She gives me an approving look. “You’re pretty good at this daddy thing, you know that?”
I arch my brows and grin. “High praise coming from you, thanks.”
Winter groans. “I know, I know. I used to be your biggest critic.”
“It’s okay. We’ve come a long way since that day at the attorney’s office.”
She meets my gaze and smiles. “Yeah, about that…”
Is she about to say something about us? My heart pounds in hopeful anticipation as she shifts Avery from one hip to the other.
“She might want to hang out on her play mat,” I offer.
Winter sets Avery down on the mat and I hand Avery her favorite giraffe toy. She immediately brings it to her mouth and starts trying to eat it. That’ll keep her busy for at least five minutes.
“You were saying?” I ask Winter, both of us standing back up.
She smiles again, looking away to take a deep breath before locking eyes with me.
“Remember that thing you brought up a few days ago that was a topic of conversation without being an official question?”
“I do remember, because I haven’t been able to think about anything else since.”
“Really?” she asks, her tone a little dreamy.
Is that a good sign?
“Really. I love you, Winter. I want to be with you and only you.”
After a beat of silence, she says, “I want that, too.”
The world stops spinning. I stop breathing. Nothing exists but Winter and the words she just admitted. I didn’t want to hope too hard for fear of being disappointed.
“You want to be with me?” I repeat her words just to make sure I heard her correctly.
She nods. “It’s kind of crazy and the last thing I ever expected.” Shaking her head, she looks a little dazed, like she can’t believe it either, but then an expression of certainty comes over her face as she looks at me. “I’ve never felt this way before Harry. I love the way you are with Avery, and the way you make me feel and the way you take care of people you don’t even know and…so many other things, which I now realize means I love you.”
Tears well in my eyes and my throat tightens. I close my eyes and clear my throat, trying to gather myself, but Winter launches herself into my arms and holds me tightly.
She loves me. It’s everything I wanted but didn’t dare dream I could have. I have an appointment with a Tiffany salesperson in a few days to shop for engagement rings, and I curse myself for not doing it sooner. If I had a ring, I’d get down on one knee right here and now.
“How would you feel about a trip to the jewelry store?” I ask Winter.
She gives me a look of surprise mixed with joy. “Harry, I don’t need to pick out a fancy ring. I don’t need a ring at all.”
If Winter is going to be my wife, she’s sure as shit wearing a ring. I want every man who looks at her to know she’s spoken for. Even though I planned to pick out a spectacular ring and plan a romantic sunset proposal, there’s magic in this moment, and I’d be a fool to ignore it.
I get down on one knee and take one of her hands in both of mine. Tears spill from Winter’s eyes onto her cheeks.
“Winter, you are the most spectacular woman I’ve ever known. I want to make a life with you and our children where we can chase our dreams and be there for each other always. Everything I have and everything I am will…” Emotion gets the best of me, and I have to stop to clear my throat. “…will be yours forever if you say yes to one question. Will you marry me?”
She gets down on her knees in front of me, and leans close, still crying. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I wrap my arms around her, unable to contain my emotions. It’s the happiest moment of my life.
“Ah!” Avery cries from her play mat.
Winter and I look over at her.
“Yeah? Was that you saying yeah, peanut?” I ask her. “You want us to get married and start working on some brothers and sisters for you?”
“Ah!” she says again.
I look at Winter and shrug. “The boss has spoken. She says we need to get married right away.”
Winter laughs and kisses me. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Really?” I cup her face in my hands. “Because I’m ready now.”
She shakes her head, still looking amused, while also completely stunned. “Can you believe this?”
“I can.” I bring her hands to my lips and kiss them, one at a time. “And I want to take you to the jewelry store right now to pick out an amazing ring. A huge blinged-out diamond that screams, ‘I’m married to a guy with the resources to fuck you up if you try to make a move on me.’”
She laughs at that. “I don’t know that I’m a bling type of woman, Harry.”
“Get whatever you want, but I want you to have something beautiful, okay? Something you can pass down to Avery one day.”
Her expression softens. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”
“It is, and don’t worry about the cost. I’m well-off. Or, I guess…we’re well-off, now.”
“Are you sure, Harry?” Her eyes widen with worry. “Are you a hundred-percent sure you want this? With me?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” I bend down to touch my forehead to hers. “I’m going to call my assistant and offer her or her daughter an obscene amount of money to watch Avery for an hour or two today. And then we’re going ring shopping.”
“How many more kids do you want?” she asks, a beautiful smile on her gorgeous face.
“I was thinking six more.”
She pulls back, her lips parted in shock. “Six kids, Harry. Are you serious?”
“No, babe. But I enjoyed seeing that look on your face.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t do that to me, geez. I about had a heart attack.”
“How many more do you want? It’s your body, so you should get more of a say than I do.”
Considering her answer, she says, “At least two more. Maybe three.”
I can’t stop grinning as I imagine coming home from work to Winter and our children, to scenes of happy chaos.
“We’re gonna need to buy a bigger house,” I say, mentally scrolling through my real estate contacts.
“Eventually.”
“You like living in the city, though.”
“I do, but if we need more room…”
I shrug and say, “It’s easily solved. We can buy two or three adjacent apartments and have them converted into one big one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I kiss her and stand up, extending a hand to help her to her feet. “There aren’t any problems we can’t solve together.”
Her glow of happiness softens as she says, “I went to visit Mal today.”
“You did?”
She nods. “The plot and headstone are absolutely beautiful, Harry. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. It was the least I could do.”
Bringing a palm to my cheek, she says, “You did more than the least. And it means a lot to me. And to Avery.”
“I’m glad.”