Page 35 of Till Cupid Do Us Part

In this dark, slightly damp hallway with both of us dressed in sweatpants and baggy shirts, Niko pulls a red-and-green knitted pouch from the pocket of his sweatpants and holds it between us. I explode with a laugh, shaking my head while watching him struggle to get a ring through the loosely knitted yarn until finally, he pulls it free.

“There’s nothin’ in this world that I want more than to have you forever. You’re everythin’ I’d ever hoped of havin’. With you by my side, my days are bright, and my nights are calm and safe. You’ve given me a beautiful little girl and helped bring me back with my son, even if it was a rocky road to get there with an even rougher one ahead. I owe you more than you know, angel. Not just for bringin’ me out of the dark but for showin’ me how beautiful the light can be with you at my side.”

Tears well in my eyes at my first glance of the dainty diamond glistening in the low light from where it sits perched on a simplegold band. It’s perfect. Simple but beautiful and everything I imagined it would be.

“Will you do me the second greatest honour possible and marry me?”

I sniffle, pursing my wobbling lips before asking, “What’s the first greatest honour?”

“Makin’ me a father for the second time,” he declares without hesitation.

Oh, fuck me.This man is on a mission to ruin me, and I’m more than happy to let him.

“Yes, Niko. Of course I’ll marry you.”

I extend my hand and hold my breath as he takes it in his and slips the ring onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit. As if he’d have it any other way.

It’s only been just over a year by his side, yet I feel like I’ve been with this man for four times that. He might have only just proposed, but in my mind, we’re already married.

Having a baby with someone seems to have that effect on a person. We already have this living, breathing thing tying us together for life, and I’ve seen how, regardless of marriage, things can go wrong in a relationship. To me, marriage is about far more than just a ring and a signed certificate.

It’s the support and love and dedication in the every day. Using marriage as an excuse for loyalty and constant reassurance is a cop-out. I want more than that, and Niko has given it to me time and time again every day that we’ve been together.

Now, I just get to call him my husband officially. That’s the part I’m most excited for.

Clapping fills the hallway from the phone cracked on the ground. It’s weird enough that Niko was talking to Travis before I interrupted them, but hearing him clap? Because of me agreeing to marry his dad?

That’s a whole other world of weird.

Niko takes me into his arms and spins me around before I have the chance to ask what’s on my mind. I’m suddenly too focused on my fiancé and the new ring on my finger to care about anything else.

“My soon-to-be Mrs. Shaw,” Niko croons in my ear, making me shiver.

“Are you trying to get me into bed already?”

“I’d be more than happy to spend the night with you on the couch watchin’ your movies, angel. Tonight, tomorrow, the rest of fuckin’ time. It doesn’t matter what we do as long as I get to be beside you.”

My smile spreads wide across my face as I intertwine my fingers behind his neck and push up on my tiptoes to stay close when he sets me down.

“I should have known something was up when you were so quickly convinced to watchLove Actually. And now? You’ve turned your romantic dial up to fifty, handsome.”

He rolls his eyes, huffing a laugh. “I was talkin’ to Travis about you.”

“What about me?”

“I asked if he approved of me marryin’ you.”

I pause, my brows flying up into my hairline. “Really? And what did he say? Not a chance in hell?”

Niko turns and scoops the phone up from the floor. His eyes lighten a shade as he reads whatever is on his screen.

“He said to go for it,” he murmurs before offering me a glance at the message bright against the photo of Junie and me from a few nights ago snoozing in bed.

Travis: Congrats. See you when you get back.

“That’s actually from him?” I ask, my voice shy, exposing every emotion brewing in my chest.

Niko slips his phone away and holds me tight, notching his chin at the top of my head. I breathe in his cologne and shut my eyes.

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