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Hailey gasped as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a shining diamond ring.
“Landon,” she said, barely able to speak. “You are the most unexpected thing that’s ever happened to me. I trusted God to lead me in the next step, and now I know exactly what that is. Yes, yes! I’ll marry you!”
He took her in his arms. Then, for just a moment, he gazed into her eyes, and the connection between them was solidified. The connection grew as the moment lingered. Landon took her face in his hand and held it gently. Her skin tingled at his touch as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. Hailey stretched up on her tiptoes to meet him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His lips were soft and gentle as he kissed her again and again. His hand moved from her face down to her back where he made slow circles. She drank in the sweetness of the kiss, and all the promise it held.
Raising his lips from hers, Landon gazed into her eyes before brushing one last gentle kiss on her forehead. Hailey was breathless as she looked up at him.
Landon closed the ring box. The kiss had almost made her forget about it entirely. “I know you might not be ready to wear this yet. You can keep it somewhere safe until you’re ready to tell the kids. But I hope you know I’m ready when you are. I want to tell the whole world that we’re going to spend our lives together.”
Hailey smiled at him, the biggest smile she had. “Thank you for understanding. I won’t make you wait long, but we do need to explain it to them first.”
Landon nodded. “Of course.”
“What did you tell them at work?”
“I spoke with Mr. Benton. Honestly, I was sure he was going to let me go. But I told him I was thrilled with the opportunity and honored to have been chosen. But the truth was, I couldn’t take the promotion at this time. If they would have me, I said I would like to stay with the company in my current position, but that I can’t commit to being in the office like I have been in the past. I need more time to spend with my family.”
“Really?” Hailey asked.
“Yes, really.”
“And what did he say?”
Landon blew out a breath. “He wasn’t happy about it. I might have a ways to go before I make it back into his good graces, but he let me keep my job. I think he wants me to stay, even though it’s not exactly what he wanted me to do. I don’t care, though. I’m happy to have a job, but he’s not the person I’m worried about making happy. I want to do what God wants me to do, and I want to be with you and the kids, nothing else matters.”
EPILOGUE
Hailey and Landon sat on the couch next to each other. They were closer than they had ever dared be in front of the kids. It had only been two days since Landon had proposed, but she knew she would burst if she had to keep it inside any longer.
After their time on the porch, Landon had slipped in the door and waited for the kids to notice him. Carter was the first one to see him and jumped up like he had been shot out of his chair by a rocket.
Hailey had laughed as the kids hugged him and spoke all at once trying to tell him the things he had missed.
Now she sat on the couch with him, happy to know that he wouldn’t miss anything any more.
“Hey, guys, can everybody come sit down for a minute? Your mom and I have something to tell you,” Landon said.
Hailey’s heart beat at double speed. She couldn’t wait to tell them, but it would still take some getting used to hearing Landon talk about them as a unit.
“What is it?” Carter yelled as he jumped on his knees onto the couch next to Landon.
“You have to sit to find out.”
Charlotte and Ellie giggled as they scooted close to Hailey. “We’re sitting!” Charlotte announced.
Landon took in a deep breath and blew it out as he looked at Hailey. He smiled. “You ready?”
“Yes,” she said confidently.
“You know guys that I care about all of you, right?”
The kids bobbed their heads up and down, impatient for the news.
“I’m thankful that God made us friends, and that He let me get to know you and become part of your family. But I want to make that official. Your mom and I have been spending a lot of time together, and we’ve talked a lot about how we feel and about our future.” He paused and looked at each of them before he continued. “So we wanted to tell you that we’ve decided we want to all be a family together, and I’ve asked your mom to marry me.”
The girls gasped and looked at Hailey.
Carter jumped off the couch and yelled, “What?”
