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Reaching forward, he feels into the breast pocket of his coat, which is way too big for me. “I talked to Sawyer about this a while back…” He takes a step back and goes down on one knee.
“Oh my God, Taron… What are you—”
“Noel Aveline, I don’t deserve you. I never have. I went away to try and prove I could be good enough for you, but I fucked that all up…”
“Taron, no! You didn’t—”
“This isn’t really a birthday present for you, because if you say yes, you’ll be giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for.” He takes out a beautiful ring. It has white-gold branches wrapping delicately around a glowing white stone. “It’s a moonstone. It represents new beginnings, success and good fortune. You’re the only fortune I ever want. You’re the love of my life. You’re the mother of my children. You’re the half of me I can’t live without. Will you marry me?”
My throat is so tight, I can hardly speak. Tears flood my eyes, and I can only nod quickly as I hold a hand over my nose, not wanting him to see me ugly cry.
“Oh, Taron… Yes! Of course, I will. I
love you.”
He rises, slipping the beautiful ring on the third finger of my left hand. “I know it’s not traditional—”
Reaching up, I put my hand on his cheek, smiling so big. “Nothing about us is.”
Leaning down, he covers my mouth with his, kissing me slow, curling his tongue against mine. “Let’s go tell everybody.”
“What?”
Clasping my hand, he takes off jogging toward the civic center. I hold the lapels of his jacket closed doing my best to keep up, and when we get back to the crowded ballroom, he bursts through the doors and shouts, “She said yes!”
The entire room erupts into cheers. People shoot off poppers, and streams of confetti fly all around us. Champagne corks explode, and the band launches into “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
“Yaasss, girl!” Mindy runs up and grabs me around the waist. “Congratulations, you two.”
Sawyer comes over and shakes Taron’s hand then hugs me. “So happy for you, sis.”
My eyes heat at his words, and I look up at Taron, who’s looking down at me with so much pride in his eyes.
“You did all this?”
He nods, grinning in that way that makes me want to rip all his clothes off. “I’m glad you said yes, or I’d have been embarrassed.”
“As if I would ever say anything else.” I reach up to hug him, and he lifts me off my feet.
Everyone cheers again as he spins in a slow circle, holding me in his arms. I laugh, and he puts me down. We’re surrounded by so many friends, our family. I can only think of one thing left…
“We have to tell Dove and Leon.”
“Well, Leon already knows. At least, he knows I was planning to ask you.”
We dance a little longer, shaking friends’ hands and hugging necks, until I can’t stand it any longer. Then we wave and head out the door, back to the house.
Dove is sitting on the couch between Leon and Akela when we arrive. Leon stands, giving Taron a hand clasp and squeezing my arm.
“Welcome to the family.”
His words clearly mean a lot to Taron, but I’m focused on the little lady watching us so curiously. Going to her, I sit down and take her hand in mind.
“Is it okay if we talk for a minute?”
She shifts around, furrowing her brow. “Am I in trouble?”
“No!” Taron laughs. “Not at all, baby. We just wanted to talk to you about something… See how you feel about it.”
