Page 44 of Alfie

He slipped his hand into his pocket and dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring box and opening it. “Myla.”

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. The diamond on the ring glittered in the soft lighting of the bar.

“When I talk about forever, I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because you’re the best person I’ve ever met. You’re gracious and sweet, and so freaking beautiful. And you make me feel like I can do anything. You said I saved you the night we met, but you saved me. You’ve given me more love, and family, and a future that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get. Myla, will you marry me?”

Tears blurred her eyes. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”

He took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger, and as he rose to his feet to kiss her, the bar erupted in cheers and they both smiled and laughed.

“Oh, how I love you, sweet soulmate,” he said with a low voice.

“Mine,” she whispered.

They kissed, and then he hugged her tightly.

“Woohoo!” someone said loudly.

She lifted her head from Alfie’s shoulder and found Nathan, Amadeus, and Hyde cheering, Nathan holding his phone toward them. “Congrats, you two,” Nathan said. “We got it all on video for you.”

“You did?” she asked, brushing at her wet cheeks.

“Hell yes,” Hyde said. “Alfie asked us to be here to video the proposal so you could show your family.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” she said. “Thank you, guys.”

“You’re welcome,” Amadeus said. “We’re glad we could be here for you.”

“Wait, you set this up?” she asked, looking at Alfie. “Does that mean you asked my parents?”

“I did, at the wedding,” he said. “I didn’t want to spoil your brother and sister-in-law’s day, so I thought we could come for a drink afterward.”

“That’s really cool, thank you for thinking of them.”

She looked down at the ring and smiled. “I love it. I love you and your friends. And I love that you’re mine.”

“One hundred percent, sweetheart.”

“This is definitely the best Valentine’s Day ever.”

“The best night of my life, that’s for damn sure,” Alfie said.

“Damn, I need to find my forever woman like yesterday,” Nathan said with a rue-filled chuckle.

They joined the guys at their table and talked for a little while before they decided to head home, the guys following them back to the park.

“So did you know I was going to propose?” Alfie asked.

“I knew you would at some point,” she said, scooting down in the seat with a yawn. “But I didn’t know it would be tonight. I was really surprised.”

“Do you want to send the video to your folks?”

“Tomorrow,” she said. “We have plans tonight still, I think.”

“I just saw you yawn—are you sure you’re not too tired?”

“Heck no. We have to celebrate our engagement with a tumble in the sheets.”

“Sounds good to me, sweetheart.” He took her hand and kissed the top of it. “I love you.”