I’ve surprised her. It was hard putting all this together without her finding out. She’s staring at me, her mouth hanging open. “Yes,” she says. And before I can get up, she falls to her knees in front of me with tears rolling down her face.
I close the jewelry box and cup her face in my hands. “What is it? What’s wrong, Mia? I thought you’d be happy.”
She sniffs. “I am happy.”
“Look at me,” I tell her. She opens her eyes and stares back at me.
“I’m happy, Mason. I’m sorry that I’m reacting this way. I’m so emotional, I’m a mess lately.” She finally smiles and wipes her tears. “I thought you were unhappy... I thought you were leaving me.”
For just a fraction of a second, my heart stops beating. How could she think that? Mia and our son, Mason Jr, are my life. I pick her up and take her over to one of the chairs. I can see my brother peeking at us through one of the cracked open doors. He obviously can tell something’s not right, because he holds the rest of the family back from coming in.
I hold her in my lap, my arms around her. “Explain yourself. How could you think that?”
“You’ve been distant the last few months,” she explains, blinking her wet eyelashes.
“I’ve been planning this, and I’ve been so afraid you’d find out about it. I really wanted to surprise you.”
She puts her head on my shoulder. “Oh, Mason. I don’t need any lavish gifts or big surprises. I just need you.”
“Mia, honey. You make me happy. I’d never leave you. I can barely breathe when we’re apart. You are such a big part of me, you’re my life... and honey, if you don’t know that by now, I’ve fucked up big time... I’m so sorry.”
“No!” she says, lifting her head and searching my eyes. “No! It’s not you, it’s me... I told you I’ve been emotional—well, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Oh God! My first thought is there’s something wrong with her. My hands go to her waist possessively. “What is it? Tell me.”
Her hands go to my chest, and even through the leftover tears, she tries to smile. “I’m pregnant. We’re going to have another baby.”
My heart is racing with excitement. We’ve talked about having another child, but we said we’d just wait for it to happen. “You’re pregnant? We’re having a baby?”
She nods, and I pull her in against my chest. “Fuck!” I mutter. Emotion is hitting me hard. I rest my chin on her head. “I wanted to surprise you, and instead you surprised me... gave me the best gift of all.”
She pulls back then. “Oh yeah, my surprise... I’ll take my ring now.”
I pull it out and help her put it on. “That’s not it, you know.”
She’s admiring the ring. “What’s not it? This is more than enough, Mason.”
I shake my head. This woman deserves the world. “No, honey, it’s not. Today, you’re getting the wedding that you deserve.”
She gasps and looks around the room again. “Wait! What? Are we...”
I nod, unable to keep it quiet another minute. “Yeah, honey. We’re renewing our vows to each other. All my brothers and their wives have helped to plan this day.” I lift my arm and look at my watch. “You have exactly two hours to get ready.”
She pulls from my lap. “Two hours?” She runs her hands down her shirt and leggings. “Mason Mistletoe, I cannot get married looking like this.”
I grab her hand and stroke my thumb across her smooth skin. “You’re perfect just the way you are, but I knew you’d feel that way.” I look over at the door where I know our family is at and holler loudly, “Okay, guys, you can come out now.”
As soon as I say it, the door opens, and my brothers, their wives, and our mom and dad all tumble into the room. Mia and I are passed around and offered congratulations. She’s laughing with the girls when I catch up with her. I gesture to the women that married my brothers. We were all put into this situation to save Snow Valley, but it turned out perfectly. We’ve all found our soul mates. “They have your dress, flowers, and everything else you need. I’ll see you back here in two hours.”
She nods happily. She gets one step from me before I pull her in for a kiss. Even now, knowing I’ll see her in just a few short hours, I’m going to miss her. Our lips mesh in perfect union, and just when I try to deepen the kiss, my brother pats me on the back. “Two hours,” he reminds us.
I reluctantly pull away. I look into her eyes, not caring who can see us or hear what I’m about to say. My possession of Mia is uncontrollable. “You’re mine, Mia. For now and always.”