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Thanks to Brody’s little white lie, I look over my shoulder to see Carly approaching. She’s all dressed up for a ski lesson—one that isn’t going to happen—and a little frown forms at the corner of her lips when she spots me.
“Ryan?” she asks, and confusion seeps from her voice.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I greet, and she glances around, trying to wrap her mind around the situation.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had a late video meeting…?”
Another lie. I had zero meetings today. Zero work at all, to be honest. Only packing and trying to make sure I was ready for this moment right here.
But she doesn’t need to know that right now.
“It got done early.”
“Have you seen my client?” she asks, looking behind me and around me and pretty much everywhere she can, trying to find the client Brody and I named Betty just for shits and giggles.
“She’s not coming.”
“What?” she questions. “How do you know that? And why in the hell didn’t Brody tell me before I left the shop to come out here?”
I walk toward her, take the ski equipment from her hands, and drop it all to the ground. Once my arms are firmly wrapped around her waist, I press a kiss to her lips. “Because he’s a liar.”
“Huh?” She giggles but doesn’t pull away from my persistent mouth.
“I made him lie for me.”
“You made Brody lie?” she questions on more giggles. “Mr. Rule-Follower?”
“Uh-huh.” I nod and smirk against her mouth, my lips still busy enjoying the taste and feel of her. “But I have a good reason.”
Carly leans back and searches my eyes. “And what reason would that be?”
It’s time.
With my arms still wrapped around her waist, I step back a little so I can really look into her eyes. They are so blue today, they match the sky. “Carly, I want you to know that this past year and a half have been the best of my life.”
“Mine too,” she says, still not catching on to what I’m putting down.
“You’ve changed me, sweetheart. You’ve made me a better man, a stronger man. You’ve opened my eyes to what is truly important. You just…make everything the best. And being with you, knowing you, loving you, it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
She searches my steady gaze as I pull the box out of my pocket and open it to showcase the ring that took me months to find.
Carly gasps. “Oh my God, Ryan!”
And when I get down on one knee, reaching out to hold her left hand in mine, her right hand covers her mouth in surprise.
“The best adventures I’ve had thus far have all been with you,” I tell her, locking my gaze with hers. “From the instant you barreled into my life and stole my taxi, I knew you were a force to be reckoned with. I didn’t know you’d steal my heart, but damn, sweetheart, I’m so glad you did.”
Her eyes shine with emotion, and I squeeze her hand gently.
“I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you. You are my best friend. My beautiful, wild girl. My partner in crime. You’re my future. I want more laughs and smiles and inside jokes with you. I want more adventures with you. I want forever with you. Carly Lynn Page, will you marry me?”
“You want to marry me?” she asks, and her lip quivers. “As in, be stuck with me for the rest of your life?”
“Of course I fucking do. You’re it for me.” I smile up at her, the ring box still sitting in my hand. “So, baby, will you make me the happiest man who’s ever lived and marry me?”
“Yes!” she exclaims, and tears start to fall down her rosy cheeks. “All the yeses!”
Thank everything.
I slide the ring down her finger and watch the way her eyes showcase all the emotion that I’m currently feeling. Happiness, excitement, and love. So much fucking love.
“We’re getting married,” she whispers, staring down at the ring on her finger.
“We’re getting married,” I repeat, and then she surprises the hell out of me by diving straight into my arms.
On a chuckle, I fall back onto the blankets I laid out earlier, and Carly peppers kisses all over my face.
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” she whispers between presses of her lips to my skin.
“I love you too.”
Once her mouth finds mine, the mood changes from playful and sweet to passionate and fiery in a matter of seconds.
But that’s par for the course with us.
Carly moans, and I don’t hesitate to adjust her legs until they straddle my hips. I’m already hard—insanely fucking hard, actually—and I push myself against the apex of her thighs.
Even though we’re both still fully clothed, she moans again, and fuck, it’s music to my ears.
