“Okay, you two get dressed. We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.” They both look at me like I am stupid. Yeah, I know they will never get out the door in fifteen minutes but I still keep saying it in hopes they will one day get ready in under an hour. Please let this baby be a boy.
An hour later we’re in my SUV driving towards the surprise and I text everybody to meet me there. This is more like four surprises in one. We pull up to the gated community and I pull my resident card out to swipe so I can be let in. It’s a temporary one until we get our barcode decals. I look over at Liz, and she looks utterly confused.
Forty-Four
Liz
When we pull up to a beautiful gated community, I think maybe we’re going to visit someone, but then Cooper pulls out what looks like a resident pass and I’m back to square one. We drive down a few roads until we get to a massive house on the left and Cooper turns into the driveway. Parked along the road are our friends’ vehicles. Maybe there’s a Christmas party going on here?
We all get out and Cooper takes a key out of his pocket to unlock the door. When he opens the door, the cutest brown and black little puppy comes barreling down the hall and straight into Bella’s arms. She scoops her up and looks at her father with hope in her eyes. “Is she mine?”
“Yes, Princess, she’s yours. Merry Christmas.” He kisses her on her forehead.
“Does she have a name?”
“She’s yours, so you can pick the name.”
She thinks about it, and when she figures out the name she wants, her entire faces lights up. “I know! I want to name her Princess!”
“But that’s what I call you.”
Bella pouts, but thinks of another name. “Okay, how about Elsa?”
We both laugh. “Elsa, it is!”
“Can I bring her home with me? Why wasn’t she at my home?”
“This is her home, Bella. Do you like this house?” Bella looks around, and I do as well. The home is gorgeous. We’re only standing in the foyer, but even from here I can see the spacious living room and the beautiful staircase that leads to the upstairs. Off to the side is what looks like a beautiful kitchen with a separate dining room. The floors are all hardwood, and the home is empty, but it’s still stunning.
“Yes, I like this house. But why does she have to stay here? I want her with me.”
Cooper looks at me as he answers Bella’s question. “I bought this home for all of us. I was hoping we could all live here together as a family. I didn’t know about the baby, but now it’s even more perfect. I figured it would give us more room to grow as a family. It’s empty so we can furnish it together.”
He gets down on one knee and my breath hitches. I look around, realizing we aren’t alone, which makes sense because all of our friends’ cars were parked along the road when we pulled up. But now that I’m looking, I see that my parents and brother are also here, as well as Lauren, Cooper’s mom.
Turning my attention back to Cooper, I see he’s holding up a tiny box with a sparkly ring nestled inside of it.
“Lizbeth, when we met five years ago in Miami at that club it was lust at first sight.” Everybody laughs, and I can feel the tears coming. “When I walked away from you, it was the hardest thing I ever chose to do. The only thing I can think of is that everything happens for a reason and maybe it just wasn’t our time yet. Seeing you that night at my fight, I knew we were meant to be together. It took me a couple tries, but I finally came around. You have been so patient with me. Even when I didn’t deserve a second chance you still gave it to me, and when I didn’t have enough trust and belief in us, you did for the both of us. When I felt weak in this relationship, you held me up with your strength. You are an amazing mother to Bella and you’re going to be just as amazing to this new baby. I want to spend the rest of our life reminding you why you will never regret giving me that second chance. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” is all I can say before he’s back on his feet, putting the beautiful ring on my finger. I don’t know much about rings, but it has one big princess cut diamond in the center with smaller clusters of diamonds around the edges, and it fits me perfectly.
Cooper cups my chin and kisses me softly. “Thank you, baby girl.”