Page 119 of A Much Younger Man
“Up you go.” I lifted him so he was sitting on top of a smooth, midsize boulder. “I want a picture.”
“Sure.” He smiled shyly and then ruined the demure image by getting into a sexy half-reclining pose. His shining sapphire eyes seemed to say, “I’m all yours.”
I took a couple of pictures, slipped the phone into my pocket, and pulled out my Christmas gift to him. There were two things, actually. He could pick one, or both, or neither.
This was his decision. I got on one knee.
“What are you—” He clapped both hands over his face. “What? Oh my God, what are you doing?”
“Beck, you mean everything to me. You’re my world.”
“Oh my God. Do your parents know?”
“I don’t need their permission. Now hush.”
He clamped his lips together.
“You’re my whole world, Beck. And even though I seem to lead and you basically follow, I don’t want you to think we aren’t equal in this partnership of ours.”
He narrowed his eyes. “That’s…a little pedantic there, Doc. Where’s Captain Romance?”
“I said hush.”
He mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.
“I have two things to give you tonight. One is this—”
He held out his hands, and I dropped it in.
He looked down. “Ooh. This is Jurassic technology. Wait—I think it’s a flash drive. A whole terabyte? You shouldn’t have.” He sang, “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me—”
“It’s more symbolic than anything, and if you’d hush like I told you to, I’ll tell you what’s on it.”
“Please tell me it’s dick pics.” He grinned. “Or wait—did you record us having sex? Is that why your parents aren’t here? I hope it’s that time when we were in the backyard playing with the hose and you said, ‘I’ll show you a hose,’ and then you did, right out in front of God and everyone.”
“It’s not that.”
He quieted, cupping the drive between his hands like he was afraid of it. “What is it?”
“It’s the completed paperwork laying out our new family trust.”
“What does that mean?”
“You and I are now equal partners in everything.”
“Define everything?”
“The clinic. The house.” My knee was starting to hurt. “Everything. Can I finish?”
He nodded.
“And this,” I held out the box with the ring inside. “Is a wedding ring. You can take one or both. You don’t have to marry me to become my partner in every way, but I’d like it if you did.”
“Oh my God.” His hands shook as he brought them over his face again. “Oh my God, Lindy. You idiot. You can’t just…give me half of everything and marry me and…What if I murder you in your sleep?”
“Okay.” I glanced out at the water. “Out of all the possible responses to my proposal, that was not—”
“You dork!” His body hit mine with a thud, toppling me backwards onto the sand. He kissed my forehead, each eye, my nose, my chin, my ears. Finally, my lips.
