Page 102 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats
I do. I absolutely do.I just nod when no words seem to formulate.
“And you love me as much as I love you,” he adds, a few more tears falling from his lashes.
“I do,” I say, and I press my forehead to his. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know, baby,” he says, kissing the back of my hand.
Just when I think I have my tears under control, Evelyn wraps her arms around my neck. More tears fall against her fluffy pajama shirt.
“I love you, Evelyn,” I tell her like I have every day since I moved into this house.
“I love you, too.” She looks down at her lap. “Are you going to be my mom now?”
I suck in a sharp breath, my eyes darting over to Austin.Geez, we’re both crying so much.I try to communicate so much with just this look alone.
He nods with a small smile, telling me it’s okay.
“Would you want that?” I ask her.
She thinks for a minute. “I think you already are,” she says, and I forget how to breathe. “Can I call you that now?”
I can’t help the constant stream of tears flowing down my face. Hearing a few sniffles from behind me, I know Austin and I aren’t the only ones affected by this.
“You can call me whatever you want, honey. If that’s mom, then I would be honored.”
“Okay, Mom,” she says, resting her head on my chest.
Fuck me. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through any more of this.I look over Evelyn’s head to see that Austin is almost as big of a mess as me.
Taking several deep breaths, I try to get it together.This isn’t even done. They haven’t even asked me yet.
Evelyn sits up and snuggles back against her dad. I turn to look at Brooks. His eyes are glossy, but he gives me a smile.
“Well, that was a lot of emotion,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “But I’m pretty sure none of us actually asked you.”
I shake my head.
He grabs my left hand. “Hadley, will you marry us?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
He slides the ring on my finger, then wraps his arms around me. “I’m glad you didn’t think about your answer. I probably would have gone off the handle if you did.”
Laughing, I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you back.”
I turn back to look at Conrad. Wrapping my hand around the back of his head, I pull him to me, and our lips collide in the same way they did that first time in the airplane bathroom.
Pulling back, he smirks at me like he was thinking the same thing.
Turning to my other side, I press a kiss to Evelyn’s forehead and snuggle into Austin’s side.
What do we do now?My mind reels.After all of that, what do we do now?
“Can we go get donuts?” Evelyn asks, crawling off Austin’s lap.
