“I’ve been trying to decide what to get you for your birthday.” His mouth is at my ear, and the whisper of his breath across my skin gives me chills.
“You saved our daughter from drowning. That’s the only gift I’ll ever need.”
“That wasn’t your gift.” He kisses my cheek. “Saving Dove was for all of us. It’s why we all did it.”
My heart squeezes, and it’s so true.
“So I had a few things in mind. I think I’ve decided which it’ll be.”
Lifting my chin, I smile up at him. “It’s fun listening to you decide right in front of me.”
He tweaks my chin and pulls me off the dance floor. “Come with me.”
Our hands are clasped as he leads me quickly to the door. My lip goes between my teeth, and I’m proud and a little self-conscious following his sexy swagger through the room, I notice heads turning as he passes, and I think of the first time I ever saw Taron Rhodes. I thought he was a god. Now I know he’s all that and more.
We step out into the night, and the cold air hits me. “It’s freezing out here!”
He pauses to remove his tuxedo coat, putting it around my shoulders. I slide my arms in the sleeves, and he leads me a little farther to where a white gazebo is elevated in the middle of the park.
Christmas decorations light up the scenery in pretty shades of red, gold, and green. I’ve never minded being born on Christmas Day. The whole world is beautifully decorated, the songs are amazing, and it’s really hard not to feel the love in our small town.
Taron faces me, pulling me closer again. “I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for a while, but things keep happening.”
“Talk to me? Is something happening?”
“I hope so.” He reaches to his chest then stops, exhaling a laugh. “My bad.”
Reaching forward, he feels into the breast pocket of his coat, which is way too big for me. “I talked to Sawyer about this a while back…” He takes a step back and goes down on one knee.
“Oh my God, Taron… What are you—”
“Noel Aveline, I don’t deserve you. I never have. I went away to try and prove I could be good enough for you, but I fucked that all up…”
“Taron, no! You didn’t—”
“This isn’t really a birthday present for you, because if you say yes, you’ll be giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for.” He takes out a beautiful ring. It has white-gold branches wrapping delicately around a glowing white stone. “It’s a moonstone. It represents new beginnings, success and good fortune. You’re the only fortune I ever want. You’re the love of my life. You’re the mother of my children. You’re the half of me I can’t live without. Will you marry me?”
My throat is so tight, I can hardly speak. Tears flood my eyes, and I can only nod quickly as I hold a hand over my nose, not wanting him to see me ugly cry.
“Oh, Taron… Yes! Of course, I will. I love you.”
He rises, slipping the beautiful ring on the third finger of my left hand. “I know it’s not traditional—”
Reaching up, I put my hand on his cheek, smiling so big. “Nothing about us is.”
Leaning down, he covers my mouth with his, kissing me slow, curling his tongue against mine. “Let’s go tell everybody.”
“What?”
Clasping my hand, he takes off jogging toward the civic center. I hold the lapels of his jacket closed doing my best to keep up, and when we get back to the crowded ballroom, he bursts through the doors and shouts, “She said yes!”
The entire room erupts into cheers. People shoot off poppers, and streams of confetti fly all around us. Champagne corks explode, and the band launches into “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
“Yaasss, girl!” Mindy runs up and grabs me around the waist. “Congratulations, you two.”
Sawyer comes over and shakes Taron’s hand then hugs me. “So happy for you, sis.”
My eyes heat at his words, and I look up at Taron, who’s looking down at me with so much pride in his eyes.
“You did all this?”
He nods, grinning in that way that makes me want to rip all his clothes off. “I’m glad you said yes, or I’d have been embarrassed.”
“As if I would ever say anything else.” I reach up to hug him, and he lifts me off my feet.
Everyone cheers again as he spins in a slow circle, holding me in his arms. I laugh, and he puts me down. We’re surrounded by so many friends, our family. I can only think of one thing left…
“We have to tell Dove and Leon.”
“Well, Leon already knows. At least, he knows I was planning to ask you.”
We dance a little longer, shaking friends’ hands and hugging necks, until I can’t stand it any longer. Then we wave and head out the door, back to the house.
Dove is sitting on the couch between Leon and Akela when we arrive. Leon stands, giving Taron a hand clasp and squeezing my arm.
“Welcome to the family.”
His words clearly mean a lot to Taron, but I’m focused on the little lady watching us so curiously. Going to her, I sit down and take her hand in mind.
“Is it okay if we talk for a minute?”
She shifts around, furrowing her brow. “Am I in trouble?”
“No!” Taron laughs. “Not at all, baby. We just wanted to talk to you about something… See how you feel about it.”
“Okay.” She nods, looking up at us like a little adult.
Clearing my throat, I take the lead. “Dove, you love Daddy, right?” She nods emphatically, and I keep going. “I love Daddy, too. So we were thinking, well, we decided…” I hesitate, and Taron steps in.
“Mommy said she would marry me. She’s going to be my wife, and we’re all going to live together like a family. Is that okay?”
She doesn’t immediately react, and my nerves kick in. “Dove? Is that okay?”
Her bright eyes blink quickly, and her little chin quivers. Taron and I both react at once. “Honey, what’s wrong?” I take her hand, putting my other on her shoulder.
“Does this mean Daddy’s going to take us away? I’ll never get to see Uncle Sawyer or Uncle Leon or Boo or Akela anymore?”
“No!” A lump is in my throat and I almost cry. “No, baby, it doesn’t mean any of that!”
“Dove,” Taron’s voice is gentle. “I love it here. I would never take you away from your family.”
“Daddy’s becoming a part of our family now. For real.”
As we speak her expression changes. She starts to smile, and even though a little tear escapes, she jumps up on the couch and waves her hands. “It’s going to be a wedding! Just like at the end of The Little Mermaid, and we’ll have rainbows and music, and can I wear a fancy dress like yours, Mamma?”
Sniffing back my tears, I start to laugh, pulling her into a hug. “Of course, you can.”
Taron surrounds us both with his strong arms, but we can only hold our little munchkin a second before she’s off the couch and dancing around the room.
“A wedding! And nothing’s going to change!” She hops, lifting her leg behind her and doing her Angelina dance moves.