Page 66 of Teasing a King

Mya nods.

A laugh bursts out of me, and I swipe at my eyes. "A daughter." The fact settles into my chest, somewhere deep inside my heart. "I hope she looks like you," I say softly.

Mya smiles. "I hope she's got your eyes."

I shake my head. "Yours are prettier."

She rolls those gorgeous brown eyes at me and laughs. "You're the only one who thinks so."

I grin, stepping closer to her. "They're all idiots."

"Who?"

"Everyone else," I say with a shrug. Something occurs to me, and I lower my brows in thought. "How long have you known?"

"Since the ultrasound," she says. She doesn't sound a bit contrite about keeping it from me.

"I thought you didn’t want to know?" I question.

She shakes her head with a sigh. “I couldn’t help it. I asked Dr. Mitchell after my exam, when you went back to the waiting room. I hope you’re not upset. Turns out I hate surprises.”

I look around the room at all the flowers and the video projector. Mya follows my gaze, her face softening.

"Maybe not all of them," she says softly. “Van, I’m sorry. I should have talked to you. I shouldn’t have shut you out. I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I should have—”

“Stop,” I say, cutting off her words. “No more apologies.”

I take another step toward her. I'm close enough to reach out and take her hand, but I wait. "I need you to know that I love you for you. For the person you are. Yes, the baby brought us together. But if it weren't for her, I'd still have found a way to fall in love with you, Mya. You're amazing. You're smart, funny, talented. You have such a big heart." I smile down at her. "You're fierce and protective. And so, so beautiful. I love you. I think I started falling for you the moment you took my hand at that wedding reception. And I kept falling. More and more every day."

She's crying now, tears streaming down her beautiful face as she looks at me.

"I know we did things out of order," I say. "But I still think we got a lot of things right."

I gesture to the screen where it's frozen on an image of me holding a black velvet jeweler's box.

"There's one more surprise," I say, dropping to one knee.

Mya's eyes widen and her hands come up to cover her mouth as I open the ring box. "Mya Holmes, will you--"

"Yes!" Her shout is loud and cuts through my question before I can ask it.

I laugh, my heart bursting with happiness. "You didn't let me finish."

She laughs through her tears. "Sorry." she waves a hand. "Go ahead."

"So impatient," I mutter with a wink that makes her smile wider. "I love you. I can't imagine a world where I don't fall asleep beside you each night and wake up beside you each morning. I can't picture a family dinner without you there beside me. When I think about my life and my future, there's no version of it that doesn't have you in it. As my partner in life, as parents together, through everything to come. I want all of it, with you by my side. Mya Holmes, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

She nods, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I carefully slip the ring onto her finger with shaking hands and stand. As soon as I'm on my feet, Mya throws her arms around me, pressing her lips to mine. I hold her close, feeling everything inside me still at the feel of her in my arms. This is exactly where I’m meant to be.

“I love you, Van,” she whispers. “So much. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out.”

I grin down at her. “I knew you’d get there eventually.”

She smiles. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

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