“Fisher!”
“Bed. We are not getting out of this bed today. I took the day off just to be naked with you.”
I laughed when he deposited me onto the bed. “Tell me. What are you really doing in your closet?”
He settled between my legs, kissing my neck again while inching my shirt (his shirt) up my torso. “I’m going to ask Nurse Capshaw to move in with me, and I know she has a lot of scrubs, so I’m giving her more space by stealing a few feet from the other closet.”
I wriggled to the side to get out from under him, scooting to the back of the bed like home base. “You’re going to ask me to move in with you?”
Still on his stomach, he lifted onto his elbows. “I’m going to ask you a lot of things, but that’s coming up soon on the list. Spoiler alert … you say yes.”
My lips did that twitching thing where I tried to hide my amusement or maybe it was just unfathomable happiness. “Wow. The man who couldn’t remember the best hand job of his life is now predicting the future?”
“Absolutely.” He army crawled toward me.
“Fisher …” I opened my bent legs. He filled the space with his broad shoulders, and instead of doing what I thought he was going to do … what I was offering him … he rested his forehead against my stomach and slid his hands along my outer thighs. “Can I do it now?”
“Do what?” I asked with a soft voice, running my fingers through his messy hair.
“Can I love you forever?”
I swallowed a little emotion that had been building since I saw the closet. “Yes.”
Epilogue
FISHER
She said yes … and she never stopped saying yes.
Yes to moving in with me.
Yes to weekend trips to ski.
Yes to movie nights or Arnie’s concerts.
Yes to helping me in my shop.
Yes to waffles for dinner and cold pizza for breakfast.
Yes to long baths and quickies in the shower.
Then I made her a crossword puzzle that was a treasure hunt.
“I’ll see you soon, if you’re as smart as you say you are.” I kissed her head and handed her the puzzle and a pencil.
“Where are you going?” she asked when I got to the back door.
“You’ll see.” I left.
It took her just over an hour to solve the puzzle and follow the clues they spelled out which led her to me.
“Really?” She rolled her eyes as she walked toward my table at McDonald’s. “All that for a Happy Meal?” She eyed the sack opposite me.
“It’s probably cold since you took so long.” I sipped my chocolate milk.
“The average person wouldn’t have known half of those words. You’re such a geek.” She pulled out her hamburger and apples. “No fries?” She nodded to my empty burger wrapper.
I shook my empty sack. “I’ve had two orders waiting for you.”
Another eye roll just before she took a bite of her sandwich. “I’m going to make you a puzzle that takes you to the grocery store. A list of the things we need.”
“Sounds fun.” I rested my face in my hands.
“Why are you acting so weird?”
I shrugged. “Am I?”
“Yes.” She chuckled, setting her hamburger down after three bites. That was her ritual whether she realized it or not.
Three bites of her sandwich.
Half of her apple slices.
One big sip of her juice.
And then a fishing expedition for the toy in the bottom of the sack.
She pulled out the toy and frowned. “This is an old one. How on earth did they have this to offer?” She inspected the Sponge Bob treasure chest, cracking it open to reveal a diamond ring. After several blinks she glanced up at me.
I nodded to the small group of kids who volunteered literally fifteen minutes earlier to help me. They yelled at the same time. “Will you marry the fisherman?”
Reese jumped and shot her gaze to them. Most of them fell into goofy fits of giggles with their hands covering their mouths. And the small gathering of parents at nearby tables all looked on with big grins, maybe even a few nervous grins. I mean … what if she said no?
Reese turned back to me, and I was waiting on one knee because that’s what you did when you wanted your girl to say yes more than anything.
“Are you going to say yes?” I asked after she blinked a thousand times.
Lifting one shoulder, she relinquished a grin. “I’m thinking about it.”
“Thinking is overrated.” I took the ring and placed it on her finger just before kissing her. “Say yes,” I mumbled over her lips.
She kissed me while nodding, and when the kiss ended … it was another glorious yes.
As I waited for my bride to make her way down the aisle in the church that would have made her dad proud and did please her dad’s parents, I got a little emotional for reasons that had nothing to do with the stunning woman in white.