Page 97 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
She looks at me, the intensity of her gaze suddenly making me feel vulnerable. Exposed. She leans forward, kissing me softly at first, then with increased pressure. “I love you, Brody Hawthorne. I want this,” she whispers against my lips. “I want you.”
We kiss for another long moment before I finally pull away. “I guess it’s a good thing I said yes then, huh?”
She rolls her eyes and stands up, holding out her hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going? I have tacos in the truck.”
She pauses. “Mmm. Okay, fine. We can eat tacos first. But then we’re walking to your house.”
“What’s at my house?”
She scoffs like she can’t even believe I’m asking the question. “You did say you have a ring. You can’t expect me to know it exists and not want it on my actual finger.”
“I love a woman who has her priorities in order. Tacos first,thendiamonds.”
“This feels perfectly reasonable to me.” She pulls me to my feet, and we walk together to the truck.
“What will you do with your house?” she asks.
“Let Lennox rent it, probably. He’s looking for a place.”
“Oh, I love that. But he’s lookingnow,isn’t he? That means you’d have to move in here pretty quickly.”
“True.” I shoot her a look. “After we go get the ring, we should probably head up to the farm and see how quickly Olivia can plan us a wedding.”
She rolls her eyes. “Olivia is less than two months away from having her baby.”
I blow out a sigh. “Then we’ll have to work even faster.”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?”
I hand her the tacos. “Nope. Just been waiting a really long time to get what I want.”
“Says the guy who waited six agonizing weeks without proposing?”
“Agonizing, huh? I’ll just take back the dinner I bought you and go—”
“No! I’m sorry. You’re forgiven. Please don’t take my tacos. You can even keep the diamond an extra day.”
I let her have her tacos.
And then we walk, holding hands, down to my house where I pull her ring out of my nightstand, get down on one knee, and propose properly like I should have six weeks ago.
We get married the second weekend in September. School has already started, so we don’t have time for a honeymoon, but honestly, just coming home at the end of the school day knowing Kate’s waiting for me feels like honeymoon enough.
I sometimes wonder if the novelty will ever wear off. If I’ll ever stop marveling that I’m the man she chose.
When I hold her in my arms or fall asleep with her breathing beside me. When I find her in the kitchen making granola bars, her hair piled on top of her head, or stretched out on a blanket with a book under the sugar maple out back.
When she reaches for me in her sleep, her hand sliding over my chest like just feeling me next to her is enough to soothe a bad dream. When she waves goodbye or kisses me hello or smiles for no reason except that we’re together.
These ordinary moments with her, they are all I have ever wanted.
She is all I have ever wanted.
And not a day goes by that I forget it.
