Page 23 of Mistletoe Magic

“You did, but I opened them.” Ava is sitting at the table out on the balcony.

“What time is it?” I sit up to stare at her.

“Ten thirty. I trained my body to be up by five every day because of work. I even went to the hotel gym, but you were so cute sleeping I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

“I’m the lazy one in this relationship.” I tease her.

“Lazy is not a word that I’d describe you with.” Ava smiles as she climbs on top of me. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Want to go somewhere with me? I have a surprise. I was going to wait until later, but I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Yes!” She elbows me in the rib cage as she gets off me. I tell her I’m going to shower and grab my phone to text Jack.

Me: Is everything ready?

Waiting for a reply is making me more nervous. I decide to shower since it doesn’t take long for me to clean up. Is she going to say yes? What if it’s too soon? I know how I feel, and I want to spend the rest of my life with Ava. I swallow hard now that everything is hitting me. I’m like a fucking teenage nerd asking the pretty girl who sits in front of me to homecoming or prom. I’m taking a leap of faith right now.

Once I’m out of the shower, I wipe the mirror since the hot water steamed it up. I wrapped the towel around my waist. “You can do this, Hunter. I know you’ve never done this before, but you love her. Speak from the heart.” I check my phone, and all I got was a thumbs up from Jack. “Was that an accidental bump or is he ready?” I mumble.

“Everything okay in there? It sounds like you’re having a very difficult discussion with yourself.”

“It’s all good.” I step out because I forgot to grab my clothes. Ava licks her lips. “No woman. I have today planned, and sex is not on the itinerary until later.”

“Don’t walk around all naked and wet.” Ava huffs.

Shaking my head, I walk back into the bathroom after grabbing my outfit. I bought a pair of sandals since I plan on proposing to her on the beach. I listen for her phone to ring.

“Lyssa!” Ava seems happy to hear from her. “Yeah, I can go pick him up. Why is he at the beach? He hates it.” We came up with a story about Timmy going with a friend for the day and being stuck at the beach. Lyssa got called into work. “Let the parents know I’m coming to get him.” There’s a knock on the door. “Baby, I need to go get Timmy. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you in the lobby, then I’ll take you to the surprise I have for you.”

“I love you.” I stick my head out with puckered lips. She gets the hint and kisses me goodbye. Once the door clicks, I’m out of the bathroom and dressed in the blue dress shirt Ava bought for me for Christmas, jeans, and a pair of sandals. I take one more look around the room before grabbing the ring. “I hope to God she says yes.”

She’ll say yes,right?

Ava

I could have swornLyssa was off this weekend because she was going away with Jack to his family’s cabin. I wonder what happened? I pull up to the beach section where she told me, and there stands Timmy with Jack and Lyssa.

“What’s going on?” I ask when I get up to them.

“Here.” Timmy hands me an envelope. I open it.

Follow the path.

H.

“What is going on?” I ask again.

“Follow the instructions.” Lyssa smiles big. I can’t help but laugh as I take off my flip-flops and walk down the path. I turn the corner of the steak restaurant where we had our first official date. He’s standing there with a single red rose. What is going on?

“Hi.” I wave.

“Hello, beautiful. This is for you.” He hands me the rose. “Now I have a speech prepared, so try not to interrupt me.”

“Okay,” I hesitantly reply.

“Ava Richfield, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. When I overheard your mom and sister treating you like crap, my instinct was to rush over to you to protect you. When I heard you scream out in pain, I had to run to you. Ever since those gorgeous eyes looked into mine, my heart soared. When we’re apart, I feel like I’m missing a piece of me.” I tear up, the burn of the tears in my eyes. “You are the first woman I said those three words to, and I want you to be the last one.” Hunter pulls out a black velvet box from the pocket of his pants. “Will you do me the honor of loving me forever and being my wife?” I swallow hard as my tears are now a waterfall on my cheeks.

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