Page 102 of The Pilot

“And Zach and Marit are going to tell your mom that they’re married. I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

Linc laughed out loud. “Mom’s gonna lose her mind. But she’ll be fine with it in the end, because all she really wants is for us to be happy. And about twenty-three grandchildren.”

Harper giggled. “You aren’t wrong.”

“What do you think? Should we do my brother a solid and distract her with our own news?”

“What news is that?” Harper asked.

“That we’re engaged.”

She frowned. “We are? Funny, I don’t remember a proposal,” she sassed.

“That’s what I’m talking about. I have a ring in my pocket. I’d like to ask you to marry me today, while we’re surrounded by our friends and family. I’ve already asked Kash’s permission, and he granted it.”

“Wait, you did?” Harper asked.

“Uh-huh. Told him that I loved him and his mom and couldn’t see living the rest of my life without you guys. Said I’d eventually like to officially adopt him, but that would be up to him, and no matter what he decided, he’d always be a son to me.”

Harper’s eyes filled with tears. “Linc,” she whispered.

“Will you marry me, Harper? Live in this wreck of a house that will one day, hopefully, be completely renovated? Will you be my sleep aid, my confidant, my best friend? Let me love you like you deserve to be loved? Support you and Kash, share everything I have with you, and treat you like the queen you’ve always been?”

The tears in her eyes spilled over. “Only if you’ll let me do the same to you in return.”

“Yes,” Linc said without hesitation. “Since you asked so nicely, I’ll marry you.”

Harper giggled. “That’s my line,” she protested.

Linc raised a brow, waiting for her to say it.

“Yes, Lincoln Young. I’ll marry you.”

“Thank fuck,” he breathed. It wasn’t as if he’d thought she would say no, but things had moved quickly between them, and Kash going missing was a huge disruption in how well things had been going, so he thought she might want to wait.

“You said something about a ring?” she asked with a smile, wiping her tears away with her shoulder.

“I did,” Linc confirmed. “You want it now, or do you want to use it as a way to distract my mom from Zach and Marit’s news that they went off and got married without inviting her?”

“You’re a good brother,” Harper said. “Fine. I’ll let us be the distraction. But tell me this—is the ring big?”

“Huge.”

She smiled. “Emerald cut?”

“What else? That’s your favorite.”

“I love you, Linc.”

“Love you too. One thing, though . . . I want the whole shebang. Chad did the family thing, Zach did the secret thing, I want the wedding ceremony with all the trimmings. Bridesmaids, groomsmen, Kash as my best man, flowers, you in a beautiful white designer dress, your dad walking you down the aisle, a weeklong honeymoon somewhere warm where I can drool over you in a bikini . . . all of it. You have any objections to that?”

Linc didn’t know why he wanted or needed that, just that he did.

“No objections,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears again.

“Good. Because I’ve already reserved the Samoset Resort for a year and a half from now.”

Harper’s eyes widened. “You did?”