“Erm…” Amelia gasps, trying to get herself under control but she fails as she blurts out, “I got stuck.”
I brace my hands on my knees, pulling in a final deep breath before holding my hand out for Maya to take hold of. “You what?”
“I… we were going to the lake,” Amelia explains, trying to move her chair around as Maya stands up, her arms out wide as she tries to balance but falls over again, her hands coming out to brace herself but sliding in the mud. “Oh, God, Maya!” Amelia shouts, but it ends with her chuckles.
I laugh and pull Maya up into a standing position. “What are you two doing out here in the woods all by yourselves? It’s thick mud.”
“I told her we should take the cart!” Maya shouts, trying to wipe her mud-caked face off.
Turning my face toward Amelia, I raise a brow, ready to admonish her but she cuts me off. “I wanted to pretend I was hiking, sue me—wait, no, you could actually do that.”
Considering Maya has her face caked in mud, she’s still smiling. I watch as she and Amelia look at each other and burst out laughing all over again. “You should see your face!” Amelia exclaims, pointing at her. “We could totally be YouTube sensations if I would have recorded that.”
Seeing them interact like they’re the best of friends has me grinning from ear to ear and I lean down to wipe a stray piece of mud off of Amelia’s cheek. She turns toward me, her eyes shining with happiness. “God, you’re beautiful.” She closes her eyes briefly and when she opens them and our gazes clash, I find myself blurting out, “Marry me.”
I hear Maya squeal a little but I don’t move my focus away from Amelia, afraid I’ve scared her off.
“What?” A
melia gasps, her hand fluttering to her chest and resting over her heart.
“I’ve been waiting for the right time to ask but I’ve just realized: there’s is no ‘right time’ with us. Only now.” I pause, my eyes flitting between hers. “I want there to be a million nows with you by my side.”
“Oh my God,” she whispers, a tear escaping from her eye, her lips lifting into the most blinding smile I’ve ever seen. “Yes.” One word that means more to me than any other word has ever meant. “A million times, yes.”
“She said yes!” Maya squeals.
“Yeah, she did,” I say softly before kissing my fiancée; a kiss that means so much more knowing she’s going to be mine forever.
The kiss is over before I know it and when I move closer to continue, she pulls back, her gaze moving behind me and I realize Maya’s still here.
“I’ll erm…” Her wide eyes watch me for a beat before she says, “You know, I think I’ll go take a shower and then meet… a friend; I’m suddenly craving a burger.”
Standing up straight, I frown at the way she says friend. “Friend? What friend?”
“You do that, Maya,” Amelia interrupts, waving her hand at her to bend down, and when Maya does, she whispers something in her ear I can’t hear.
“Laters, sis,” Maya says when she pulls back. “I’m so happy for you guys!”
The grin on Amelia’s face gets even wider at her words, and I’m about to ask who she’s meeting again, but Amelia’s hand takes hold of mine, distracting me as Maya walks back toward the house.
“Curfew is eleven!” I shout, being rewarded with a wave before she disappears from view.
“So… fiancé.” I turn my face down to Amelia, loving the way the word sounds coming out of her mouth. “Normally you have a ring when you propose.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when have I ever done things the same as everyone else?”
“Don’t I know it.” She rolls her eyes before looking around, taking in her mud-soaked wheels. “Guess the lake is out of the question.” She reaches up, wiping her face and looking down at her palm, seeing a clump of mud. “I need to clean myself up.”
I bend down and scoop her up. “Then I guess we should go and get you cleaned up.”
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she says, “But, my chair.” Flitting her gaze to me and the chair that’s still partially stuck.“What if it rains?”
“Then it’ll get wet instead of you. Don’t worry about the chair, I’ll get it later.”
She huffs out a breath and I shiver as it fans across my neck. “Fine.”
I trudge back through the mud, being careful not to slip with Amelia in my arms—my fiancée. I wish I waited until I had the ring with me, but we’ve never done things as they should be done, so why start now?