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He hung tight to her hand and smiled up at her. “I had a whole big speech worked out. But right now, the only thing I can think to say is that I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise I’ll do everything I can to take care of you and make you happy. Will you marry me, Alyssa?”
She let out a little squeal. She couldn’t help it. And then she remembered that she needed to actually say it. “Yes! Yes, I want to marry you. Yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And yes, I want to take care of you and make you happy, too.”
He got to his feet and slid a ring onto her finger before he leaned in and claimed her mouth in one of his deep, lingering kisses. All she could do was cling to him, loving the way his familiar heat seeped into her and warmed her all the way down to the tips of her toes.
When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were shining as he smiled down at her. “I love you, Alyssa Lloyd.”
All the air got caught somewhere in her chest. “I love you, too, Bentley. But…”
He smiled and rested his forehead against hers as he looked down into her eyes. “I called you Alyssa Lloyd on purpose. I know what your name means to you. I wouldn’t ask you to change it.”
She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks even as she smiled. “You don’t mind? I thought the whole family name thing was a big deal?”
He shook his head. “To me, nothing is as big a deal as making you happy.”
She buried her face in his chest and hugged him tight. She had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky, but she knew that she had to be the luckiest girl in the world.
“Would you mind if I invite some people into your office?”
She didn’t even lift her head from his chest. “My office?”
He laughed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Yes, your office. That’s what this is now.”
She squealed into his shirt. “I’ll share with you if you like.”
She felt his laughter rumble through his chest.
“Okay. But about those people …”
She finally lifted her head to look up at him. “You really want to talk about other people right now? I was thinking that we could …”
Her words dried up in her throat when he pointed to the doorway, and she saw what he meant. He wasn’t talking about inviting people into her office at some point. Oh no. Her dad and Ria were standing out there grinning at them. So was Willow, with Jacob and Becca just behind her. Ollie and Reaves were out there, too.
As they all started to file into the room, Alyssa got lost in a sea of hugs and congratulations.
When she felt as though she was all hugged out, and her cheeks were aching from smiling so much, she found her dad by her side.
He slung his arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “I’m happy for you, sweetheart.”
She had to swallow around the lump in her throat. “Thanks, Dad. It’s all down to you, you know. If you hadn’t met Ria, I’d never have met Bentley.”
She loved the big smile that spread across his face. “Damn, baby girl. I didn’t think about it that way. But… I love that. Now, I can finally feel like I made a worthwhile contribution to your life.”
“Aww, Dad!” She wanted to say something to let him know that just knowing him made a worthwhile contribution to her life. But he shook his head at her and was already walking away.
Bentley took his place and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay? Is your dad?”
She looked up into his eyes and nodded. “I am. He is. We are. I think we both just realized how lucky we are to have DuPonts in our lives.”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’d say that we’re the lucky ones to have found you. I love you, Alyssa. You’ve made me a better man, and I plan to be the best man that I can be for you and for our family.”
Willow’s laugh rang out beside him. “Oh my God! Are you two talking about having a family already?”
Alyssa smiled at her through pursed lips. “Not just yet, but we do plan to make you Auntie Willow in the not-too-distant future.”
“I’ll look forward to it. In the meantime, I just want to welcome you to the family as my sister.”
Bentley shook his head at her. “You can do that tomorrow. For now, you’re in charge of herding everyone out of here. Alyssa and I are going to sneak away so that I can welcome her to the family as my fiancé.”
