AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You look wonderful, Heath,” Addie said, glaring at his brothers. “Tell him, Shayla.”
Shayla looked him up and down with approving eyes. “You look so handsome. Trust me. Shayla is going to swoon.”
“She’s seven months pregnant. I really don’t want her to swoon,” Heath said, looking down doubtfully at his outfit.
“I don’t mean literally,” Shayla said. “But she’s going to be in sheer heaven.”
“Either that or she’s going to run in the opposite direction,” Micah said, causing his brothers to erupt in another round of laughter.
Shayla jabbed Micah hard in the side.
Micah yelped. He frowned at Shayla. “If you jab me one more time in my ribs I’m going to go old-school on you like when we were kids.”
“Well, leave him alone then,” Shayla said in a raised voice. She swung her gaze around to include all of her brothers. “You boys are incorrigible. He needs support, not ridicule.”
“She’s right,” Addie said, chiming in to support her sister-in-law. “This is going to be one of the most important days of Heath’s life. Are you going to reduce it to a joke?”
Heath could tell by the looks on his brothers’ faces that they had been shamed by Addie and Shayla. He folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his feet. It was a rare occasion when he had the opportunity to see his brothers looking so mollified. He wasn’t going to let the moment pass him by.
“You really should be ashamed of yourselves,” he said, smirking at them.
“Bella is going to be here any minute,” Addie said. “We need to get this together.”
“Okay. What do you need us to do? We’re Donahue’s. We’re all in this together,” Jason said.
“Donahue strong!” Parker said with a grin.
Suddenly, Heath felt a burst of confidence. What he was worried about? He and Bella were in love. They always had been. And despite their ups and downs, they were back on track. They were having a child together. And both of them in their heart of hearts wanted to raise their baby together as a family. He was just taking it a few steps forward and hoping to seal the deal with a ring and a ceremony.
Till death do us part. He could honestly say he wanted to stick by Bella’s side till he drew his last breath. She was it. The one. His forever and a day. Now, all he had to do was tell Bella what he wanted for them and pray she felt the same way.
Lord, please grant me favor. I’ll never forsake her or our child.
He shook his head. Dressing up in this ridiculous Prince Charming costume served as proof of his abiding love for Bella. Although the costume was a bit of showmanship, it wasn’t truly about that. It was about knowing deep in your soul that you couldn’t walk through life without the other person. It was about knowing that they were your true North. Heath knew without a shadow of a doubt that Bella was his forever. His one and only. He couldn’t even imagine being with another.
“She’s coming!” Shayla called out, interrupting his thoughts about the woman he adored. “We need to scoot upstairs. Is everything set up?”
“We’ll have the music streaming as soon as she comes in the house,” Micah said.
“The sparkling cider and flutes are on the dining room table,” Caleb said. “There are chocolates too and strawberries.”
Addie clasped her hands in front of her. “The white rose petals look lovely,” she gushed, looking down at the petals scattered along the hardwood floor, making a path. “It’s a wonderful touch.”
“Well done,” Shayla said, leaning in and kissing Micah on the cheek. “I’m proud of you.”
“Aww. You do love me,” Micah said. “I knew it!”
“Sometimes,” Shayla said in a teasing tone. “When you’re not driving me crazy.”
Caleb grabbed Addie’s hand. “We need to head upstairs. I just peeked out the window and she’s getting out of her car.”
A flurry of movement ensued with Addie, Caleb, Shayla, Micah, Parker, Caleb and Jason scrambling upstairs. Caleb turned around and asked in a loud whisper, “Do you have the ring?”
Heath patted his pants pocket. “It’s right here, bro. Thanks for asking.”
Caleb gave him a thumbs up and darted upstairs with the others.
Heath took a deep, steadying breath and walked toward the front door. He pulled it open just as Bella hit his front porch. Her eyes widened when she saw him. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her. She was wearing a long-sleeved blue dress that almost matched the color of her eyes. She had black flats on that resembled ballerina slippers. Lately she’d been complaining about her feet being swollen and none of her shoes fitting well. It was nice to see she’d found something comfortable to wear.
