His grin is big and goofy and adorable. “Yep.”
“I’ll allow it anytime gifts are involved.” I pull the bow off the box and open it to find nothing but tissue paper that I pull out until I uncover another smaller package wrapped in shiny silver paper. I’m all thumbs as I try to get the paper off, and my heart nearly stops when I reveal a navy blue velvet box. “Wyatt…”
He takes the box from me, gets down on his knees next to the bed and takes hold of my hand.
My heart is beating so fast that I fear I might hyperventilate. “Wh-what’re you doing?”
Wyatt kisses the back of my hand. “I was so thrilled when Jason asked me to be in his wedding. He’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I was looking forward to sharing his big day with him. But I had no idea whatsoever how that weekend in Miami would change my life forever. I spent one day and one night with you, and all I knew was I needed more of you. When Jason told me there was an opening at his hospital, he was joking around. Wishful thinking, he said. He never expected me to jump on it and ask him to get me an interview because he didn’t know yet that I’d fallen hard for his wife’s cousin.”
“Wyatt.” I use my free hand to wipe tears from my face.
“You can’t begin to know what you’ve done for me, Dee, how you’ve given me things I never dared to dream possible for myself. Before I knew you, I was living half a life, and now…” His voice catches, and he takes a second to deal with his emotions. “Now, my new heart doesn’t have enough room for all the love I have for you and the life we’re building together. When I said you gave me everything, I meant it. You’ve shown me that the things I denied myself are the very best things, the things that make life worth living. I know it’s all happened fast, but as you said, we have no time to waste. I already know what I want, and that’s to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Dee?”
“Yes! Oh my God, Wyatt! Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes.”
Smiling, he pushes himself up and onto the bed to kiss and hug me so tightly, I can barely breathe. “Thank you for everything. I can’t wait to marry you.”
I pull back so I can see his gorgeous face. “You say I’ve given you so much, but you’ve done the same for me. When I think about the place I was in that Friday night when you came back to Miami, that seems like another lifetime after everything that’s happened since then.”
“None of it would’ve happened if you hadn’t been the strongest, most courageous person I’ve ever met. You never blinked an eye when I told you about my situation. You just grabbed me by the hand and demanded I live as fully as possible for as long as I can.”
“And you… You’ve restored my faith and put me back together.”
He shakes his head. “You did that on your own. That’s why you were ready for me when I came along.”
“I like the way I look to you.”
“I love the way you look to me.” Flashing a dirty grin, he runs his hand down my back to cup my ass and pulls me in tight against his erection. “Wait! We forgot the ring!”
I dissolve into laughter. Once upon a time, the ring might’ve been the most important part of this moment. Not anymore. Not with him.
He finds the velvet box and opens it to reveal a stunning diamond ring that he slides onto the third finger of my left hand, holding it up to admire how it looks. “What do you think?”
I can’t believe we’re engaged or how gorgeous the ring is. “I love it, Wyatt. Almost as much as I love you.”
“Carmen and Jason helped me pick it out.”
“She knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
“I swore her to secrecy. I wanted us always to remember the first night we spent in our new home.”
“Safe to say I’ll never forget it.”
“Let’s make sure, shall we?”
When he kisses me, I wrap my arms and legs around him, wanting him and our life together more than I’ve ever wanted anything. For however long it may last, being loved by him makes me feel like the luckiest woman who’s ever lived.
Thank you for reading How Much I Love! I hope you enjoyed this new installment in my Miami Nights Series. I’m having ALL THE FUN with this family and these stories. I hope to continue this series with more books, so make sure you’re on my newsletter mailing list at marieforce.com to hear about future books. Also, keep an eye on the Miami Nights Reader Group at facebook.com/groups/MiamiNightsSeries for information about upcoming books, and join the How Much I Love Reader Group at facebook.com/groups/howmuchilove/ to discuss Dee and Wyatt’s story with spoilers allowed. We have some fun Miami Nights merchandise in the store, including series boxes offered with and without the books. Check out the collection.
I loved what my beta reader Dinorah said to me in her note about the book: “Thank you for this amazing series. You had me crying, laughing and feeling hopeful all in just a few hours. I think this is a great book for everyone to read, especially during what everyone has just gone through with this pandemic. We need to remember that we need to live each day to the fullest and not worry too much about what may or may not happen. The future is not ours to see. Que será, será.” I’m so glad she took that message from Dee and Wyatt’s story because it’s the truth. As Dee says, all we have is right now. If this last year has taught us anything, it’s that we have to enjoy every moment to the best of our ability.
It takes a village to write and publish books, and I’m incredibly thankful for mine. A big thank you to Dan, Emily and Jake for always championing my author career, as well as the team that supports me every day: Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Tia Kelly, Jean Mello, Andrea Buschel, Ashley Lopez and Nikki Haley, as well as my wonderful editors, Linda Ingmanson and Joyce Lamb. Kristina Brinton, thank you for the gorgeous covers for the Miami Series. I love them!
I’m thankful to so many people who help me behind the scenes. Mona Abramesco, a long-time Miami resident, helped me figure out a fun day for Dee and Wyatt that led to their fishing outing from Black Point Marina. Sarah Hewitt, family nurse practitioner, was a huge help in making sure I got the particulars of Wyatt’s situation right. I did tons of research into the experiences of heart transplant patients and read so many inspiring stories. I’ll probably never again take a healthy, beating heart for granted after having written this book. A huge thank you to my first-team beta readers Anne Woodall, Kara Conrad and Tracey Suppo, and to the Miami Series betas Mona Abramesco, Dinorah Shoben, Miriam Ayala, Emma Melero Juarez, Carmen Morejon, Stephanie Behill and Angelica Maya.
And to the readers who follow me wherever the muse may take me, even to South Florida, thank you so much for coming along for this wonderful ride. You make everything so much fun, and I appreciate every one of you!
Xoxo
Marie
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