The house was completely silent as I slid my key into the lock and opened the front door. Furrowing my brow, I stepped into the foyer and slipped out of my heels.

“Tony, sugar, I’m home.” Nothing but silence. “Lucca, baby, where are you?”

I was a heartbeat away from panicking when I noticed the colorful, handwritten note hanging on the wall to my right. Confused, I picked it up and read the words scribbled across the front in masculine handwriting.

It read, Roses are red, violets are blue, you are my world, and Lucca is too.

“What?” I whispered to myself. “What’s he up to?”

Smiling, I hiked up my dress so I didn’t fall, and quietly moved to the living room. “Tony,” I called his name again, “sugar, I know you’re up to something.”

Something cool met the bottom of my foot.

Stepping back, I lifted my leg and looked down at the ground.

That’s when I saw them.

Red and blue flower petals—hundreds of them by the looks of it—were scattered throughout the living room, creating a winding path that led to the back door next to the kitchen.

At the sight, my heart nearly flew right out of my chest.

Sweet baby Jesus, what is this man up to?

Following the petals, I made my way to the door.

Once there, I found another note.

This one simply read, Come outside.

Heart pounding, I placed my hand on the knob and turned. Pushing the heavy door open, I stepped out onto the back patio. A second later, my eyes landed on Anthony and Lucca.

Both were standing in the middle of the backyard, beneath the towering oak tree that Anthony swore he was going to building Lucca a treehouse in. Wearing matching smiles, they both watched me intently.

“Ma-Ma!” Lucca shouted. “Here, Ma-ma, here!”

Anthony didn’t move nor did he speak. He only stared.

Feeling faint, I willed my legs to move and propel me forward. My heart slammed against my ribcage with every step that I took, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to cover the distance that separated them from me. My poor legs felt like spaghetti noodles, and I was positive I was half a second away from face-planting into the grass.

I stopped when five feet separated me from them.

“Hi, Ma-ma,” Lucca said sweetly.

Bending down, I scooped my little man up into my arms and kissed his cheek. “Hi, baby. I missed you.” He giggled before tucking his face into the crook of my neck.

My eyes found Anthony’s. “What’s going on, Tony?”

Without saying a word, he lifted his hand and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “You’re so beautiful, Shelby.”

Smiling, I pressed a kiss to the pad of his thumb. “You’re not so bad yourself, stud muffin.”

I expected him to lean in and kiss me or at the very least smile.

He did neither.

“Tony, sugar, what’s going—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Anthony wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me into him. Lucca squealed at the sudden movement.

Then, looking into my eyes, he took my free hand into his. “I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. I know it sounds crazy, but the second my eyes landed on you standing in the middle of the station, I knew that you were it for me. In the blink of an eye, you became my hope, my light, my purpose. All it took was one look, baby, and you became my entire world.”

I was going to faint. Seriously, I was seconds away from passing out.

Breathe, Shelby. Just fricken breathe!

“That day I decided that it didn’t matter what I had to do, I was going to make you mine.” Anthony’s gaze moved to Lucca. “And then I met Lucca, and I fell in love all over again.” Licking his lower lip, he cupped my face in his hands. “I never believed in fate until I met you, Shelby.”

For what felt like the millionth time that day, tears filled my eyes. “Tony…”

“Shh, baby, let me finish.”

Closing his eyes, Anthony exhaled. Then he dropped to his knees in front of me. At first, I didn’t realize what was happening, but then realization struck me directly in the gut.

Oh, my God.

Oh. My. Fricken. God!

“You and Lucca are the reason I breathe, Shelby. Without you, I won’t be able to survive.” Pausing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. After popping open the lid, he slid out the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. It wasn’t big and gaudy. White gold. Princess cut diamond. It was simple, elegant.

Lifting my left hand in the air, he placed the ring on the tip of my fourth finger. “I want to be your husband, and I want to be Lucca’s father.” His beautiful grey eyes bored into mine. “Give me those things, Shelby.” The hand holding mine began to shake. “Make me the happiest man in the world”—another pause—“Say you’ll marry me, sunshine.”

My heart screamed for me to tell him yes but my snarky ass brain had other ideas. Clearing my throat, I tilted my head and looked at him over my nose. “I’ll marry you but only under one condition.”

Anthony scowled, and Lucca laughed. “I’m almost afraid to ask.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “What’s the condition, Little Miss Sass Mouth?”

“I want babies.” Anthony’s eyes popped open. “I’m thinking three. Though, I may go for four if I don’t get a little girl on the next two tries.” Quirking a brow, one side of his mouth tipped up. “And I want a dog. Preferably a beagle but a basset hound will do in a pinch.”

“Anything else?”

Anthony and I both looked at Lucca. “Nah, I think that about covers it.”

Shaking his head, Anthony looked at me expectantly. “Well,” he urged, “what’s it going to be, beautiful—are you going to marry me or not? Because if not, go ahead and put me out of my damn misery.”

Shimmying my shoulders, I stared down at the man who had quickly become the other half of my soul. “Yes, I’ll marry you, stud muffin.”

He exhaled in relief. “Thank Christ!” After sliding the ring on my finger and securing it in place, he stood up. Wrapping a fist in my hair, he pulled my face to meet his. “You have got to be the biggest pain in the ass I have ever met.”

I smirked. “Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me now. How’s that make you feel?”

“Like the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.” His lips crashed into mine and Lucca screamed loud enough to rupture my eardrums. “Toe kiss Ma-ma!”

Pulling back, Anthony looked down at me with heated eyes. “Sunshine, you sealed your fate the minute you opened that pretty little mouth of yours and tossed a handful of sass my way.” Smiling at me, his eyes lit up. “You’re mine, baby. From now until forever.”

“You’re mine too, Tony. From now until forever.”