That wasn’t exactly the right word. Shocked, terrified, already in love with the idea of having his child…but happy?
“Yeah.” She released a breath, and a smile fluttered over her lips. “But, look, I don’t want to rush into anything. Our schedules are crazy, we haven’t been seeing each other when we live in the same town… Maybe we should just stay where we are for a while and see how things go.”
A tarnish dulled his smile, but he ran a hand over her hair. “I bought the ring four months ago, Brooke. Long before any thoughts of kids came to mind.” His fingers came around and slid over her jaw. “I knew those first few days after you’d left Austin, I wasn’t going to be able to live without you. Like I told you in the beginning, I’m not good at this, and I’m going to make mistakes, but one mistake I will never make again is letting you go. Because I love you more than anything.”
She dropped her forehead against his and started bawling.
And Keaton started laughing.
“Hold on,” Ellie said. “I’m not tipsy enough to be hearing things. And I’m pretty darn sure I heard someone say pregnant.”
“What?” A chorus of voices followed, both male and female.
Then hugs and high fives went around the group, while Brooke rested her head on Keaton’s shoulder and let him support her and take care of her. And the feeling of having him there, wanting to be there for her, for them, for the family they would soon become…completed her in a way she’d never even known she needed.
And finally, Keaton pressed a kiss to her temple. “Are you ready to go home now, princess?”
“Princess?” She laughed the word. “No one’s ever called me princess.”
“Well, get used to it,” he said, his cocky attitude swaggering through his voice. “Because you’re going to get treated like effing royalty now, baby.”
She was smiling when he set her on her feet, then dropped to one knee.
“Rubi has a point,” he said. “We’re only doing this once, so we should do it right.” With his eyes on hers, he said, “Are you ready to do this with me? This crazy life? Together? Forever?”
She choked out a laugh. “As long as we’re together forever—absolutely.”
“Then let’s get some princess-level bling on this pretty finger.”
He slipped the sparkling band with a center diamond she’d have to appreciate in detail another time—maybe in another month or two when the hormones leveled out and she could stop crying at every little thing—onto her left ring finger so gently, she almost didn’t feel it. But she felt a shift inside her. A grounding force. A deep and honest love.
And when he tilted his head back and looked up at her with the same love filling every inch of his expression, Brooke wished she could capture the moment in time.
He sighed, an utterly content sound that resonated inside Brooke. “I love you—”
She cupped his face and bent, pressing her mouth to his. When she pulled back, the cheers of their friends and family filtered in, and Brooke matched and finished Keaton’s sentiment with, “—so very much.”