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Charlie looked at Lindsay. “Who’s she trying to convince?”
As Brooke poured the tea, a huge lump settled in her throat. These freaking hormones were making her leak tears all the time.
“So if you’re so happy, why are you crying?” Charlie asked.
“I’m...” A soft sob escaped. “I’m not unhappy, it’s just...” And to her chagrin, she burst into tears.
“What have you said to her?” someone bellowed close by.
Gavin? But it couldn’t be—he was still in Seattle. A pair of strong, comforting arms pulled her close, and another sob escaped. Outside, Bear, Sasha, and Lucy were barking like crazy.
“What happened?” he asked. “Did you say something to upset her?”
“She said you don’t want to get married,” Lindsay said.
“And according to her, not every love story ends with a ring and wedding,” Charlie added.
“What the hell? Brooke, babe?” He lifted her face with his hands. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you, damn it, but of course, I want to marry you.”
Sniffing, she looked up at him. “You do?”
“Why do you think I stayed behind for five days? I had to get the ring sized and cleaned and...” Cussing under his breath, he glared at his sisters. “You two have messed up my whole speech, damn it.”
Charlie was chuckling, clearly enjoying the situation. “You haven’t made a speech yet. Have I missed anything, Linds?”
“No, you haven’t. I haven’t seen the ring or heard him—”
“Mom! Is Gavin here? His truck is outside, and the dogs are going crazy.” Connor burst through the front door at full speed. “Uncle Gavin—you’re here!” Rushing forward, he hugged Gavin’s legs.
––––––––
With his heart notquite settled yet, Gavin crouched down in front of the little boy. He hated seeing Brooke unhappy, but damn it, he’d wanted this to be perfect. He’d already spoken to Logan and Brooke’s mother, and he had a great plan: dinner at a restaurant, creating a romantic moment where he was going to ask Brooke to marry him, but now his two sisters had made her cry. He would have to forget about all his previous plans and do something quickly. It would seem there were still way too many misunderstandings between them.
He smiled at Connor. “I’ve missed you, too. I’m so glad you’re here. You see, I have a question to ask you.”
Connor nodded, gravely. “I have a question to ask you, too.”
“Yeah? Well, ask away?”
“Will you be my new dad? You see, I don’t have one anymore, and now that I’m getting a baby brother...or sister, we’ll need a dad. You can cook, and you make Mom happy.”
You could hear a pin drop. For once, his sisters were silent. Gavin had to swallow a few times before he was able to speak. He put a hand on Connor’s small shoulder. “And I wanted to ask you if I could be your dad and marry your mom?”
“You’ll be our baby’s dad, too?”
Brooke moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. Taking her hand in his, he nodded. “Of course.”
“Okay, great! Mom, I’m hungry. Can...may Gavin cook for us?”
Everyone burst into laughter, and Gavin got up quickly. “Not quite yet. You see, I still have to ask your mom if she would marry me. And I’m not sure what she’s going to say.”
“Oh, okay. Ask her, I’m hungry.”
Everyone laughed.
“I didn’t think I’d have an audience”—he grinned at his sisters—“but it seems, in this family, nothing is sacred anyway.” He took the small box out of his pocket before he touched Brooke’s hand. With his gaze on her, he went down on one knee. “Brooke, I’m pretty sure I’m going to make mistakes and I’ll mess up, a lot. But one thing I can promise you is that I’ll spend my life loving you. I already love Connor, too, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love one more person, there is also a place in my heart for our unborn baby. I want to give you this ring, my mother’s ring. If you want another one, as well, we can get you one, anytime. But please marry me?”
His sisters were yelling, the dogs were still barking hysterically outside, but Gavin kept his gaze steadily on Brooke. With a sob, she fell forward, and catching her in his arms, he stood them up, together.
