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I follow along behind him. “Where are we going?” I ask when he doesn’t go to the living room or even the kitchen. Instead, he heads to the opposite side of the house where the bedrooms are. “Mark?” I ask, and he keeps on walking, Daisy’s seat in his arms until he reaches one of the bedroom doors.
“Close your eyes,” he instructs.
“What’s going on?” I ask, confused.
“Please? Just close your eyes.”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly. My eyes flutter closed. I hear the door open and feel his arm slide around my waist.
“I’ve got you. Just step forward,” he says, his lips next to my ear. Once we’re in the room, he releases his hold on me. “Give me just a second. Keep them closed.”
“You know this is killing me, right? What are you doing?” I can hear him moving around, but the sound gives nothing away.
“Almost ready.”
I wait, shifting from one foot to the next, antsy for what’s about to happen. I have no idea what he’s up to, but I’m sure whatever it is, it involves the baby. He’s been adamant the last couple of weeks making it known he wants the package deal. It’s hard to tell what he’s done.
“I’m going to count to three and you can open your eyes. Are you ready?” he asks, teasing me.
“Really?” I laugh.
“Thought so.” His deep chuckle washes over me. “Okay, open,” his deep timbre whispers.
I blink my eyes open. Immediately, my hand flies to cover my mouth. We’re standing in the middle of the most beautiful nursery I’ve ever seen before. Each of the four walls are painted in soft pastel colors of purple, pink, yellow, and green. There’s a white crib, a changing table, dresser, and a rocking chair. The white wood stands out against the colors on the wall. Over the baby bed, hangs the letters of her name. The strings are white, and each letter is painted bright colors of blue, orange, pink, green, and yellow.
“Crazy daisies,” he says from behind me.
“How did you? When did you?” I turn to look at him, and he has Daisy in his arms.
He shrugs. “I had some time on my hands when you asked me to leave, and later when I was here without you. I used it wisely.”
“Mark, this is— It’s incredible.” I turn, taking in every detail. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”
“I told you I picked up a few things,” he says.
“This is more than a few things. This is everything she needs.”
“The changing table has diapers and a wipe warmer. The sales lady assured me it was an essential item. There are some clothes of all sizes in the closet. Those are from Mom, Reagan, Kendall, and Amelia. The guys helped with painting and assembly. Reagan, Kendall, and Mom made me a list of what we would need, and I went shopping. This is what I came up with. I know there is a lot more that we’re going to need, but this will get us started.”
“You think?” I go to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, careful of the baby. His free arm wraps around me, hugging me tightly. “This is a lot of work for her to have a place to stay when we’re here. I can’t believe you did all of this.” I look up at him. “I love you. My heart is full.”
“I love you too.” He drops his arm from around my waist and walks to the bed where he places Daisy. “You’re home now, Daisy girl,” he whispers, leaning over the edge to kiss her tiny forehead.
Tears sting my eyes. “Mark,” I say, but it comes out more like a sob.
“I got her a shirt. You want to see it?” he asks. I nod because words aren’t possible at the moment. “Come here.” He motions for me to join him by the crib.
One step at a time, my feet carry me to them. Mark steps back and gives me a clear view of Daisy in her bed. Peering over the bed, I take in her sleeping form. Her little lips are puckered as she sleeps. She makes the cutest faces. My eyes scan her shirt and I read it. Then read it again.
Mommy and Daddy’s Angel.
I turn to look at Mark, only to find him down on one knee holding a gorgeous sparkling diamond ring. “I love you, Dawn. I love that little girl, and I’m tired of being in limbo. I’m tired of worrying if where I want us to go is where you want us to go. I want forever, Pixie. I want to know that at the end of each day, you and Daisy are going to be here, in the home I bought for us. I didn’t get a chance to tell you that. This place, I want it full of Daisy’s brothers and sisters. I want a swing set in the backyard and lounge chairs on the deck for us to watch our children grow.” He smiles, and it lights up his face. “My love for you and for that little girl, that was my unexpected fall. It came out of nowhere, but I want it. I want you both in my life, in my home, in my arms. I promise that I’ll always be there to catch you.”
Tears are falling and my vision is blurry. My heart, it beats for this man. “Yes,” I say through my tears.
“I didn’t ask you yet.” He smiles up at me.
I drop to my knees before him. “Mark Adams, will you—” I start, but he places his hand over my mouth.
“No way, sweetheart, you are not stealing my thunder.” He drops his hand and takes my left hand, ring poised at the tip of my finger. “Dawn Miller, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes.” I launch myself at him, fusing our lips together. He falls back onto the floor, me on top of him, never breaking our kiss.
“I love you,” he says, finally pulling away. He smooths my hair back out of my eyes from where I’m staring down at him. “I love her too. I want us to get married and adopt her together. I know that means this will have to happen fast, but….” He trails off, not sure of what I’m going to say.
“Yes. Yes, to all of it. Yes.” He pulls me into a hug, and just like that, the worry and the fear are gone. I know that no matter what I do in my life, with this man by my side, we can conquer anything.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mark
She said yes. My arms are locked tightly around her, holding her close. In the back of my mind, there was this fear she would say no. That she would struggle to prove she can raise Daisy on her own. I was prepared to change her mind. To fight to prove to her that she’s never going to be alone as long as I’m still breathing.
My hand slips under the back of her shirt, feeling her soft skin. “We need to pack up your place,” I tell her. “I was going to do it for you, but I didn’t want to overstep, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure you would say yes.”
She lifts her head. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” I cup her face in my hand. “You’ve been through so much, I wasn’t sure. I was hopeful.” I give her a smile.
“Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never.” I roll us over on the floor, so I’m hovering over her. “I’m always going to be right here.” Sliding my hand under the front of her shirt, I run the pad of my thumb over her nipple. Even through the silky material of her bra, I can feel the pebbled peak.
“Should we move?” she asks, motioning her head toward the crib.
“She’s sleeping, and even then, she has no idea what I’m about to do to you.”
“It feels… weird,” she says, sc
runching up her nose and looking cute as hell.
“Right.” Standing from the floor, I turn the baby monitor on and offer her my hand, helping her up. “This thing is pretty cool. We can see and hear her in our room. Come on. I’ll show you.” I guide her down the hall to our bedroom.
Our bedroom.
“See.” I go to the nightstand and point to the small screen.
“Aww,” she says, picking it up to get a closer look.
“I read a lot of reviews online, and this is the best rated one I could find. I liked the video option so we can see her and not have to go into her room and risk waking her up.”
“You thought of everything.”
I fight the urge to puff out my chest at her recognition, and the fact that I’m taking care of my girls. That’s all I want. “Not everything. I’m sure there are things that I’m missing.”
“Maybe, but that’s going to be our life as she grows.”
“I like the sound of that.” I snake my arm around her waist. I need her close.
“Me too.” She looks up at me and then holds her left hand out in front of her. “We’re getting married.”
“Mrs. Adams,” I say, kissing her softly, tracing her lips with my tongue.
“Tell me I’m not dreaming. Is this really happening?”
“As soon as we can make it happen.”
“How soon?” she asks, kissing the underside of my jaw.
“How soon can you plan a wedding?”
Sadness crosses her face. “I-I don’t really know. I always imagined that when I was married, they would be there, you know? All three of them.”
“I wish they could be here too. They will be. They’re here.” I place my hand over her heart.
“They liked you. They’d be happy for us.”
“There is no one who will love you the way that I do.” I give her my truth.
“I believe that,” she says. “I guess we should talk about what we want and when.”
“Soon,” I say again. “I want us to adopt her together. I never want her to feel as though either of us didn’t want her.”
