Holt
I’ve been planning this moment for four months.
Everly thinks I’ve been stuck in interminable meetings—well into the evening—all week, but I’ve been working tirelessly with a bunch of people who love her to make this special day happen.
“You guys ready?” I whisper.
Three heads nod in agreement.
“Everything set?” I ask Loki.
“Cameras are ready,” he says.
Loki and Jagger are taking care of capturing all the highlights.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a ball of nerves all week leading to this moment, but I’m so ready.
“Let’s do this,” I say.
Beckett, Jace, Rod and I step forward with guitars in hand. Contrary to our days as a band, I’m leading the pack. On a rare occasion, Beckett is playing the role of backup singer and Rod traded his drumsticks for a guitar. Family, friends and Everly’s employees trail behind us as we enter the shop.
When our eyes meet, I smile wide at the beautiful woman who’s blinking furiously at me. She’s so stunned, it’s amusing. As the group amasses in the shop, her attention moves away from me.
“Jesse? Ainsley? Skylar? Mr. and Mrs. Christensen? Uncle Joshua and Aunt Margot?” she blurts out, her eyes bouncing around the shop. “Uncle Blaize and Aunt Angelina? You aren’t in St. Lucia?”
“Not yet,” her uncle winks.
“Why are you all here?”
Everly is still a little confused.
She turns to face me.
“Wh—what’s going on, Holt?”
The four of us strum the first cord to our iconic love song in response.
I have to clear the lump in my throat before I’m able to sing.
Everly’s hands fly to cover her mouth and she starts crying.
With each verse, my girl melts into tears.
She’s shaking so hard, Ainsley and Skylar move to stand on either side of her to comfort her.
We’ve performed “Until I found you?” a million times. Sure, I was always wholeheartedly committed to the lyrics, but it’s never felt like this before. So far, the words were a string of proses my talented cousin, Jagger, strung together to create an award-winning masterpiece. Now, these lyrics say everything I’ve wanted to say to this woman since the day I fell hard for her. I don’t know when it happened, but one day I woke up and Everly was the center of my universe—right next to my daughter.
When we hit the last verse, Everly is a pool of tears.
A solemn silence floats around us.
I remove my guitar and hand it to my brother before turning my attention to my girlfriend. I take a step forward and her cousins take a few steps back. When I’m standing in front of her, I grab her hands covering her face and interlace our fingers together.
“You weren’t expecting this?” I smile.
She shakes her head vehemently. “No.”
“You’re surprised?”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Do you know how much I love you, precious?”
“I love you so much, Holt,” she sobs.
I bring her hands to my lips and drop a soft kiss against them before meeting her astounded gaze.
“A year and four months ago, when my kid’s urgent need for cupcakes forced me to scour the city, I never expected to bump into the love of my life.”
“Oh, God.”
“Damn, that was one sexy fanny pack, girl,” I tease.
She laughs in between her tears.
“Everly, you make me want things I’ve never wanted before. I know I keep saying you’re perfect, but to me, you are.”
“Oh, Holt,” she pants.
“You know what?”
She shakes her head.
“I’m kind of tired of you being my girlfriend.”
Her eyes widen in surprise.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a good run, but I want more of you,” I add.
“You already have all of me,” she whispers in a faint voice.
I shake my head. “I want more.”
“You’re so greedy,” she laughs.
“I know.”
Without warning, I drop to one knee.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” Everly chants.
“There’s something I want to ask you, precious, but I can’t do it alone.”
Everly wails.
Right on cue, Everly’s parents lead in Naomi by the hand.
Luna is waiting outside with her brother, Ryder, Bridgette and Mrs. Talbot. As much as I wanted her with us, I’m afraid it would be a little too much for our Staffie.
“Oh, Holt,” Everly cries harder.
My little princess was in the dark up until a few minutes ago. She’s five and I know how deeply she feels about my girlfriend. I wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep a secret. Still, I made sure she was involved. She selected the theme that helped us pull off this big production. Everly was so consumed by making this day memorable for her customers, she was completely oblivious to what I had in store for her. Her parents were going to show up regardless, but her father doubled his effort to drive more customers to the shop. She was so busy today, she barely had time to check in with me. Of course, her staff, the rest of her family and mine all knew. They were key in helping me pull this off.
“Hey, sweet pea,” I say, when Naomi comes and stands next to me. She’s still all teary-eyed because I just shared my plans with her.
“Hey, Daddy. Did you ask her?”
“Not yet. Remember, we’re a team. I was waiting for you.”
“I’m here now. You can ask her,” she waves a little finger at Everly.
Her blessings elicit a round of laughter.
“Thank you, ma’am,” I smile.
She giggles.
I pull my attention away from my daughter and lock eyes with the woman I can’t live without. “Precious, since I know how much you love Christmas, I couldn’t think of a better time to do this.”
Callum steps forward and hands me a small red box. I slide it inside the pocket of my jacket.
“Oh, my God, you knew?” Everly pants.
He simply winks at her.
I take her hands into mine.
“Everly Reed Bickford-Smith, you’re my everything. I don’t want to wake up another day without you nestled in my arms. I don’t want you to just move in. I want you to stand by me as my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I can’t think of anything I’d want more.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man. I love you, precious.”
“I love you, Holt.”
I stand up and take her lips in a tender kiss before pulling away from her and getting back down on one knee.
“Your turn,” I tell Naomi.
“What if she says no, Daddy?”
That wasn’t part of the program.
Tears pool in my daughter’s eyes.
“You should ask her, she might surprise you,” I nudge with a wink.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive, Naomi.”
“Okay.” Her big beautiful blue eyes move away from mine. “Everly, I love you. You’re the bestest. Will you be my mummy?”