My voice has been caught in my throat all evening. Resting an elbow on the bar, I wait for our beers at the Valentine’s Day barn dance in town. It’s been long years since I’ve attended, but this year is different. With Lila, I plan to make this the first of many years, following my parents’ tradition before they passed away.

My heart pounds hard in my chest and I gaze at my woman across the large space. Lila’s in her element tonight, surrounded by relatives and many of our friends from childhood. She and Marie join in with some of the girls they know and start to dance to one of the country songs they used to go crazy over, back in the day. I can’t keep my gaze from Lila. Her hips sway with every move she makes, throwing her knee-length flared skirt every which way while her cowboy boots kick up hay as they laugh and make new memories reliving old ones.

Lila is beaming, and it’s not just from the glow of the endless streams of festive lights strung up to decorate the wooden beams in the ceiling.

The mood around here is cheerful and relaxed tonight, and I might be the only one who has reason to be nervous, although I’m not. My chest is only twisting up in knots because I’m excited, hopeful that not too long from this very moment, Lila will have one answer for me. A yes.

This is the perfect place to do what I’m about to do.

The dance isn’t only for couples. It’s for families. From time to time, the younger kids and teens saunter in to look for their parents or to grab a cup of sweet tea or hot cider. They’re happy to be outside enjoying the hay-bale maze, horse-drawn hay rides and other games set up for their entertainment.

When I look back on all the memories I have of my parents as a loving couple, this dance is one of the times that come to mind. They brought me every year as a boy. Back then, I spent most of my time out playing games or making mischief with my friends. But I still remember the looks my father gave my mother as they danced up close, or how they held hands as they socialized with other couples, or the warm embraces they shared when they figured no one was looking.

I smile as my mental image of them blends with tonight’s crowd. They’d be so proud to know that I’m here tonight, keeping up the tradition. I hope to do more than that. If all goes well, I’ll be the lucky man to make all new memories with Lila at my side. And if our lives follow the course I hope for, we’ll be back here with the family she and I create together.

Lila’s mother, Laura, comes over to stand at my side. She nurses a glass of the wine she’s barely touched all evening. I take a long drink of my beer, my gaze on her daughter and the other girls as they dance and laugh.

“How’s it going? Are you ready to knock this outta the park?” she asks, a hint of excitement in her voice.

I swallow the ice-cold liquid and turn to her briefly. “As ready as I’ll ever be. How about you?”

“We’re good as gold. Anytime. Just give me the nod from the front entrance. I’ll be watching.”

“Give it a few minutes after this set finishes.”

“No problem.” She clicks her wine glass on my beer and gives me a wink. “I have every faith in my future son-in-law. You’ll be great!” she chirps, turning to go back to her socializing.

As the song ends, Lila and her friends hug each other before dispersing to their respective boyfriends, husbands, and families. Lila scans the room, looking for me. When our eyes meet and lock, it all comes flooding back.

She’s mine.

All mine.

I can’t wait for the world to know it.

Her smile seems to brighten as she moves through the crowd toward me. Once she’s close enough, her arm snakes around my waist and her head rests on my shoulder.

“That was fun!” she says through long inhales to catch her breath, a movement that draws my eyes to her cleavage between the deep V of her silky top. Damn, this woman gets hotter every time I see her. It’s a miracle I haven’t snuck her off to a quiet corner around here and taken what’s mine. But there’ll be lot of other dances in our future where we can be frisky. I want this one to be memorable in other ways.

I offer her the beer I got for her. “You sure looked it.”

“But I’m so rusty on the old dance sequences,” she tells me, lifting the beer bottle to her lips. She takes a few long sips then lowers the bottle to waist height. “Either that or I’m out of shape. Look at me, I’m sweating a little.”

“You’re glowing, gorgeous. Just beautiful,” I say and don’t think twice as I tip her head up. My mouth covers hers for a kiss. The moan she exhales at my lips causes a deep lust to come over me. She softens against me and my cock twitches at her lower belly. My fingertips burn as they move down her back, craving more contact, but I remember where we are. I should be used to this by now, but I’m glad I’m not. I’m thrilled that the spark between us has grown to a full-out blaze that won’t end anytime soon.

