“Hey, baby,” he greets me with a sweet smile, eliciting one from me in return. “You look gorgeous.” His eyes rake over my body, taking in the sight of the long sleeve black fitted sweater dress I’m wearing which stops mid-thigh. However, his gaze doesn’t stop there, continuing down to my red stiletto pumps, the same shade as my lips, before popping back up to my face. “You always look gorgeous.”

“You’re looking exceptionally handsome yourself, Bishop.” I gesture with my clutch to his black suit. His jacket hangs open, the top two buttons of his white dress shirt undone, exposing some of his tattoos. “A white shirt, huh? Wow, what’s the occasion?” My brow arches as I seductively draw in my lower lip.

He smiles wider, this time exposing the whites of his teeth to me. “Do you know what today is?”

“It’s… October tenth?”

“It is October tenth,” he replies as he slowly approaches me. “Did you know October tenth is my favorite day of the year?”

My brain quickly scans through known birthdays and relevant events. Coming up empty, I eye him curiously. “Okay, why is October tenth your favorite day?”

“Hold on, killer. We’ll get there. Do you know what I like to do on my favorite day?”

I chuckle with a slight shake of my head. “I have no idea, my love. Tell me.”

“I like to come to my favorite spot.”

My head tilts, my eyes narrowing in confusion. “Lounge?” I look around. “Lounge is your favorite spot?”

“Not so much Lounge. More… this exact spot.” He gestures to where we’re standing. “Because five years ago, on October tenth, this is the exact spot I was standing in when I saw you for the first time.”

My hands drop to my side as I feel my jaw go slack. “What?” I whisper as I glance over toward the bathrooms, realizing he is in fact right. This is where he intercepted me after I found Amber that night.

“Right here.” He continues to advance before stopping in front of me. “It’s where my whole world shifted, altering my life in the process.” He stares down at me, his eyes piercing me with unabashed sincerity. “I used to think the universe glitched out when it brought you to me. That there must have been some mistake, that I intercepted and stole a moment not meant for me, much like I’ve stolen many other things in life. But then—” his hand rises to caress my cheek “—I realized how many things had to happen for our paths to cross. The thousands upon thousands of miniscule moments that had to line up just right for days, weeks… fuck, if not years prior to that night. All so your path would intersect with mine at that exact second in time. And then it was clear to me. You? Me? It wasn’t a glitch. It was fate. You are my destiny.”

“Maverick…” My eyes well with unshed tears as he cups my jaw. Pressing his thumb to my lips, he silences me.

“When you came back, it wasn’t the universe giving me a second chance. It was righting a wrong. When I broke us, I fucked with fate. The universe brought you back because we were made for each other. And I promise you, I will never do anything to hurt us ever again.”

He stares at me for a moment, his thumb stroking my cheek before he releases me… and drops down to one knee. My breath catches in my throat as my hands fly up to stifle a sob.

“Joanna Claire Hunter. When I first laid eyes on you, the only reason I didn’t know it was love at first sight is because up until that point I had no idea what love was. My soul knew, though. It recognized you instantly as home.” Mav pulls a small black box from his pocket. With shaky hands, he pulls it open, offering it up to me. “I want to spend my life with you. I want to have so many babies with you that they completely outnumber us and throw the house into absolute chaos.” I laugh, swiping the stray tears from my face. “I want to dance with you in the kitchen, hear every beautifully absurd thought that pops into your head, and tackle all life throws at us together. I will chase you until we’re old and gray. And when we go? I’ll chase your ass down in the afterlife and love you for all eternity. So, please, Jones, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry my undeserving ass? Because I am so in love with you, I can’t imagine an existence where you aren’t my wife.”

“Yes.” The answer rushes from my mouth, the corners tipping up into a smile as I swipe at my cheeks through my sniffles.

“Yeah?” He grins, his eyes lighting up in the process.

“Yes.” I nod frantically, collapsing into his embrace as the weight of me barreling into him drops his ass to the floor. “Yes. Yes. Fuck, yes.” We erupt in a fit of laughter as he presses his lips to mine.

“I fucking love you, Jones. I promise I will always treat you like the Queen you are.”

“I love you, Maverick. It’s always only been you. It will only ever be you.”

Mav kisses me once more with bruising force, his fingers threading into my hair as he grips hold at the nape of my neck. After a moment, he pulls back, carefully readjusting me as he stands us upright.

“I know I’ve never done this before, but I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to put this on.” Mav snickers as he plucks the ring from the box before sliding it onto my left finger.

It’s stunning. The delicate ring is comprised of two thin bands, one inlaid with small diamonds, the other plain platinum, which appear to twist loosely around one another before encircling the round cut center diamond in a halo of small black diamonds.

“I kept it modest with two carats for the center stone.” He admires its new placement before bringing my hand to his lips, where he plants a kiss.

“Modest?” I eye him with a smirk.

Mav looks up, pinning me with a glare. “You weren’t getting smaller than that.” He continues to fidget with the ring, a sly smile playing out on his face. “I like it because it looks like the bands are dancing around one another. Almost like this one,” he points to the plain strip of platinum, “is chasing this one.” The tip of his finger grazes over the diamond band.

I sigh. “How about I just stop running, and finally let you catch me?”

“About time, woman.” Mav pulls me in, crashing his lips to mine.