I peeked through the curtain and saw John and Mary. Behind them, Bryce, still in uniform, and his girlfriend Alexis, walked up the steps.
Opening the door, I invited them in and greeted them with hugs.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen our nieces and nephews,” Mary said.
Bryce greeted his aunt and uncle, introduced them to Alexis, then pulled me into a big hug. “Is there any food left?” he asked. “I’m starving.”
Before I could answer, Austin’s voice carried across the room. “Nina.”
When I turned, he was sitting on the arm of the couch. A nervous smile twitched on his lips.
I closed the distance between us. “Is everything okay?”
He grabbed my hands and pulled me closer. “Better than okay.”
When he grinned, I realized the entire house had gone horror movie quiet.
“What’s going on?” When I tried to look around, he captured my chin and held me so I faced him.
“I love you, Nina. You’ve reminded me what it’s like to feel. You’ve given me back my family. A family I’d like to share with you, if you’ll let me.”
What’s going on?Was he proposing? It sounded like the beginning of a proposal speech, but Austin didn’t do things without talking them through and forming a game plan.
“You make me a better man, and if you let me, I’ll love you, provide for you, and protect you for the rest of your life.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box.
“I’d get down on one knee, but…” he shrugged with a grin. “Nina Maria Novak, will you marry me?”
Austin wanted me to marry him. I mean, we’d been sort of living together since he left the hospital, and we loved each other, but I hadn’t expected this.
“Cherry, baby, you’re killing me here. I’m gonna need an answer.”
Apparently, the happy tears flowing down my face weren’t enough.
“Yes.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, knocking us both off balance.
The room erupted in applause and cheers.
“I’ll break out the champagne,” Roni said.
After receiving everyone’s congratulations and toasting with the best champagne I’d ever tasted, Austin and I had a minute alone to talk.
“You planned all this,” I said. “Including John and Mary?”
He smiled, "I wanted them here when I proposed.”
Austin brushed my hair off my face. His fingers played with the gray streak I’d decided not to dye. If Austin was okay with his extra gray, then I was okay with my streak.
People thought it was an intentional choice, and I didn’t bother correcting them. No one needed to know about the events that caused a patch of my hair to lose color overnight.
I looked down at the large round diamond on my left ring finger.
“I can’t wait to make you a Winchester.” He lifted my left hand and kissed it. “And start our own family.”
“I want a big one,” I admitted.
