Just One Thing (The Alexanders 6)

He nodded. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

She climbed down and waited as Bennett retrieved something from the back of the truck. He came toward her and held out his hand, a large roll of paper under his arm. They walked forward until they were roughly in the middle of the lot. Katie shaded her eyes and looked around. She could see a river in the distance.

“Is that the river you showed me before? The boundary between the Alexander land?”

“Sure is. If you keep going that way—” He pointed ahead to the line of trees. “—you’ll run right into Mom and Dad’s land.”

He took the large scroll from beneath his arm and unrolled it. Katie could see at once that it was architectural plans.

“For a few years now, I’ve had my eye on this parcel of land. It was owned by some distant relative up until last year when I bought it. I’ve been working on plans for my dream house for quite a while. Now I want to show it to you.”

Katie knelt next to him to view the plans. “This is amazing. But this is a lot of house for one guy. You really planned to build this all along?”

He pointed to one section on the plans. “I wanted a lab. And I also wanted an attached greenhouse here. But recently I called my architect and had him make some changes.”

Katie peered closer and could see that on the plans he’d written words in pencil. Master bedroom. Playroom for the kids. Hunter’s room. Matthew’s room. Katie’s office.

Nursery.

She put a hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked trying to clear her vision. Part of her was scared to blink because she was afraid to believe in what she was seeing.

“A nursery?”

When she looked over at Bennett, Katie gasped. He knelt next to her on the ground, holding out a black ring box.

“Katie, I brought you here to show you what I see in our future. A life filled with new adventures and endless discoveries. Waking up together, falling asleep together, laughing every day. Together.”

“That’s what I want, too.”

Her heart felt like it would bounce out of her chest when he flipped the ring box open to reveal a stunning round solitaire on a simple gold band. Bennett took a deep breath, like he was gathering his courage and then took her hand gently.

“I love you, Katherine Mason. I want you to keep me on my toes, tell me when I lose track of time, and read me outrageous books at night.”

Tears slipped down Katie’s cheeks. “Maybe I’ll read you one of those inappropriate books,” she joked.

“I hope so. Be as inappropriate as you want. We don’t have to follow anyone’s rules but our own.” He squeezed her hand. “Now I need to ask you a question. One I’ve wanted to ask you for so long. Will you marry me?”

She held a hand over her mouth, trying to hold the happiness in. “Yes! There’s nothing I want more.”

He smiled tremulously and then took the ring ou

t of the box. She held out her left hand and watched as he slipped it over her ring finger. It settled against her skin like it was meant to be there.

“It’s beautiful. I love you so much. Sometimes I can’t believe this is real.”

Katie wiped at her eyes, completely overwhelmed. She’d gone from feeling like she didn’t know what she was supposed to do with her life to knowing without a doubt that she was exactly where she was meant to be.

Bennett stood and grabbed her, swinging her around until she laughed from sheer joy. When he set her on her feet again, she rested her head against his chest. He rested his head on top of hers.

“This is real. And it’s forever.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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One year later…

Bennett adjusted the lapels of his tuxedo and tugged at the knot of his tie. He wasn’t a man given to worry over his appearance but even he had his vanity.