“Let’s get some fresh air, beautiful,” I whisper at her ear. Taking her hand, I lead her toward the nearest side door. On the way out, we pass by Marie and Patrick, who give me a knowing look because they’re in on tonight’s surprise.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Lila tells Marie. “Just getting some air for a minute.”

“Sounds good. We’ll be right here.”

Seeing the smirk on Patrick’s face makes me smile as I remember the night I almost fought him for Lila. Judging by the way he looks at Marie, I should’ve known he had no intention of being my competition for Lila. It’s a look I recognize because it’s the same way I look at my woman. I have no doubt they’ll hook up one of these days.

We make it to the doors and there’s a lightness in my step. I won’t get used to this feeling either. Ever since she came back to town—back to me—Lila has breathed new life into me and every part of what used to be a damn wearisome existence.

One night with her was all I needed to know that all those years were worth the wait.

A cold blast of air hits us outside. Lila wraps her arms around herself. “Yes, just what the doctor ordered. It’s like summertime inside. I was so hot.”

I pull her close and run my hands down her upper arms. “Not as hot as I got from watching you, sexy.”

Grinning, she tilts her head up at me. “You like watching, do you?” she muses.

A gust of wind whips around us, blowing strands of her hair around her face. I tuck some behind her ear. “If it’s you, yes, I’ll stare at your pretty face and gorgeous body all day long. All night too.”

She lifts up on the tips of her cowboy boots and kisses me, her lips already cold. “Me too, baby.” She smiles against my lips. “Especially if you keep your cowboy hat on.”

“Don’t tempt me, naughty girl.” Drawing her in to my side, I guide her past the front doors and take a quick look inside. Everything’s ready.

“It’s probably too chilly for a walk without your coat,” I tell her and grasp her hand in mine to double back. “Let’s go back in for a while.”

“Okay, but not for too long. All this talk about being hot and naughty has me feeling a bit of both,” she teases, but as she steps through the barn doors, she freezes. Her hand flies up to her face, covering her mouth as her eyes land on it. There’s a large custom sign hanging from the rafters. The dance organizers let me put it up just for Lila, just for tonight. In bold white letters against a black background, it reads,

Lila Clark, Will You Marry Logan?

Her mother sees us at the door, giving the signal for the DJ to turn the music down for a minute. Everyone stops and turns to look, voices hushed, waiting for me to make my move.

It’s time.

Taking her hand, I lower one knee to the ground and meet her eyes, reading the shock and excitement that fill them.

“Logan, oh my gosh,” she whispers out on a breath, her eyes glassy and close to tears.

I pull out a red velvet ring box from my spring jacket, opening the lid to reveal a white gold ring with a cluster of small diamonds around a solitaire. It’s the ring my father gave to my mother when he proposed, and I hope it brings Lila and me all the years of love my parents had, and many more.

I slip the ring out of the box and lift it toward her. “It’s taken me a little longer than I thought to make it to this point…a lot longer… but I hope my timing’s right. Lila, you know how I feel about you. We’ve been best friends for a long time, and even with those years we spent apart, I held you close to my heart. I love you, Lila. I don’t remember a time when that wasn’t the truth. And more than anything, I want to spend every day for the rest of our lives showing you how much. Lila Clark, will you marry me?”

She nods excitedly and the word ‘yes’ forms at her lips, but the words don’t make it out past her throat.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I add, sliding the ring onto her finger.

“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!” she shouts for everyone to hear.

I stand and dust off the hay that clings to the legs of my jeans, then I lift her feet off the ground, my arms around her waist for our first kiss as an engaged couple. It’s warm and tender, sweet and sexy, everything that is Lila Clark. She pulls from my lips but doesn’t stop, kissing me again and again, neither of us paying any mind to the thunderous round of applause that fills the air around us in celebration of our special moment.

As the music starts again, her mother, Marie, and Rowan come over to congratulate us with brisk handshakes and tight hugs, to admire her ring and wish us well. Friends file by as well, reminding us we have all the family and love we’ll ever need, right now and forever.