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“Please, just…I want to show you something first. You should know everything before you do that.”
Cash sighs as he stands up. “I’ve got to be honest, that’s not what I expected.”
I smile and squeeze his hand. “I’m never quite what you expect, huh? Always a challenge. I promise, it’s a good thing. I just want to show you something first.”
Cash is silent on the way to the office. I know he thinks I’m still hesitating, but I’m not. I just need him to know that I want this as much as he does. That like him, I’ve been making plans too.
“Where are we going?” Cash asks as I lead him through the dark office. When we reach the door to my suite, I flick on the lights and pull on the sheet that covers my sign.
Cash’s eyes double. “GraceJames& Associates,” he says hoarsely.
“Ask me now,” I whisper.
“What?”
“I wanted you to know that it wasn’t just you who wanted this. Iwant it more than anything. I wanted you to know that it wasn’t just you asking me to marry you and waiting for me to agree. You showed me through the last few months that this wasn’t something to fear. Marriage, becoming parents, forever…it’s not something to fear. That’s what you were doing these last few months, right?”
He nods. “Yes, but…”
“And this is me showing you that I want it too. Not because it’s something you want. Not because we’re having a baby. I want to marry you because becoming your wife, knowing you are mine forever, it’s the only thing I can think about. It’s becomemydream. It’s not something I’m settling for to make you happy. It’s not something I’m agreeing to because it’s the next step in life. Screw steps and rules and doing things when they are proper.”
Leaning my hand against the wall for balance, I slowly lower my knees to the floor and stare up at the man who has changed my entire world. He has challenged everything that I ever thought. He taught me what it means to have family. It’s not about blood, it’s about people showing up for you. People who have your back, who love you even when you continue to screw up.
“Cassius James, I was quite literally your first kiss, and if you’d be willing, I’d love to be your last.Pleasemarry me. Make all my dreams come true and be my husband.”
Cash smirks. “Can I get down on my knee now, or are you gonna stop me again?”
I laugh through tears. “Sure, I won’t stop you.”
“Promise?” he asks through a grin.
I nod.
Cash moves to the ground and takes both my hands as we kneel together. “Should I answer your question, or can I finally ask my own?”
I cry harder. “You can ask your own.”
“Gracie, I wasn’t looking for love when I walked onto that plane. But if I’ve learned anything through the past year it’s that life with you is unexpected. Surprise husband, fake dates, unexpected pregnancy…not all bad, not all good…and yet all worth it. I love you more every day, and I know we are just getting started. Would you do me the honor of being your husband, Grace? Marry me, Angel.”
“Yes,” I say through tears as I struggle to kiss him past my belly. It’s not the easiest thing being eight months pregnant and kneeling through a kiss, but we manage.
Cash reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring. I hold out my hand, and he slips it onto my finger, staring down at it with a stupid grin. “God, I’ve waited a long time to put that there.”
“It hasn’t even been a year, Cash,” I laugh as I cry.
“Longest year of my life, Angel. I woulda married you months ago. As it is, you better be ready to go down to the courthouse this week and make it official!”
“Are you crazy?”
Cash smiles. “For you I am. And you will be my wife before you give birth to my baby. We can have a big fancy wedding if you want after…but when we leave that hospital, we’ll be doing it as a family, my wife and my daughter by my side.”
The titles mean nothing to me, but I’d give Cash any title he wanted. “Okay, Whiskey, let’s get you a wife.”
“Finally fulfilling that contract, Gracie,” he teases.
I laugh. “What can I say, I’m very good at my job.”
