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With that, Darby shoulder-checked Mal.
Too stunned at the events that’d just unfolded, I wasn’t prepared to be hauled along in the twins’ wake.
Nor was I prepared for the hug that Callum smothered me in moments later.
The entire thing had to have taken all of two or three minutes, but I felt… at peace.
Hearing Darby’s words, as well as knowing that I’d done nothing wrong when it came to Mal?
“You okay?” Callum asked, pushing Bourne away.
Booth didn’t let go of my hand, and that was when I realized just what, exactly, Callum had given me.
Another family.
I’d been blessed with Malloy. Now I was infinitely blessed with Callum’s family.
His brothers. His sister. His friends. His nieces and nephews. There wasn’t a single thing I could ask for anymore that I didn’t have now.
Callum had given it all to me.
I stared into his eyes for a few long seconds when I said, “I love you, Callum Valentine.”
Callum’s eyes went soft. “I love you, too, baby.”
I felt tears forming in my eyes, and it took me a few minutes to compose myself before I said, “What are we still standing here for? Let’s finish this race.”
And you remember how I thought I had everything that I wanted just a few seconds ago? How I was happy with my life?
Well, I was wrong.
And Callum was about to show me just how much.Chapter 19I swear I was normal two brothers ago.
-Callum to Ace
Callum
Desi jogged at my side, tired, hot and sweaty, and sexy beyond belief.
Even after running as far and as long as she had, after trudging through muddy water, after lying face first in mud that was as thick as could be, she was still extraordinarily beautiful.
Even dirt-streaked, red-faced and panting.
“You’re beautiful,” I said as we jogged the last hundred and fifty yards to the finish line.
She tossed me a half-hearted snort. “I’m pretty sure I have mud in places that there shouldn’t be mud. My feet hurt. My thighs are chafed because they’re rubbing together, and I’m fairly sure that I am going to devour a hamburger here in a minute and I’m not even going to give a fuck. And a beer. Well, maybe a Dr. Pepper. A beer doesn’t sound as good right now. I haven’t quite decided.”
I placed my hand on my pocket to make sure that the box was still where I’d left it and was about to unzip my shorts to get to the hidden pocket when my footing slipped.
I went down in the mud-stained, wet grass and landed on my back, staring up at the darkening sky that showed the impending storm that was about to roll through.
Honestly, I was glad as fuck that I wasn’t going to have to continue all the obstacles in the rain as well as the mud. Both would make the tasks just that much harder.
As I contemplated just lying here to die—because I really was that tired after all the helping and doing of the obstacles—I felt a soft toe tap into my side.
“Hey you,” Desi said. “Are you going to get back up?”
I grinned and opened my eyes.
“I guess,” I said, holding out my hand for her to help me up.
While she slipped one hand into mine, I slipped the other into my pocket and pulled out the ring.
And when she went to pull me to my feet, I stilled and looked back up at the woman that made me so happy I couldn’t freakin’ breathe.
“Desi?” I said softly.
A couple passed us that’d been staying with us the entire way.
We’d helped each other quite a few times during the long race.
They stopped just short of finishing and called our names.
“Come on!” the woman said.
I held up a finger and said, “Just one second. Since I’m already down here…”
“Since you’re already down… Callum, oh my God. What are you doing?” Desi breathed, seeing the velvet box in my hand.
I grinned at my girl.
“I’m asking you to marry me,” I told her. “Now shut up so I can propose.”
“You know how I like my steak cooked,” I said to her stunned face. “You know my favorite icing. You know what I like to do at the end of a long day. You know how I like my pants folded. You know how I like my shirts ironed. You know that every other Tuesday I cut my hair, and you know that I love my family. You know that one day it’s my dream to build a new house, and you also know that I want a whole bunch of kids. What you do not know is that I know everything about you, too.”
I licked my lips as Desi covered her mouth. “I know that you like your steak cooked medium. You like your icing with sprinkles in it. You like your pants hung in the closet, and that you don’t iron worth a shit. I know that you haven’t gone to the hairdresser in five years because you’re scared somebody might hack it off on accident, and I know that you want a two-story house in the middle of a hilly pasture with five kids making it a home. What I want to know now is if you’ll marry and share your dream with me, too.”
