Page 22 of The Love of Secrets

“Yes. I am.”

Taking a deep breath, I look back at Hazel. “I would love to go with you.”

She squeals, “Yes! I can’t wait to introduce you. You’re going to love everyone.”

Dexter stands up, clanking his glass. Once he has all of our attention, he grabs Hazel’s hand as he drops to his knees. I gasp at the same time as Hazel.

“Dexter, what is going on?” She squeals, her eyes filling with unshed tears.

“Hazel. You’ve been my best friend as long as I can remember. I lost you once and I never want to lose you again. I want to bind you to me in every way. I want you to have my last name. I want you to be the mother of my children. So here in front of the two other people who mean the world to me, I want to ask you a very important question. Will you marry me?” He pulls out a black box revealing the most beautiful solitaire diamond.

She places her hand on her chest as tears streak down her face. “Yes.”

She grabs his face and kisses him. “I love you, Dex. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

Mateo leans over to me, his breath skittering across my neck. “One day, I’m going to call you my wife.”

I shiver at his declaration, but know he’s right. One day, Mateo will be my husband and I’ll be his wife.

Chapter fifteen

Cecilia

Later that night, we all end up at Gary’s Place. I asked Mrs. Scottensburg to watch Oliver for the night instead of my brother. I want Bear to see how happy I am here in Rose Valley. How happy Mateo makes me.

Mateo leads us to a table in the back near the pool tables. A group of people are standing there gushing over Hazel’s ring. I can’t believe I got to see them get engaged. It was so beautiful how he declared his love. We stay in the back of the group of people, taking in the scene in front of us.

Bear walks over and drops a bucket of beers on the table in front of us. “So how was dinner?” He cracks a beer open and takes a sip.

I grin at him. “It was great. Mateo’s brother asked his girlfriend to marry him.”

Bear shudders. “The idea of being tied to one person is not for me.”

“You never know what life will bring you, Bear. Never say never.” I wink at him.

Mateo sidles up right behind me. “She’s right, man. I never imagined being with one person until I met your sister.”

Bear makes a face of disgust. “Ugh. Y’all are gross.” He takes another sip of his beer. Once he swallows, he places it on the table. “In all seriousness, I’m glad that you’re doing good, Bug. You had me worried. I don’t need to be back in Texas anytime soon. If you don’t mind, I’m going to hang around here, make up for lost time with you and Oliver.”

My eyes soften. “Of course I don’t mind. I missed you. We would love to have you around. Isn’t that right, Mateo?”

He just grunts. I swat him in his chest, “Mateo. Be nice.”

Bear grins at us. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this, Bug. It looks good on you.”

At that moment, Hazel looks up from showing off her ring. When she sees me, she waves me over. “Cecilia, come here. I want you to meet some people.”

I look over my shoulder at Mateo. “Go on, Pretty Girl. I’ll be here when you’re done.”

Glancing between my brother and Mateo, I don’t feel the tension like I did before and decide they are big boys. They’ll be fine without me.

I make my way to Hazel. She grabs my shoulders and gives me a huge hug. When we pull apart, she grins and starts introductions.

“That’s my sister, Ashley. She’s amazing and is the reason Dex and I are together again.” Hmm…sounds like a story I need to hear one day. “And that’s Sloane, Allison, Mya, Colleen and Kimberly. You know Alex and Dexter. Everyone, this Cecilia, she’s Mateo’s.”

I awkwardly wave, knowing that I’m not going to remember any of their names later. “Nice to meet y’all.”

A blonde woman, I think Hazel said her name was Kimberly, leans forward. “So, where are you from?”

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