Your Endless Love (The Bennett Family 9)

Pippa: OMMGGGGGGG yes!!! I’d call, but I don’t want us to miss anything else he has to say.

Val: BRING OUT THE CHARDONNAY!!!!!

“Way to raise the stakes!” David exclaims. “Folks, this is how a superhero proposes. On primetime TV.”

The audience cheers and whistles, and as the camera focuses on them, they wave, sending kisses.

Whoa. Did he really propose? Is this really happening, or is it just a figment of my imagination? Wishful thinking, because I’ve dreamed so much for Alex and me to be forever? My heart grows in size, and I have an overwhelming urge to hug someone, preferably Alex. My eyes are damp with tears, but there is no one here to see, so I don’t bother to wipe them.

This terrible, terrible man. Look who’s talking about being kept on his toes.

I turn my attention to the TV again, but David and Alex have already moved to another topic. I lie on my couch curled up, hugging two pillows to my chest, smiling like a fool.

Alex calls forty-eight seconds after the show is over. In my haste to answer, I somehow manage to reject the call. My hands are trembling a tiny bit as I call him back.

“Sorry, I pressed the wrong button,” I explain.

“What are you up to?”

It takes me a second to realize he doesn’t know I’ve been watching.

“I watched the show.” My eyes sting, happy tears swelling to the surface. The problem with these pesky tears is that it doesn’t matter if they’re happy or sad, I still get that weird knot in my throat. As I try to swallow it, a snotty sound reverberates from my throat and nose.

“Summer, are you crying? Why are you crying?”

“Because I love you. I love you so much, and I... I didn’t know if that was enough,” I admit, sandwiching the pillows between my knees and chin.

“Babe, you’re mine. Even when you’re scared or have doubts, you’re mine to love and take care of. I love you more than life, Summer. You have my heart, and you’ll have it for the rest of our days. I can’t promise you it will all be rainbows and sunshine—”

“I don’t want you to promise me that.”

“But I do promise we’ll work through everything together. We’ll be a team, and we’ll make it through every challenge.”

“You’re so romantic,” I whisper.

“I propose in front of the entire country, but you think this is romantic?”

My entire body yearns for him. I need to feel the warmth of his arms around me, his lips on mine.

“Both are romantic, Alex. That was the fairy-tale version. This... this is real.”

“So you’re saying yes?”

“Of course I’m saying yes. Did you plan this? Saying it on TV?”

“Not exactly. You’ve only ever known real love and trust from your family. I think I only realized that last week after the ordeal with the conference. I wanted to do something big so you don’t even have a one percent doubt about how I feel. So when David pushed, I thought, here’s my chance to go all-out.”

I close my eyes, smiling from ear to ear. How can he know I needed that? Even I didn’t know it. “Alex, I wish you were here so I could snuggle the living daylights out of you.”

“Snuggle? I go all-out, and it only earns me a snuggle?”

“I might throw in a kiss or two. I’m not saying where.”

He chuckles softly, then asks, “When would you like to go public? You’ll have a mob out your front door, so I’d rather be there with you.”

“Would it help with the box office if we went public now? Every media outlet is bursting to know. Positive publicity would bring more fans to the ticket counter.” The Bree Shannon premiere is next week.

“That doesn’t matter.”