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"Tia cursed!" her three-year-old niece Penelope shouted.
"What’s wrong?" Luci asked.
Laura shook her head in disbelief. Knox couldn’t be there. Why would he be there?
There was only one way to find out.
30
"Thanks so much, Mr. Lopez."
"Call me Jose."
Laura’s father pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Welcome to the family."
She hasn’t said yes yet.Knox thought to himself as he stepped back and patted his pocket, where the very expensive ring he’d just bought at a jewelry store Ivy googled and found on the way was burning a hole.
His mind was racing with questions.
Was this crazy?
Should he be here?
On the way over, his nieces, mom, and Seb rode in his car with him. Chrissy, Ford, and her kids had all driven together. The two-hour drive would have given him time to think, except his family had talked non-stop. Ivy and Iris had played Taylor Swift the entire car ride, and he had just been laser-focused on the task at hand.
When he pulled up, he started to have second thoughts and might have turned right back around if it hadn’t been for his entire family tagging along. His first big hurdle was out of the way. He’d asked Laura’s father for his blessing, and he’d gotten it.
Now he just needed to convince Laura that he was ready. That he wanted to settle down. That he wanted to be a husband and a father.
"What are you doing here?" Laura asked as she walked out of the side gate that he assumed led to the back yard. When she noticed his family, who were all congregated in her parents’ front yard, she asked, "What are they doing here?"
"I need to talk to you." Knox could see the color draining from Laura’s face.
He quickly guided Laura over to a bench that sat beneath a large oak tree at the front of her parents' property. The one that she’d told him that she had always imagined this moment taking place in front of. It was about fifty yards away from the crowd, which was now about thirty deep thanks to all of her family joining it.
At least if he was going to be humiliated, it would only be witnessed visually and not audibly.
Knox had never considered himself an impetuous person. He thought everything out. But he’d barely thought this through. His big plan had been to show up; now he was just sort of winging it.
"Sit down." The command came out harsher than he’d meant it to, but she was getting paler by the second, and he was worried.
"I’m not a dog," she snapped back at him a second before her face lit with recognition at the call back as she lowered onto the bench.
He smiled down at her. "Good girl."
Laura started to smile but then shook her head. "What are you doing here? What were you talking to my dad about? Why was he hugging you? Did you tell him—"
"I’ve been an idiot," Knox said, interrupting her rapid-fire questions.
Her eyes widened in shock. She apparently hadn’t expected him to open with that, and in fairness, he was pretty surprised that was the first thing that had come out of his mouth.
"And I might be making a total fool of myself here, and I know you don’t believe me, but I have changed my mind."
"About what?"
"Everything. I thought I knew what I wanted in my life. I wanted to be free. To not have any responsibilities. But that’s just a lonely life. I want commitment. I want responsibility. I want people who can count on me. I want you. I love you. And I love our babies."
A knot formed in Knox’s stomach when he saw the expression on Laura’s face. Instead of happiness, she just looked tired. Her shoulders dropped, and she sighed.
