
Only for me.
Three hundred and sixty-five days have made me an expert in my Imp. We’ve laughed, we’ve fought, and we’ve made enough cookies to feed a small country, but at the end of the day, Callista Snow is mine.
And I’m hers.
The countdown continues, and I step back from her, one hand going into the pocket of my slacks and closing around the small velvet box. My hands are damp and my stomach is doing somersaults.
As the clock strikes midnight, I drop down to one knee. The crowd around us goes completely silent.
Dragging the box out of my pocket, I open it. With my eyes locked on hers, I say, “Imp. I love you. I think I have loved you since the second you walked into the coffee shop and my jaw hit the floor at the sight of you. It took me three years to finally win you, and I couldn’t think of a better place to ask you to marry me than the place we chose each other a year ago. I don’t need vows to cherish and love you, but I want them anyway. I want your todays, your tomorrows, and every day after, if you’ll have me. Marry me?”
Callie’s hands cover her mouth, and her eyes shine with tears as she nods.
“Yes. Oh my God, yes.”
I shoot up from the ground and wrap my arms around her as the crowd cheers and hollers around us. My own eyes mist, and I bury my face in her hair to hide the emotion.
Pulling back from the hug, I kiss my woman. The familiar heady flavor of her is enough to drive me crazier than she normally does.
I end the kiss and pull the ring from the box. The princess cut diamond has emeralds around it, and the second I saw the ring on a trip to Arizona, I knew that it was Callie’s ring.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispers as I slide the ring on.
“Not as beautiful as you,” I whisper back.
“I love you.” I never get tired of hearing the words from her.
“Well, he finally frickin’ asked the question, Wildflower. That means you owe me a favor.”
I turn at the sound of Griffin’s voice and watch as his wife, Meadow, slaps his stomach in a backhanded hit. “You hush. You’re ruining the moment.”
Griffin walks toward me and pulls me into a hug while slapping my back. “Took you long enough, man. I’m happy for you.”
He lets me go and wraps his arms around Callie in a hug before twirling her in the air. “Congratulations, Chip.”
The sound of her carefree laughter has me reaching for her and shoving my friend away. “Hands off. Go manhandle your own woman.”
Griffin and Meadow both laugh as she and Callie lean their heads together to admire the ring. The two of them became fast friends earlier last year when we traveled to Arizona for their wedding. We flew out two weeks early for a vacation, and so that she could get to know Griffin. Since then, she and Meadow talk at least once a week and we’ve flown back and forth to visit.
Sam and Gunnar scoot into the circle, and I accept all the ribbing that comes with waiting a whole year to propose to the woman of my dreams. My hands stay locked around Callie’s waist while we accept congratulations and answer questions about the proposal.
“We need to do another game night,” Sam says.
With Imp’s competitive spirit, we haven’t missed a game night, and I can’t help but tease. “Sure, if you’re all ready to lose.”
Meadow and Griffin share a look. If I thought Imp and I were competitive, the two of them take it to a whole new level. Griffin nods at me. “It’s on. Set it up before we leave, Sam, so we can wipe the floors with these two.”
