“Well, seems like we have the same taste in best friends but also women.” Realizing this is a little awkward standing here talking, I decide to take a seat on the ground. “I’ll cut to the point, I guess. I want to marry her. I mean, I don’t guess I want to marry her, I know I want to marry her. I know that if you were still here, you would have married her. I hope that I meet your standards; our girl deserves the best. Your sister helped me picked out a gorgeous ring for Dani.” I pull the small box out of my pocket and open it and stare at its beauty. Every morning I grab it out of the nightstand drawer and take it with me to work where I usually lock it up in my desk. I’ve been worried that Dani would find it if I hid it anywhere around the house, so I just always keep it with me.

“I really hope she loves it. I love her, man. I want to make her happy. I hope I do. She’s amazing…not sure why I’m telling you that since you know that. I can’t thank you enough for loving her and turning her into the woman she is.”

I pause and compose the rest of my thoughts. “I just want you to know that I’m going to take care of her, be there for her, love her, make her laugh and smile for the rest of my life. I don’t know how she went so long without showing the world that smile because it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen as I’m sure you know.” I go to get up and wipe the grass from my pants. “I’m gonna do right by her, and I hope you continue looking out for all of them.”

I look up to the sky, not really sure how to end this conversation. “Well, I’ll see ya round, man.” I press my hands against the gravestone as if I were squeezing Emmett’s shoulder and head back to my car.

As I climb in the truck, I feel good and ready to take this next step with Dani. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to this point with anyone, but honestly, since the day I met her, that all changed.

Now all I have to do is ask her. My mother’s favorite phrase of “All you gotta do is” rings through my mind.

I start the ignition and turn the radio on. I go to change the station as a familiar tune rings through the speakers, and I instantly focus on the radio when I hear Heartland’s “I Loved Her First” playing. Not exactly what I was expecting on this station. Dani once said that she believed that Emmett would talk to her through music. She would turn her iPod on shuffle and wait for him to talk to her through the music or would sit in her car and talk to him, and when she would turn the radio on, it would be a song that she swore was him reaching out to her. I don’t know if it’s some sign from somewhere else or just a coincidence, but it makes me smile, and I’d like to think that’s Emmett’s way of approving. While I know this song is about a father and daughter, I sit and listen to the lyrics, and it’s true, Emmett did love her first and loved her for all his life. The lyrics are so powerful and the message I want to believe was behind it, I can’t help but let the tears welling up in my eyes spill over. I sit there listening to the entire song, and as it ends, I wipe my eyes and know it’s time to go get our forever.

I make my way out of the cemetery and head back home to my girl.

I shake my coat off and place it on the back of the chair. “How come we aren’t at our regular table tonight and stuck up front by the stage?”

Looking at Haylee, Zach takes a sip of his drink. “Oh, well, we were running late, and the table was already occupied.”

“Oh.” I take a seat. Looking around, I ask, “Where’s Kyler? I thought he was meeting us here?” I pull out my phone and reread his text from earlier.

KY: Running behind at work, I’ll meet you at the bar. Love you!

The spotlight on the stage appears as the waitress approaches the table with my margarita. Scott takes the microphone, and everyone cheers, myself included.

He waves his hands in the air to quiet the crowd down. “All right, all right, everyone. Tonight we are doing something a little different—our favorite dynamic duo is flying solo. Let’s everyone give Kyler a warm welcome and see if he is actually any good without his partner in crime. Thank God this is just one night and one night only.”

He steps aside and claps his hands together. Kyler appears on the stage. He looks so handsome with his dark jeans and fitted black button-up shirt rolled up on his forearms. He must have changed at the office because he didn’t stop at home to change his clothes, and after our fun morning together, I watched him dress in a navy suit and white dress shirt. He looked so hot that I wanted to just rip it right off him and throw him back on the bed for round two. I can feel my cheeks heating up just thinking about this morning’s wake-up call.

“Tonight, I’d like to dedicate this song to my girl, Dani. I love you. Here it goes.”

Kyler doesn’t have his usual confident face on right now. As the music begins, he actually looks a little nervous. Once he spots me, though, that confident smile begins to appear. The song name appears on the s

creen, “Danny’s Song” by Loggins and Messina. The irony is not lost on the play of the name—that’s cute, but I am not too familiar with this one. He begins singing as if I’m the only girl in the entire room. I can feel my eyes start to fill up as I listen to him sing the lyrics. He is putting his heart out for all to see right now, and I’m still trying to figure out what I did to deserve this man’s love.

These lyrics are so sweet, although the more I listen, I’m pretty sure it’s really a song about a man soon becoming a father. So just to make sure no one gets the wrong idea, I keep taking sips of my delicious margarita that is full of tequila. The more he sings, the more I see the confidence start to wane and the nerves kick back in. I don’t know why he’s so nervous since his song is almost over. Is it just nerves because he had to be on stage without Zach? When the song ends, everyone applauds, including Haylee, who gives one of those ear-numbing whistles. Rubbing my ear, feeling as though I can’t hear now, I can’t help but give a “Woo!”

Instead of leaving the stage, he stands there for a moment. He then takes the microphone off the stand and heads toward our table, right in front of me specifically. He takes both of my hands in his, a smile across his face and his eyes full of love.

“Dani, I have possibly been in love with you from the moment I met you—or at least since the first time I tasted your cupcakes.”

I chuckle, remembering he confessed his undying love to it.

“When you walked into my life, I didn’t realize that something was actually missing. Even though you claim that I saved you and put you back together, I know that it was really you. You saved me by showing me what it meant to really love someone and to be loved by someone. Maybe in a way we saved each other. You bring out the best in me and I in you. You are the light in my darkness. Life is never going to be easy as we both know that from the journeys that brought us here, but with you, I feel as though I can face anything and everything that is thrown at me. I love you so much. I know you hate my jokes and my apparent bad taste in movies, but I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you that Office Space is, in fact, a funny movie.”

I laugh through the tears and gasp as he gets down on one knee. Oh my God, this is really happening.

“Danielle Kathryn Jacobs, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”

Looking around, I see Zach and Haylee beaming at us. I look a little farther and see my mom and Haylee’s parents sitting in the corner booth, and in the booth next to that is Kyler’s sisters, Lauren and Kate, and his mom. How did I not notice them when I came in? I turn my attention back to Kyler, who is waiting for an answer. I wipe my tears and smile at him. First, I respond by nodding, another moment in my life when I can’t even manage a simple yes. Both moments forever changed my life.

“Yes, baby, a million times yes!”

He slides the ring on my finger, and it is absolutely stunning—a white-gold trio princess cut pavé diamond ring. Kyler rises to his feet, and I wrap my hands around his neck, pulling him close to me. He wraps his hands around my waist and leans me back in one of the most passionate kisses of my life.

By the time he brings me back upright, my head is spinning and my heart is full. After another brief kiss, I put my forehead against his and laugh.

“What’s so funny, babe?”

Tags: Stefanie Jenkins I Never Romance
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