I worked my way through the crowd, a huge smile on my face, the woman I loved at my side.
“I’m so damn proud of you,” I said, clasping a hand around Preston’s back and pulling him into a hug. “So proud.”
“Thank you for all your support and encouragement. Sincerely.” His eyes were watery, and fuck if I wasn’t close to crying too. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
I nodded, clearing my throat before I could get too emotional.
“And…” He held out an envelope, attempting to hand it to me. “This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m paying you back.”
I shook my head, not moving to take it. “I don’t accept. That was a gift.”
“Hunter.” He glared at me. “It’s too much. You can’t pay for my tuition.”
“I did. It’s done. Just accept it and move on.” I opened the envelope and tore the check into pieces without so much as looking at the amount. “I told you—it was an investment. Now, take your education and make me proud. Change the world.”
“Preston,” Alexis called.
He turned in her direction, and I knew I’d won. He was torn, but he’d always go to Alexis.
“This isn’t over,” he said to me before turning away.
“You paid for his tuition?” Lauren asked as we watched him join his wife.
“Just one friend helping another,” I said. “He’d do the same for me.”
Sophia ran around the yard, chasing Riley, giggling as she tried to catch our dog.
She stopped for a moment, out of breath. “Um, hi, Uncle Hunter. Aunt Lauren.”
I grinned down at her, wondering what she was going to say. You never knew with Sophia. She was whip-smart and hilarious. She was also incredibly intuitive and occasionally eerily mature for her age.
“Hey, kiddo.” I ruffled her hair.
“Are you guys getting married?” Sophia bounced on her toes. “Can I be the flower girl?”
In the past, a question like that would have had me itching to run. But instead, I smiled. I wasn’t sure Lauren and I were the marrying type, but only time would tell.
Sophia placed her hands on her hips, sass and sweetness rolled into one. “I have experience, you know.”
“Actually, I do have something important to ask Lauren.”
“You do?” Sophia asked at the same time that Lauren’s eyes went wide.
I knelt on the ground, my knee resting on the grass. I could hear someone gasp nearby, and I hoped Lauren wouldn’t kill me for this. I hadn’t planned to do it in such a public setting, but what the hell?
“Lauren.” I pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a key. “I love you, and I don’t want to spend a day without you. Move in with me—officially?”
She shook her head with a laugh, removing the key from the box. “I’d love to.”
Everyone cheered, and I pressed my lips to hers, feeling a sense of rightness settle over me. This woman had shown me the meaning of home, family. She’d shown me the meaning of selflessness, of love. And I vowed to spend the rest of my life making her as happy as she made me. Because when it came down to it—the house, the cars, the things—none of it mattered. What mattered was having someone by your side. Someone to trust, someone to love. Someone who kept things interesting.
And Lauren was all that and more. I couldn’t have resisted her, even if I’d tried. She was my home.
