“Uh huh.” Go on, baby, ask me.
“Jesse Enders, will you be my prince?” She offers me the pie plate and I accept it without hesitation.
The crowd cheers and I chuckle as they begin to chant, “Feed him! Feed him! Feed him!”
Grinning, and as tradition insists, Hayden gathers a forkful of pie and slides it into my mouth.
“So fucking good,” I mutter around the gooey sweetness. I expect her to offer me another, but she takes the plate back instead and hands it off to Jinx.
The hell…
“I have something else I’d like to say,” she says, reaching for both of my hands. “Something I should have said a long time ago.”
“Babe, you don’t need to do this now, not in front of everyone…”
“But I do.” She pulls her shoulders back and turns her wrist over, showing me her tattoo… which isn’t quite how I remember it.
“Whoa.” When the hell did she do that?
Glittery emotion lines her eyes as she points to what I realize is a date, nestled along the tail of one of those shooting stars. There’s new script, too.
“On this day, almost seven years ago, you came into my life, literally out of nowhere. We spent less than an hour together, but you made me feel like I was the only girl in the world that night. You were sweet and kind and funny and patient and…” Her face pinches for a moment before she regains her composure. “And I knew, right then, beneath those stars, that you were someone special. Someone I would never forget. But I wasn’t ready. And I had a lot of growing up to do before I could realize the magnitude of those few moments with you.” Her fingers slide to the script and a lump lodges in my throat. “But I knew enough, because that night, I’d wished for you. You are my wish come true, Jesse, just like this says.”
I nod and try to swallow against the pressure in my chest, but that’s the most I can do without cracking in front of everyone. When I asked her to be brave, I sure as hell didn’t expect this.
“Our journey hasn’t been an easy one, but you’ve stood up for what you thought was best for our family from the very start. You set your feelings aside and you let me do what I thought I needed to, even though I know it hurt like hell.
“You came every two weeks and so many times in between when you didn’t have to. For Jett and for me and for us. You were my partner in every way that mattered and, even though we weren’t together, we were never really apart, either.
“We’ve shared so many little moments together. Moments that seemed trivial at the time, but have ended up meaning the most. Moments that dug deep and latched on, making it impossible for either of us to let go. Moments that made me love you even more than I thought possible.”
“Hayden…” I pull her to me, my hands sliding back into her hair, needing her close. Needing to breathe her air because I can’t get enough of my own.
But she presses a finger to my lips, pushes back, and drops to one knee in front of me.
I swear to God the world tips a little in that moment, because the crowd blurs and my knees shake and, holy shit, she has a ring.
“Jesse Aaron Enders, you are not only my partner and my son’s father and now my prince, but you are the love of my life. I’d be honored and blessed if you’d consider becoming my husband, t—”
I pull her to her feet and claim her mouth with mine before she can even finish the sentence, because hell. Fucking. Yes.
Vaguely, I hear the crowd erupt even louder than they had earlier. Hands pat me on the back, too, but none of it matters as much as the woman in my arms. The woman I have wanted and dreamed about and built my life around. The woman I want more children with. The woman I want to grow old with. The woman I’ve wanted as my wife for so damn long.
“Is that a yes, frat boy?” She smiles against my lips when I break the kiss to catch my breath.
“I don’t know, city girl…” I dig out the diamond I’ve carried in my pocket for the past month—and have kept in my drawer for four years—and hold it up for her to see. “Is it?”
“Fucking finally!” one of my brothers hollers before the Cole Creek festival grounds turn into the mosh pit minus the actual moshing.
Hayden jumps into my arms, her legs going around my waist as I spin us in circles and kiss her until everything but the two of us fades away.
“I love you,” I promise her, slipping the ring on her finger and then holding mine out so she can do the same.
“I love you,” she promises back. “Are we really doing this?”
“Was there ever a doubt?”
She laughs. “I don’t know. Things were kinda shaky there for awhile.”
“Just wanted you to be sure.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
“You wanna elope?”
“I’d love to, but I know you want to get married in church for your mom.”
“True.” I steal another peck that turns into another long, smoldering exchange that leaves us breathless and grasping at each other. “You wanna go home and fuck?”
“Mmm, I like the way you think.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Why am I still dressed, frat boy?”
I laugh and take her home, and we don’t come out of the bedroom—our bedroom—until Sunday afternoon when Hannah comes by with Jett.
And then the three of us pick up the trailer full of their things and bring it back to the home I built for us.
The home where we’ll create memories and share all the rest of our moments.
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER…
Every morning, my heart drives away in a Chevy truck. And every night when he comes home, I swear I love him even more than when he left.
Today, I feel it more than usual. Not only because Jesse was at the jobsite all day and didn’t have time for our usual flirty texts, but because something special happened today. And I can’t wait to tell him.
“Max and Joey are here!” Jett calls from the foyer. “Bye, Mom!”
“Wait! Don’t you dare leave without a hug!” I toss the kitchen towel and hurry to the front door before he escapes. This five going on fifteen stuff is for the birds.
“Mommm.” He’s all eye rolls and groans when I bend and pull him in.
“I’m not going to see you for a whole day. Let me have my moment.”
“Ugh,” he concedes, barely giving me a half-assed hug in return.
As much as I dislike how quickly he’s gone from loving hugs and snuggles to being embarrassed by them, I’m so grateful that we don’t have to say goodbye every other weekend like we used to.
“I love you, sweet pea.” I kiss his cheek and ruffle his hair, and the crooked smile that lifts one side of his mouth is so Jesse that I have to kiss him again.
“Love you, too,” he sighs as the devil himself pulls up beside Becca’s SUV outside.
We step out on the deck and I wave to Becca as Jett takes off toward the car where Max stands, grinning like a fool.
“Heading out, little man?” Jesse asks, hopping out of his truck.
“Yep! Bye, Dad!” He barely even glances Jesse’s way before he climbs into and pulls the car door shut behind himself.