Madison smiled into the kiss, happy tears rolling down her face. She grabbed my wrists, holding me tightly as we kissed in front of the sunset.
Nothing could stop my heart from pounding so hard and fast. I knew that this moment would be intense and passionate, but I had no idea that it would hit me this hard. I pressed one more firm kiss against her lips before pulling away to catch my breath. My skin seemed to buzz as we stood there together, reeling from the moment we just experienced. We were engaged.
“Fuck, I love you so much,” I laughed out as I placed my hand over my heart, willing it to slow down a little.
“I love you,” Madison told me, laughing with me. She gazed down at the ring, holding her hand out. “It’s so perfect, Ty.”
“A perfect ring for a perfect girl,” I pointed out before placing my hands on her waist. I lowered myself so that I was face-to-face with her stomach. “Don’t worry. We won’t have the wedding until you’re here.”
Madison smiled down at me as I spoke to our daughter. She brushed her fingers through my hair lovingly.
“I can’t wait to meet you. I bet you’ll be just as beautiful and smart as your mom,” I murmured as I leaned close to Madison’s stomach. I wanted our daughter to know how loved she was before she even came out into the world.
“And as ambitious and caring as your dad,” Madison added.
I tilted my head up to smile at Madison. If someone said that one of my best qualities was that I was caring about a year ago, I would’ve scoffed at them like they had called me weak. Now, I knew that was one of my strengths. It was stronger to care about others than to just care about myself. Being selfish was just lonely.
“She’s going to be perfect,” I said as I rose to my feet. I just wanted her to be passionate, to be kind, and to be happy.
“I can’t wait for her to come out. She’s heavy,” Madison laughed softly as she placed her hands under the curve of her stomach.
“Let’s sit down,” I said, gently taking Madison’s arm and leading her over to the picnic area. I took both of her arms and guided her down to the ground. When she first started having trouble getting up and down, Madison waved away my help, wanting to do everything on her own. Eventually, she realized that we were a team. She bore all of the burdens of the pregnancy, and I just wanted to help as much as I could. I wanted to be involved too. This was my way of doing that.
“Thank you,” Madison said as she got settled next to the picnic basket. She stretched her legs out, watching me sit down next to her. “My fiancé is the most romantic man around.”
“You made me a romantic,” I pointed out as I leaned my arm against hers, sharing a smile with her. I never had any interest in doing anything romantic for anyone until I met her. We had been together for about a year, and I still tried to impress her with elaborate romantic gestures.
“And you made me the happiest girl in the world,” Madison murmured with an adoring look.
“I’m going to keep it that way,” I replied. She was everything to me, and I would treat her as such. “But I’ll soon have another girl in my life to love.”
Madison laughed softly when she realized what I was talking about. “She’ll be the most loved girl in the world,” she said.
If we did our jobs right as parents, that would definitely be true. Madison and I weren’t the types to fail at anything, whether it came to business or our lives in general. When we put our minds to something, we didn’t falter. That was one of many reasons why we were such a great pair.