Kat
Rolling onto my side, sore and groggy, I wake with a start when I no longer feel Lucy on my chest. Fuck. My eyes spring open as I frantically pat around, searching for her. She’s… she’s nowhere to be found. Where’s my baby?
“Ryker! Ryker!” I croak, about to lose my shit, heart lodged in my throat.
A pungent floral aroma hits me hard, quickly followed by the familiar scent of pancakes and bacon. Noises, lots of them, carry from the front of the house into the bedroom through the open door.
A tiny less freaked than before, I reach for my glasses and slip them on. That’s when a burst of colors hits me tenfold. I soak in the staggering view of our bedroom. He did not. No freaking way! Lifting my glasses, I scrub my eyes before double checking this is indeed real. Sure enough, it is. There are hundreds, if not thousands of flowers in various vases and baskets covering nearly every square inch of our room. Roses, daisies, and tulips alike. If that wasn’t enough, there are stacks of… I cover my mouth, giggling like a giddy school girl. He did not do that, too. Sno Caps, boxes of them are stacked on the hearth. We’re talking at least fifty, possibly a hundred. Tilting my head back, downright overwhelmed by this romantic display, I glance heavenward to give my brain a chance to process. Heart shaped balloons in red, white, and pinks coat the entirety of the ceiling. This crazy fool has thought of everything. I must’ve slept like the dead, if he could accomplish all of this without me waking. Can’t say I wasn’t tired, but this is insane. Too much. He had to have planned this way in advance or bought out the entire store this morning when I was asleep.
I check the time.
Hell, it’s only nine. I didn’t sleep that long.
This was definitely premeditated.
Speaking of the devil, the man in question is wheeling himself through the door right now with a plate poised on his palm like a waiter.
“This is a lot.” Scooting up the bed, I gesture to the space, blanket tucked beneath my chin to maintain some modesty, in case the girls aren’t far behind.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, babe. The first one we’ve had together in years.”
Why do those words do funny things to my stomach? His sweetness rivals even my sexiest book boyfriends. And that’s saying something.
“I didn’t know we were doing gifts.” If I had, I would’ve gotten him chocolates or a card.
“We’re not. I am. Plus, you gave me a daughter. That’s the greatest gift I’ve ever gotten.”
“That’s not fair, Ryker. And I’ve given you three.”
He perches his fully dressed self on the edge of our bed. That t-shirt does little to hide the man candy underneath. Those abs… “Not on a holiday, you haven’t. And it’s totally fair. Valentine’s Day is… what?”
Lordy, not this crap again.
I suppress a silly eye roll, trying hard not to smile as well.
“A holiday for men to show their woman that they care,” I drone, reciting the same words he pounded into my brain a decade ago.
“Yup, and to do this.” He sets a plate of heavenly scented scrumdidliumptiousness on my lap that contains his signature pancakes topped with a bacon heart and...
Wait.
Where’s the maple syrup?
Hold up.
What’s that in the center, poking out of the pancake?
No.
No way!
This isn’t happening!
Oh, my…
A hand gently clamps around my wrist, that’s shaking. Holy Mary mother of all that is hot and tattooed in the world… he’s…
“Will you marry me?” Ryker’s words permeate the air with growly hesitation, as I stare in a state of perpetual shock at the enchanting diamond that’s winking back at me.
Yes, I said winking.
The morning light streaming in through the windows is hitting the ring at just the right angle.
Inching a single trembling finger forward, I touch the princess cut gem a mere instant before I jerk my hand away as if it bit me.
“I… I… I dunno what to say.” Are those tears running rampant down my cheeks?
I swipe the back of my hand across my face. Sure enough, they are.
“Say yes,” Ryker suggests, humor marinating his tone.
Say yes. Say yes, to marrying Ryker. I never thought a moment like this would ever come where I could say yes. This is all too surreal.
Shaking my head to disconnect the gemstone stare down, I look to him, searching for the right words. “I just had a baby.”
Yep, boys and girls, apparently I have no brain to mouth filter.
Ryker smiles wide, all teeth and sexy charm. Eyes twinkling. “My baby.”
Blinking, I nod dumbly. “Right. Your baby.”
This is mortifying.
Just say it already, Kat.
“Who’s with her sisters, brother, uncle, and grandpas right now so I could do this.” He plucks the band from the fluffy hotcakes and doesn’t hesitate to slide it on my ring finger. It fits like a well-worn glove.
Way in over my head, I stare at it some more, on my finger, where it belongs. The butterflies in my belly are doing The Macarena. My lenses fog up from this torrential downpour happening on my face.
“Tiger, it’s alright.”
“It’s not,” I blubber, successfully ruining what could’ve been the most romantic proposal of all time.
Ryker carefully removes my glasses and uses our sheet to wipe my disastrous face. This isn’t how you’re supposed to look when you get engaged. I’m one hot mess while he… Sheesh. He’s always so damn yummy. It’s not fair that he gets to be that handsome every single minute of every single day.
“Why do you wanna marry me for anyhow?” I sniffle. He needs to be certain he knows what he’s getting into here. I’m not Vanessa, this isn’t a commitment he can make on a whim. Or take lightly. This is it. I’m it. Divorce is not an option. My heart couldn’t take it. Not after everything we’ve been through.
Cupping my jaw, Ryker leans in, his lips a hairbreadth from mine. “So I can kiss you anytime I fuckin’ want,” he rumbles planting a savory kiss that seals our union forevermore. My heart soars to the sky as I kiss him back. It takes but a moment for it to escalate to tongues and groans… to promises of more. Soon, I’ll marry my soulmate. Soon, I’ll be Mrs. Knox. Soon, our family will be bound by more than love and blood. This is it. This is my forever. It’s him. It’s always been him. As it was written in the stars.
The End
Not quite…