Page 80 of The Decoy

She looks up as I step into the room, a warm smile touching her lips when she sees the dogs marching behind me.

“What are you three up to?” She asks, tilting her head.

I don’t answer right away. I just reach behind my back, pulling out the massive yellow bag of Sour Patch Kids, and hold it out to her.

Her eyes light up instantly. “Brody Vaughn, you’re an absolute saint. How did you know I was craving these tonight?”

She reaches out to take the bag, but I hold it just out of reach, smiling softly.

“Because I know my girl, but there’s a catch,” I say softly.

Ellis raises an eyebrow at me, playful suspicion dancing in her eyes. “A catch on a candy delivery?”

“Yeah,” I say, stepping closer until I’m standing right in front of her. “It comes with a lifetime commitment.”

I drop down onto one knee on the soft bedroom rug, right in front of her.

Ellis’s hand goes straight to her mouth, her dark eyes widening in complete, stunned shock. She looks down at me.

“Buck, come,” I command softly.

He eagerly nudges his head under my arm, stepping forward until the red ring box tied to his collar is resting over Ellis’s feet. Oshie sits down right next to her, thumping her tail against the floor proudly.

Ellis looks from the dogs to the ring box tied with a ribbon, to the bag of Sour Patch Kids in my left hand, and finally down to my eyes. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure which one she wants more. The candy or the ring.

“Brody,” she breathes out, her voice barely a whisper, her hands trembling over her mouth.

I reach up, untying the ribbon from Buck’s collar, and pop open the box. The three-carat oval diamond catches the soft bedside light.

“Ellis Renwick,” I say, my voice deep and steady, thinking of everything I’ve carried in my heart for the last six months. “I know we didn’t do any of this by the book. Hell, we started as friends. But we survived a chaotic mess, and we’re building a life in the middle of the storm. There isn’t a second of my life I want to spend without you. You’re my best friend, my partner in the love of my life.”

Tears fall freely over her lashes, now onto her cheek. She looks down at me, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

“I want to wake up next to you every morning,” I continue, reaching out to gently take her left hand. “I want to hold your hand when our son is born, and I want to grow old with you in this house. Will you marry me, Ellis? Will you make me the happiest, luckiest man on earth and become my wife?”

For a second, the only sound in the room is the soft, rhythmic thumping of Oshie’s tail against the rug.

She drops to her knees right in front of me, throwing her arms around my neck with everything she has, burying her face into the side of my neck.

“Yes,” she sobs happily into my skin, her arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders. “Yes, yes, absolutely yes, Brody!”

I let out a loud laugh, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her close against my chest, mindful of her bump between us. Buck lets out a loud, happy bark, his tail wagging so hard his entire back half is swinging while Oshie nudges her head under Ellis’s arm, trying to get in on the hug.

I pull back, just to slide the ring onto her left ring finger. “It fits perfectly on your hand.”

Ellis stares down at her hand, a breathless gasp escaping her lips as she traces the diamond with her thumb. She looks up at me, her face glowing.

“It’s perfect,” she whispers, leaning forward to press her lips hard against mine.

I kiss her deeply, holding her face in my hands, tasting the salt of her tears in the incredible sweetness of our future. When we finally part, I pick up the bag of candy from the floor and hand it to her with a grin.

“Your reward, future Mrs. Vaughn.”

Ellis laughs, ripping open the bag, popping a red one into her mouth, then feeding a green one to me.

“You’re kind of ridiculous, you know,” she says, leaning her forehead against mine, her hand resting over her sparkling ring on her bump. “Using my candy addiction and the dogs to propose. It’s completely unfair leverage. There was no way I could say no with that set up.”

“It’s called strategy,” I whisper, pulling her soft body back into my arms as we sit together on the floor, surrounded by our dogs and our baby kicking softly between us, completely content in our home. “And it worked.”