The Invitation

“I, uh…”

He walked over to where I stood, frozen. With a grin, he took my hand. “You didn’t read ahead, did you?”

My mind was so jumbled. When did he get back from the store? And where did Charlie come from? What the hell was going on?

Though I didn’t need to wait very long for the answer. Hudson held out his hand to his daughter. Charlie took it with an ear-to-ear smile. If I’d thought I was nervous before, it was nothing compared to how I felt as I watched the man I loved get down on one knee.

He brought my trembling hand to his lips.

Seeing a bit of nervousness on his face as he looked up actually helped calm me.

“One year ago today, I met a beautiful, smart woman,” he began. “When I’ve heard you tell the story of how we met, you say you crashed my sister’s wedding. But the truth of the matter is, you crashed my heart. You’re the kindest, warmest, strangest, most amazing person I’ve ever met.”

I lifted my hands to cover my mouth, and happy tears filled my eyes as I laughed. “The strangest? You make that sound like a good thing.”

Hudson smiled. “It is. And I love you because you’re a little strange sometimes, not despite it. You’ve spent years reading everyone else’s love stories, and tonight you read the last chapter of mine…” He winked. “…even though you weren’t supposed to. But my last chapter is only the beginning, sweetheart.” He looked over at Charlie, who pulled a little black box from behind her back and handed it to her father. “Stella Rose Bardot, let me give you your happily ever after. Be my wife, and I promise to try my hardest to make your life better than anything you’ve ever read in a book.”

He opened the little black box, and inside was something I’d never seen before. The velvet-lined box contained two rings. On the right was a gorgeous, emerald-cut diamond set in white gold with tiny baguettes going all the way around the band. On the left side was a tiny replica of the engagement ring. He took the first one out of the box and held it out to me. “I’m not just asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to be my family with Charlie. So I had yours made, and then a mini replica in cubic zirconia for her—my two ladies. Whaddya say, sweetheart? Be ours?”

I looked over at Charlie. She had a giant smile on her face as she took something from behind her back and held it up.

A banana with writing on it.

Say yes, so we’ll never split.

As silly as it was, the banana did me in. The happy tears now streamed down my face. Wiping them, I mouthed I love you to Charlie before pressing my forehead to Hudson’s. “Yes. Yes! My heart already belongs to you both, so this is the icing on the cake.”

After Hudson slipped the ring on my finger, we helped Charlie put on hers. The three of us held each other for a long time before my fiancé told her to go wash up to go to her aunt’s house.

“Finally...a minute alone.” Hudson cupped my cheeks and pulled my mouth to his. “Now kiss me properly.”

As usual, he left me breathless. “You know, between your diary and that proposal, I think you might be a true romantic at heart, Mr. Rothschild.”

“Oh yeah?” He smiled. “I’ll deny it if anyone asks.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. I’ll know the truth. Under that hard exterior is a big old softie.”

Hudson took my hand and slid it down to his crotch. He cupped my fingers around a pretty damn steely erection. “I got more hard exterior for you later.”

I smiled. “I can’t wait.”

He brushed his lips with mine. “Did you like the diary?”

“I loved it. It was the best love story I’ve ever read. But my favorite part was the ending.”

Hudson shook his head. “That wasn’t an ending, sweetheart. It was only our beginning. Because a true love story like ours never ends.”