Page 59 of Interception

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. I thought it was for a while, but I needed to get out of my own way and let you love me. It was only then that I was able to love you back. I’m not all fixed and great at this stuff, but…”

“You’re better than you think.” I squeeze her hands, search her eyes for what she’s trying to say.

“I want to be better for you and our boys, our little Danford potatoes.”

“Don’t you mean Porter potatoes?”

“No. I want them to have their daddy’s name.” My heart is fit to burst out of my chest, but before I can pull her in for a kiss, she continues. “I was sort of hoping that I could have the same name as them.”

“Zee, are you talking about hyphenating? I’m cool with that. I didn’t think I was getting a look-in on the name front, so any little part of me in there is amazing.”

“God, you can really be dim sometimes, Coop. I’m not asking to hyphenate names. I’m trying, and obviously failing terribly, to ask you to marry me.”

My breath catches, and my brain short-circuits. I must be dreaming. Zee, my Zee, is so firmly against the idea of being married to me or being at all conventional in the building of our family.

“Hey, doofus. Your girl just asked you a question. You’re supposed to answer. It’s customary,” Hunter snaps me back to reality.

“I was supposed to do this with a ring and a super special date. I wanted you to have a perfect proposal, one you can’t say no to.”

“Coop, this is the perfect proposal for me. I don’t need a ring or some big show. You show me every day that you’re in this with me. It took me a long time to realize that I want this. I want this more than I can put into words. No fanfare, no big dumb wedding.” She turns to Faith and Hunter. “Sorry, guys. No offense. I loved your wedding.”

“No offense taken. We already know you had a great time at our wedding. The broken car window said it all.”

“Okay, hotshot, button it until your best friend says yes. I feel like an ass right about now. If he shoots me down, this is going to go down as my worst idea ever.”

Her hands are shaking as they rest in mine. “Zee, there’s no scenario in which I say no to this. I think I’d have married you after that first dirty weekend. I’ve been waiting for you to catch up to where I’m at in our relationship.”

“Sorry it took me so long. If you’ll have me, we can walk inside the courthouse right now and get hitched. We have two witnesses, and your buddy has two wedding bands tucked in his pocket. What do you think? Want to make an honest woman of me before I birth your kiddos?”

I pull her into my arms and spin her around. I’ve never felt such unbridled joy in all my life. “Yes!”

“Coop, please stop spinning me when you’re happy. I don’t want to puke on you today.”

I quickly set her down and turn to Hunter. “Did you know about this when I spoke to you earlier?”

“You mean when you were fussing like a girl going to prom about what to wear? No. I had no idea until we got here, and Zee handed me wedding rings.”

“So we’re doing this right now? Really?”

“Yep. No muss, no fuss, and a marriage license to boot. All you need to do is say ‘I do’ and sign your name on the dotted line. Oh, and kiss the bride when it’s all done.”

“Holy shit. I can’t believe you kept this a secret all week.”

“Well, I wanted it to be special in my own low-key way. Is it okay that we don’t have a big wedding?”

“I’d marry you anywhere, anytime, beautiful. Let’s do this.” As we head up the steps to the courthouse, I find myself laughing. I was so bowled over by how amazing Zee looks in a red, form-fitting gown that I didn’t even notice we were standing in front of the courthouse. Her dress shows off her baby bump perfectly, and I can think of no better way to make her my wife. She’s not a conventional woman, and she’d never be caught dead in a big poofy white dress.

As we wait outside the office of the Justice of the Peace, I’m not nervous at all, but I can see that Zee is shaking. I wrap my arms around her, resting my lips on her forehead. “I love you so much. I can’t wait to be your husband.”

“Me, too.”

“What changed? I thought you were dead-set against marriage.”

“I was. I guess I just needed the right guy.” Her voice waivers slightly, but she leans into my touch.

“Zoey Porter and Cooper Danford?” An imposing figure stands in the doorway. I don’t know what I expected of a Justice of the Peace—maybe some old, soft-spoken dude—but this guy is huge. He wouldn’t be out of place across from me on the football field.

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