I straighten my shoulders, then smile, unable to hold back a grin. I try again, though, because this is serious. “I’m going to ask Grant to marry me. I wanted you both to know. That’s why I stayed behind when he went to the store—to tell you.”
Kim gasps then grabs her husband’s arm. “I was hoping this would happen.”
Trevor laughs softly, kisses her hair. “Me too.”
This is family.
This is part of the package deal. This unexpected family that I hope will become a permanent part of my life soon too.
“Thank you. For . . . everything,” I say, with immeasurable gratitude for their choices.
Outside, a car engine rumbles then goes silent, and my heart jackhammers.
Even though I’m not asking him to marry me now, there’s still something I need to tell him.
This is as good a time as any.
“Excuse me,” I say, and head to the porch, shutting the door behind me.
30
Grant
The ring is safely in my wallet as I bound up the path to the porch. I’ll pop inside and ask for a minute alone. I can’t wait any longer to tell Declan, not even through peach pie and whipped cream.
This is mission-critical.
Like I’m running out a double to the right field corner, I race up the steps.
All focus.
All speed.
Before I hit the top step, the door creaks open, and I lock eyes with Declan. He shuts the door, I stop on the porch, and holy hell, it’s like looking in a mirror.
His brown eyes are full of determination. Purpose. Passion. “I want to talk to you. Just you,” Declan says.
I have a feeling what he’s going to say. I shake my head, hold up a stop-sign hand. “No. I have to talk to you.” No matter what, I’m batting first.
I can’t let him think there is a single deal-breaker for me with him. Ever.
There isn’t.
Not. One.
When you find the one you love, nothing should stop you from being together.
Even if the other person isn’t sure about having a family.
Even if you never do have kids.
If my immediate family is only Declan, I’m so good with that. Family means so many things, but it means this first—him.
“Okay,” he says with a curious laugh.
I grab his hand and tug him with me as I sit on the top step and face him, gripping his fingers tight.
What I have to say now is more important than asking him to marry me in a few more days.
This is why I want to ask him to marry me.
A shudder rolls over me, but it’s not from nerves. It’s from the intensity of my feelings for him. “I’m all in with you, Declan,” I say, holding his hand tight. “No matter what. I love you more than anything. If you decide you don’t want kids, I am fine with that. I want a family, but I need you to be happy. There is no deal-breaker for me. Not a one.” I link fingers even tighter with him, and his eyes shine with joy. “You’re the one I can’t live without. You’re my family. You’re enough, and you will always be enough.”
Saying that was hard and easy at the same time.
But necessary.
Whatever he has to tell me, I had to say that first.
With Declan, all times are the right time, no matter who else comes into our life.
Declan Steele is what I see when I look down the road at the rest of my life.
31
Declan
A smile spreads across my face, radiates through my body, lights up my very soul.
How is it possible to have everything and then, impossibly, to have even more?
To have a man who wants me, just me, no matter what?
I’m amazed. Awestruck. I grab the back of Grant’s head with my free hand, curling my palm over his hair.
I am desperate to touch him. I can’t keep my hands off him, but it’s not sexual, this deep need. It’s emotional. Hell, it’s goddamn spiritual.
I keep my gaze locked on Grant. “I need you too. I love you. I want a life with you. Only you. Always you.” My voice trembles with emotion, but there’s certainty too. My fingers play with the ends of his hair. Touching him is everything good in the world. “And I’m all in with you too, Grant Blackwood. And my answer to kids is yes. Someday, down the road, I want to have kids with you. I want to have a family with you.”
Before I can ask him to be my husband, I need him to know that he’s getting a partner who’s all in. Who wants the same things he does.
Who wants a life, and love, and a family someday.
I want it all with Grant, and I want him to know I’ll be by his side no matter what.
Grant’s blue eyes spark with happiness and joy. He parts his lips, takes a shaky breath. “For real? You do?” His voice pitches with so much hope and wonder.