Darius stood there. He rested his forearms on the countertop and smiled faintly.
“You—” Gray couldn’t find his words. He held up the Kindle instead, where Darius could read the words for himself.
“Oh… It looks like I’m proposing,” he murmured. Then he held up one hand and showed two gold bands pinched between his fingers. “What do you say, Gray? Wanna spend eternity with me?”
Those words brought a full-fledged grin to Gray’s face, and he hurriedly closed the distance and kissed Darius hard. The Kindle landed on the counter, and he was pretty sure he heard his mother squeal out on the porch.
“Eternity sounds good.” He swallowed a sudden onslaught of emotions and drew an unsteady breath. “Holy shit, you surprised me, baby.”
Darius exhaled a chuckle, and in a quick second, his façade slipped, revealing that he’d been nervous as hell. “I wanna hear you say yes. Say yes to marrying me.”
“Yes.” Gray grinned so widely that his cheeks hurt as Darius slipped their new rings onto their fingers. “Your marriage allergy better not return when I lose my shit over invitations and cake sampling.”
Darius shook his head and pressed a kiss to the ring on Gray’s finger. “That looks good. So fucking good.”
It did. Man, it did. Darius’s finger too. Mother of Christ, they were engaged.
“I bet you made Mom’s whole year when you asked her for help.”
Darius laughed quietly. “She was definitely happy.”
Gray had to get closer. He couldn’t stand the counter separating them another second, so he rushed out from behind it and locked his arms around Darius’s neck.
Darius inhaled deeply and held him tightly. “She’s watching the boys next weekend too. You and I have a hotel reservation in Vancouver. Just the two of us.”
“Jesus,” Gray said, sniffling.
Darius inched away enough to cup Gray’s cheek. “I know I make you overdose on homesteading and survival, but I need you to know I want the rest too. I wanna bitch over the price of tickets to Disney. I wanna be uncomfortable in a nice suit and take you out to dinner.”
“Three-piece,” Gray blurted out. “We’re getting married in three-piece suits. You in a vest…? Fuck me.”
Darius laughed and rested his forehead against Gray’s. “I’ll be there.”
“Good. But none of that overdosing shit, Dare. I love what we have,” Gray said imploringly. “I love everything about it. I even love your cute little predictions on how a small virus outbreak halfway across the world is suddenly gonna turn into a global pandemic.”
“All pandemics are global.” Darius smirked and lifted a brow. “You love giving me shit.”
“That too.” Gray reached up and kissed him. “Eternity.”
Darius’s smirk softened. “Eternity.”