Page 86 of No Place Like Home
I stood and held my arms open. “Give her up, Tonya. I need some sugar.”
She begrudgingly passed off her newest grandchild to me. Michelle Grace was the most adorable baby I had the pleasure of cuddling with—outside of Madeline, Darcie, and James, of course. I cradled her in my arms, lost in all her tininess. Her precious fingers, nose, and ears. She was perfect.
“Look who I’ve got,” Rowan announced. I looked up to see him holding Adler and Leila’s son, Donald—or Donny, as we called him—who was born exactly a month before Michelle.
“Now, Donny,” Rowan said to the baby in his arms. “Michelle, there, can be your friend, and you’ll need to take good care of her. Maybe you’ll become best friends. Then,” he said giving me a wink, “maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love.”
The love in his eyes, directed at me and only me, made my heart swoon and stutter. “Only if they’re very lucky,” I agreed.
His gaze turned heated. “And, Donny,” he continued talking to the baby, “if you are the luckiest man ever ...” He trailed off and his gaze locked on mine. “She’d agree to marry you.”
I froze. “What?” My heart fluttered wildly. He didn’t just say...
Darlene and Leila, both grinning wildly, took their babies from us.
I turned back to Rowan, and my heart stopped at the sight of how much emotion filled his eyes. I’d seen him through so many of his life’s ups and downs, but there was something about the look on his face now—a mixture of love, adoration, and... fear. “Rowan,” I said. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said as he clasped my hands in his. “I don’t mean to scare you.” He walked me closer to the edge of the water. “I fell in love with you on this very bank, and I’ve loved you just about forever. Summer, I know you have doubts and worry about what will happen in the future, but I hope these past months have shown you how much I love you.”
A knot had lodged in my throat, and I was scared my heart would thump out of my chest. “Rowan, Ido. I love you so much.”
“I know,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
My eyes popped wide, and my hands flew to cover my mouth.
“That’s why I wanted everyone to be here when I asked you to marry me.” He got slowly down on one knee and held the ring up.
My knees shook, and sobs broke free. I hated crying, but ugly crying? That was one thing I never did. Well, until now.
“Make me the happiest man ever and marry me, Summer,” Rowan said.
“Dammit, standup and put that ring on my finger,” I said through tears as I pulled him to his feet and crushed my lips to his. My body shook with sobs which I quickly got control of. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Just don’t fucking make me cry again.”
“Hell yeah!” He slipped the ring on my finger and swung me in a circle. “Time to party, everyone! We’re getting married!” Rowan held my hand in the air, showing off the ring on my finger.
Everyone hollered their congratulations.
“Wait,” I said as my gaze locked on Susie. “It’s Susie’s Birthday. We can’t hijack it.”
Susie laughed and shook her head. “It’s not my birthday. My birthday’s in July. This was just a way to get you and everyone here without making you suspect anything.”
“It’s not your birthday?” I asked.
She shook her head and laughed.
Kora said. “All this was just a perfect plan created by Rowan.”
I turned to him. “You planned all this? And no one told me? You know I hate surprises.”
“I know,” he said. “Trust me. But this was worth it. The only ones who knew were Kora, Kai, Darlene, Susie, and my brothers. Everyone else thought it was a birthday party.”
“Kai told us when we got here,” Adler said.
“Hell, Rowan didn’t even tell me,” Trevor said as he wrapped me in a hug. “But congratulations.”
“You’re marrying my baby,” Tonya said.
I nodded, still in shock, and glanced down at my finger. The ring was a beautiful princess-cut diamond. I wasn’t sure how large, but just enough to glitter in the sunlight and catch my eye. Like everything from Rowan, it was perfect. “It looks that way,” I answered her. “Between you and me, this is overwhelming. I hate surprises, and he knows that.”
