Page 81 of Xavier

I couldn’t help but glance over at Gage, enraptured by the way his jaw was slack with awe as he stared at the display. His eyes lit up each time a new one was shot off, the reflection of it mirroring back at me.

“Wow,” he breathed out with a soft smile turning up the corners of his lips.

He always found the joy in the little things. I loved that quality about him.

Hell, I lovedeverythingabout him.

I’d never get enough, no matter how much time passed and how long we spent with each other.

I’d never get tired of any of it.

Before long, fireworks were being shot off in rapid succession, clouding the sky with white smoke as they exploded in unison with each other. People on the sidewalks cheered while the station blew their truck horns and waved their streamers, in anticipation for the final firework.

Unlooping my arm from Gage’s caught his attention, causing him to be ripped away from the festivities in order to look over at me.

“Xavier?”

I didn’t answer him, and quickly shoved my hand into my pocket to grab at the small box nestled in there. He didn’t fight me when I took half a step back from him, his face pinching into one of confusion.

I dropped down to my knee.

The strangled noise spilling out of Gage’s mouth was barely audible over the plume of the final firework shooting off into the sky.

I popped the box open, the silver band, hopefully, visible in the dark.

The firework crested high in the sky, the colors of it catching in Gage’s eyes when they widened down at me, along with a light shimmering over the ring that he was now staring at incredulously.

“Marry me,” I said, just as the explosion from the firework punched through the air and drowned out everything else around us.

The embers rained down in the sky like a gigantic weeping willow, glistening the same way that stars did in the distant galaxy and keeping both of us illuminated just long enough.

“Holy shit,” he choked out, pulling in a sharp breath. His hand shot out toward me, splaying his fingers at me. I saw him, rather than heard him, mouth the word ‘yes’ while the crowd around us cheered loudly at the finale.

His hand was shaking as I took it in mine, popping the band out of the case and carefully sliding it on his finger—a damn perfect fit.

I had to catch him as he fell into me, collapsing with a soft sob. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, burying his face in my shoulder.

With a laugh, I lifted us both back onto our feet, planting my weight back to keep him from toppling us both over.

The lights overhead on the fire station flickered on, announcing the end of the night’s festivities and the official beginning of the New Year.

Gage pulled away from me in order to gaze down at the band encircling his finger. He lifted it up to the light to get a better look at it, sniffling. “It’s so pretty.”

I lifted his hand by the wrist and brought it to my cheek, turning my face to press my lips into his palm. “It has our initials engraved on the inside.”

He melted into more tears. “You fucking sap.”

That had me laughing and pulling him into a tight hug. Honestly, pot and kettle on that one, but tonight, I’d let him have it.

“Oh, did you do it?” Dexter asked, craning his neck to get a peek at Gage’s hand.

Lifting it up into the light again, nodding with a Cheshire grin on my lips, I showed off the shiny new band, earning a broad smile from my kid, along with two sets of bewildered looks from the twins.

Gage’s voice cracked when he turned to look at Dexter. “You knew about this?”

Dexter rubbed the back of his neck. “It was... kind of obvious.”

Gage shoved his face against my chest once more, heaving another watery exhale. He was so goddamn cute it was hard not to sweep him up into my arms and carry him back into the damn firehouse where I could find us an empty room.

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