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“Wow. What an evening,” Macy said, sinking against him.
“Do you think you’ll miss all this excitement when I’m no longer in the limelight?” Duke whispered in her ear.
“Is that your little dig on Tallahassee news not being so big?”
There was just something about the way she looked at him. It made Duke’s heart swell. Her hair was piled up on top of her head with a few curls hanging down framing her face. “No, I meant now that I’m not going to make as much money, seeing how the local high school coaches don’t make much.”
“High school coach?”
Duke took Macy in his arms. “Yeah, you see, a little birdie told me that there was a high school baseball coach position open, and I was offered the job and I took it.”
When her face lit up, he smiled. “Seriously?”
“Very much so. And I have to say that this last week has made me realize that my life is nothing without you.”
Macy pushed away and folded her arms across her chest. “Nothing?” she squeaked out.
“Nothing,” Duke repeated, enjoying the look of disbelief on her face. Gia returned from the crowd with MJ in tow. They flanked Duke. “I am more than willing to give up the fame and fortune just to be with you.” Taking a deep breath, he got down on one knee.
Macy covered her face. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I asked the kids earlier and they agreed to have me. And now I would like to ask you to marry me.”
“Oh my God!”
“Macy Cuomo, a week without you was the most torturous ever. I don’t ever want to spend any more time away from you. Will you please marry me?” He realized the crowd behind him had quieted down and had begun paying attention to them.
“Well?” shouted someone from the crowd. Duke was pretty sure it was Serena’s voice.
“Yes!” Macy cried.
Duke stood up and spun Macy around in his arms. “You just don’t know how happ
y you’ve made me. I only wish my parents were here to meet you!”
Macy buried her face against his neck. He could feel her warm breath against his collarbone. “Duke, listen, that thing I was working with Lawrence on.”
“It doesn’t matter...”
“It kind of does.” She wiggled out of his arms and slid down to her feet. “There’s what we were working on.”
Duke followed her bare finger toward the street where a long stretch limousine had pulled up. A chauffeur ran around from the driver’s side to the back door and opened it. He did a double take at the sight of what he thought he saw.
“Ma?” The word escaped him as the emotions caught in his throat. His mother had stepped out of the backseat, followed by his father, his two sisters, Ana and Theresa, and then his brothers, Erik, Bobby and Sandino. Duke looked back down at Macy by his side. She was tearfully looking up at him.
“I didn’t want to tell you what Lawrence and I were working on last week because I wanted this to be a surprise.”
“How did you—”
“Pablo and Monique helped coordinate. Lawrence flew his plane and picked them up earlier this evening.”
“Macy, I don’t know what to say...”
“How about you just introduce me to my new family?”
* * *
A stroke after midnight, Macy stood on the porch, waving away Duke’s last guest. He had gone inside to say good-night to his family and met her in the foyer. Macy closed the door behind her and held on to the doorknob. Duke was standing at the bottom of his steps.
