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"You don’t have to do this, Knox. You don’t have to step up and take responsibility. Like I said, I never would have agreed to our arrangement if I thought I’d actually be able to conceive. I only did it because—"
"Because you wanted to let your freak flag fly before you became celibate so you could raise your baby alone," he finished.
She nodded. "It sounds crazy when you put it like that, but yeah. That’s exactly what it was."
"Well, thankfully, life didn’t give two shits about your plan or mine. God, fate, the universe, hell—maybe it was even the Needlepoint Mafia, or whatever outside forces brought us together knew better than we did. Because you did get pregnant. I did realize that all I want is you, our babies, and a family. And I don’t care if we stay in Whisper Lake, move back here to be close to your family, or move to Timbuktu. I’ll go anywhere and do anything to be with you. I need you. I can’t imagine my life without you in it."
She bit the inside of her lip before sighing. "I just… I’m scared that this is just how you feel right now. But what if, a year from now or ten years from now, you resent me? What if you think I trapped you?"
"How could I think that? You didn’t even think you could get pregnant. And in the spirit of full transparency, I was scared that what I was feeling was just temporary, too. But then I talked to Ford, and it turns out he might know me better than I know myself. He told me that the reason I haven’t ever wanted to get married or have kids is because of my father's death, and he was right. I didn’t even know that’s why it was, but after he said it, everything just clicked. I saw how devastated my mom and I were—it was horrible. And I felt so scared and abandoned, and I never wanted to be the cause of anyone feeling that way. I might have some control issues."
Laura grinned. "I wouldn’t know anything about that."
Knox chuckled. "Ford made me see what, deep down, I’ve always known. I love kids and want to be a dad. I was scared of commitment, but not for the reasons most people think. I was scared of it because I never want to let someone down. I never want to make anyone feel how I felt when my dad died. And you need to know that I will do everything in my power and work every day to never let you or our babies down. But the truth is, if something out of our control does happen, I know that you will be okay. You have an incredible support system that will take care of you. And even if you didn’t, you’d figure it out, like my mom did.
"Laura, I can’t walk away from you, from us, from this. I love you. I have loved you since the moment I looked across the dance floor and saw you standing there in your purple dress. It was game over. I was yours.
"I will do everything in my power to love you, to protect you and our family, to provide for us, and to be the best partner that I can be to you. I can’t promise that things will always be easy, but I can promise that when things get hard, we will face them together. We’re a team. A really good fucking team."
Laura nodded as tears began to fall down her cheeks. He could see that she was softening.
"So to answer your question, I came here because I wanted to do this." Knox got on his knee and pulled out the solitaire three-carat diamond ring with an infinity band that his mom, Chrissy, Ivy, Iris, Fiona, Cassidy, and Kimber had all agreed Laura wouldlove. "And I was talking to your dad because I was asking for his blessing. Which he gave me, which is why he was hugging me. So Laura Annalise Lopez, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife so we can live happily fucking ever after together?"
Laura stared at him, then at the ring, then back at him. He wasn’t sure if she was in shock or if she really didn’t know what her answer was. The latter made the knot in his stomach tighten.
"I’m not trying to say you owe me, but I think it’s only fair that since I made your fantasy come true, you make mine come true. I want to grow old with you, sit on a rocking chair on our porch, and watch all of our grandkids run around."
Huge tears started falling down Laura’s cheeks as her chin dipped in a slow nod.
"Is that a yes?" Knox’s heart couldn’t take much more. It felt like it was going to explode.
"Yes," she whispered before her voice got a little louder. "Yes. Yes!"
Knox slid the ring onto her finger; it was a perfect fit. He stood, picked her up in his arms, and swung her around.
Applause broke out from the front of the house where the crowd had gathered.
"If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was a shotgun wedding," Lori shouted.
Knox set Laura down and she bit her lip as she looked up at him. He silently communicated that it was up to her if she wanted to spill the news now or not.
When she placed her hand on her stomach, he knew that she’d made the decision.
"Actually, I’m pregnant. It’s still early but—"
The rest of what she said was drowned out by the roar of cheers from both sides of the family.
Knox was suddenly surrounded by his brothers, cousin, mom and nieces and Laura was swarmed by her family which was considerably larger.
"Congratulations!" Ford pulled his brother into a hug. Not a one-armed man hug that was his normal MO. It was a real hug. "You’re gonna be a great dad." He patted his back twice.
"Yeah, and guess what?"
"What?" he asked.
"It’s twins."
Ford smiled and his head fell back and laughed. "Oh, yeah, this is gonna be fun."
As Knox watched his mom and nieces and new sister-in-law hug Laura as her entire family celebrated around them, Knox knew his brother was right. This was gonna be fun.
THE END
