Page 30 of Home for Christmas

“Well, eventually even if we tried to hide it, they’re going to realize something is up when you have my baby.” Her mouth falls open and not another word comes from her. I kind of like leaving Marley speechless. “I would imagine you would want your mom there when we have the baby. And they might get tipped off when your belly is round and swollen and I won’t keep my hands off it. Or when you have a new last name or don’t come home because you are at our house. Or if you don’t want to move out, your mom is definitely going to find out when you have a big six-foot-four man in your bed every night -although if you don’t want to move out I do have a request that we move this bed to your room because I’ve seen your bed, baby. There is no way my feet aren’t going to be hanging off that thing.”

“What?” She slides down to sit on the bed again having jumped up off it when she chose to be mad at me.

I take out a wrapped gift and hand it to her. At first, all she does is look at it. I push it at her and tell her what to do.

“Take it and open it.”

She takes the box with shaky hands and opens it only to stare at the ring box inside. When she tilts the box so the ring box falls into her palm, she finally looks up at me.

“What…what is this?”

“Open it,” I repeat the request that isn’t so much a request as a solid order. The only time I will ever order my Marley around -except when it's for her safety of course.

She does as I tell her and we both stare down at the warm peach stone set with little white diamonds surrounding it in the baguette shape according to my mom.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It was my grandmother’s. Apparently one of her favorite things in the world was peaches. I thought it is fitting given my nickname for you.” And how my grandfather found a peach-colored diamond is beyond me but glad he did!

I take the ring box and pull the ring out while taking her left hand in my other. I slip the ring on her finger and a part of me just settles. Yeah, this is right. I can feel it. And so can see.

“So…will you?”

“Will I?”

Her eyes are still on the ring but come to mine when I ask her the question.

“Will you marry me, Marley?”

“What?! You…you want to marry me? Why?”

“Because I’ve been in love with you before I even understood what that word meant. Because the thought of you with someone else makes me want to set the world on fire. Because I need you and after having you in my bed, in my arms, I can’t let you go. It would kill me to have to give you up. You might not love me yet, but I’ll do anything in the world to make you fall for me as hard as I’ve fallen for you, baby.”

My heart is up in my throat, and I can hear the fucking clock downstairs ticking as I wait for her to say…something. Logically I understand it’s my fucking heart beating so loud I can hear it inmy ears but it sounds like a fucking clock when you’re as nervous as I am right now waiting for Marley. Waiting for my next breath of air, my world to start turning. I will always wait on Marley.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Marley

“I…I thought I was going to have to let you go.”

I thought it so much that I stayed up almost all night crying my heart out. I knew there was no reason for us to stay with him and his mom anymore since the snow stopped and the electricity came back on. No more reasons to be with Tannen. No more reasons to sleep in his bed with his arms wrapped around me. No reason for him to stay.

I started to think it might be better this way. Leaving him while he’s still at his mom's. Then I could just keep pretending he was here no matter if he had left. I wouldn’t have to watch him go and if I stayed with Danni until after, it would still be like he was just sleeping at his mom’s...all the time, still close to me if not still with me. It broke my heart.

A sob jerks from me as I think about it even now. Tannen pulls me into his arms and brushes the tears off my face.

“What? Why? Why would you think that?”

“Because I didn’t…think you felt the same way I feel.”

“And how do you feel, baby?”

“I love you!” I always have. I thought you would go back to your life and next year you’d bring home a fiancée. I was dying inside. I’ve been dying since you went away.”

“Sweetheart, next year…I’ll have a wife. If you’ll have me.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

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