“What are you two up to?” Chloe asked as we walked along the beach. It was supposed to be a beautiful, sunny day, but the weather gods had a change of plans. The clouds were darkening by the second, and a storm was moving in quickly.

I didn’t have much time. I had this all planned out, and I was not letting a thunderstorm ruin my plan.

“Patience, Mom,” Tanner said, giving me a wink. “Isn’t that what you always tell me?” His smile widened. He could barely contain his excitement.

She narrowed her eyes at me then looked up to the sky. “Whatever it is you two are up to, you better hurry up or we are going to get swept away in a storm.”

A few minutes later, we had finally reached our destination. “Here we are,” I announced, grabbing her waist and turning her around to the beachfront property I had just purchased.

“Oh my God, this place is beautiful,” she said, admiring the two-story house that was outlined with a white picket fence and a wraparound porch. The navy shutters and massive glass-arched windows gave it one of the most distinctive looks on the beach.

“I agree. I love it so much that I decided to buy it. The owner accepted my offer yesterday. We close on it in a few weeks.”

She craned her neck to look at me. “What do you mean?”

After I got things established and got my new real estate business up and running, I ran across this property when I was nearby looking at a piece of undeveloped land for my company’s latest project.

I struck up a conversation with the owner, admiring all the thought and detail he had put into the design of the place. I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect to come home to every night. It was the perfect house for us to start a family. I asked him if it was for sale and he declined. Since I was never one to take no for an answer, I offered him about $100,000 over the market price, and he agreed to sell.

Not the most profitable deal I ever made, but some things you just couldn’t put a price tag on.

“This is our new home.” I said, wrapping my arms around her from behind.

“You already have a beach house.”

“I needed a bigger house, I said, into the back of her hair that was blowing in the breeze. “One for all of us.” She spun around to face me just as I got down on one knee.

Her hand flew to her mouth when her eyes landed on the sparkling diamond in my palm.

My hands felt unsteady, and I’ve never been more nervous in my life. “I want to start over, Chloe. I want to raise our family here. Share our lives together and build memories. I want our future to start here and now.”

I looked up at the sky that just started to release a few raindrops. Not exactly what I had in mind for my romantic proposal, but I wasn’t going to let it dampen our spirits.

“Chloe, you gave me a life I never knew I wanted. You showed me your heart and made me believe in things I swore I never would. You pulled me in when I tried to push you away. You believed in us when I had all but given up. I want you to be mine forever. Will you marry me?”

She placed both hands on my cheeks. Her eyes were blurred with tears, but there was no mistaking her joy and happiness. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”

My heart thudded against my chest. “So, that’s a ‘yes?’”

She looked at Tanner. He smiled while looking between the two of us. “The fact that you included my son in this special moment just shows me the kind of man you are. The man I want to spend the rest of my life with, so that is a yes. A hell yes!”

I placed the ring on her tiny little finger, picked her up, spun her around, and then kissed the hell out of her.

“Ew, gross,” we heard Tanner say.

We broke apart laughing, and then I reached down and placed my hand on Tanner’s shoulder. “Thanks for giving me permission to marry your mom.”

“You asked him?” New tears were streaking down her cheek.

Tanner nodded his head, his eyes filled pride.

She shook her head in disbelief before wrapping her arms around me. “I love you. More at this moment than I ever have.”

I brought my lips to hers. “I love you too.”

Just then a bolt of lightning flashed, and rain started to pour from the sky.

“We are getting soaked up here!” Cassie yelled, as she, Liam, Emily, Chase, Nick, Carly, Kristen, my mom, and Brogan all cheered while they came out of their hiding spot.

Chloe lifted her head to see everyone we loved and cared about come walking around from the side of the house, shouting congratulations.

Even Brogan’s new girlfriend, Natalie, who was a third-grade teacher at Tanner’s school, was there. They hit it off at the ice-cream social a few weeks ago and have been together ever since.

I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders when he started dating Natalie. Not that I was worried about him stealing my girl, but it was definitely uncomfortable at times knowing their shared history. Which right now, that’s exactly what it was—in the past.

I may not have been her beginning, but I knew I was going to be with her until the end.