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“I’ll put in speakers. Don’t worry. You’ll be heard.”
Ryan had certainly done his part.
“Can I have Caleb Nanny’s attention please?” Annie said.
A few weeks ago, after Caleb had told her he loved her, she’d found Ryan’s number and asked if they could meet. She had pretended to be taking Tara for a walk, and also asked Ryan to create a fake problem at Caleb’s work, so they could meet. That had all gone smoothly. Once they met up, she had asked him for help in proposing to his best friend, and telling him that she loved him so much and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and that she hoped that was what he wanted as well. She had a whole big speech prepared. She’d been working on it before he’d told her he loved her.
Annie looked out into the crowd and Ryan held his hand up in the air, so she got his attention. He was standing beside Caleb. Caleb frowned.
She took a deep breath and with the microphone so close everyone heard it. “So, I, er, I had a big speech prepared for this exact moment, and now I have forgotten everything. I even met up with Ryan, and we arranged for this to happen. For the band and for this microphone to be here, so that I could tell you something. When I walked into your office, Caleb, I wasn’t looking for anything other than someone to help guide me in caring for a newborn. I was way out of my depth, and didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but you helped me. You offered me your services as a nanny, and you came to live with me. I wasn’t looking for love. I wasn’t looking for a commitment, I was quite happy in my own little world. My own hurt world, where I was nursing my wounds, and it was a good enough excuse to not get involved with the world.” She licked her dry lips. “But, you came along. I met you, and I … there are no words quite right to describe what happened. You made me realize that everything I’d ever felt before was a lie. I’d never been in love. I’d never taken a chance with my life, until you came into my world.” Annie didn’t look away from him. “I know that you told me you loved me, and I wanted to tell you that I loved you too, but you deserve better than that, Caleb Nanny. I know you’ve been hurt in the past, but I promise I’ll never hurt you. We’ll argue and I will probably be right, or perhaps wrong, and you’ll agree.”
He chuckled.
“But, I will love you, no matter what. When I think about the future, I see you in it, and Tara. I think you’re going to make an amazing dad, and I hope one day soon I can tell you that you will be. We’re trying.” And her face heated up, because even though the rest of the room had faded, they were still very much in a crowd. There was a chorus of laughter.
“So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you more than anything in the world. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Ryan had set up the ring, and he’d given it to the man who’d helped her on stage, and she took it from him. “Will you marry me?”
She sunk down on one knee, which was proving to be a little difficult with the length of the dress. Caleb shook his head, but he moved closer to the stage. It wasn’t too far up from the ground. She looked straight into his eyes as he cupped her face.
“Annie?”
“I wanted to do the magical proposal. I wanted to give you a fairy tale, Caleb.”
“I love you so damn much.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Fuck, yeah, it’s a yes!”
The man took the microphone from her, and she kissed Caleb hard. There was a chorus of applause but Annie didn’t care. She had her man. Pulling away from him, she took out the ring and slid it onto his engagement finger. “I don’t think men wear an engagement ring, but I think it’s appropriate.”
Caleb laughed and then cleared his throat as he pulled out a velvet box.
“You were going to propose?” she asked.
“Tonight, when we were alone.”
She held out her hand, because she had already given him her answer.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“Ew, gross. Mom and Dad are making out again,” Tara said, walking away from the kitchen.
Annie burst out laughing. “Too gross to enjoy the cookies?”
Annie rushed back into the kitchen. The chocolate chip cookies had just come out of the oven, and she knew Tara was a sucker for a cookie. She couldn’t believe Tara was ten years old.
