Page 46 of Comforted By The Mountain Man
"Asher," she breathes, her hand flying to her mouth. "What is all this?"
"This," I say, dropping to one knee in the middle of the flower petals, "is me finally doing what I should have done months ago."
Her eyes go wide, filling with tears. "Oh my God."
I pull the ring box from my pocket, my hands surprisingly steady now that the moment is here. "Sierra Martinez, you walked into my life on the worst night of yours and somehow, you turned it into the beginning of everything beautiful. You gave me purpose, you gave me love, and you gave me the family I never knew I was missing."
She's crying now, happy tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You make me want to be better than I am. You make me believe in forever. And I want to spend every day of the rest of my life proving that I'm worthy of the trust you've placed in me."
I open the box, revealing the ring that I hope will spend the next sixty years on her finger.
"Will you marry me, Brown Eyes? Will you let me love you and Ryder and Amelia for the rest of our lives? Will you be my wife?"
For a moment, she just stares at me, tears flowing freely. Then she nods, so vigorously that her hair bounces.
"Yes," she whispers. "Yes, of course, yes!"
I slide the ring onto her finger with hands that shake slightly and then she's pulling me to my feet and kissing me with everything she has. I lift her off the ground, spinning her around as she laughs and cries and kisses me all at once.
"I love you," she says against my lips. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," I murmur back. "More than I ever thought possible."
We kiss again, slower this time, savoring the moment. Around us, candles flicker and rose petals drift in the air conditioning, and everything feels perfect.
But I'm not done yet.
"Sierra," I say, setting her back on her feet. "There's one more thing."
"More? Asher, this is already perfect."
"Trust me." I look toward my office and give Ryder the thumbs up signal.
He bursts through the door with a bouquet of white roses nearly as big as he is, his face glowing with excitement.
"Congratulations, Mama!" he shouts, running to her with the flowers.
"Ryder! You were in on this?" She takes the bouquet and pulls him into a hug. "How long have you known?"
"Forever! Well, two weeks. But I kept the secret really good, didn't I, Daddy?"
"The best secret keeper ever," I confirm, ruffling his hair.
Sierra looks between us, her smile radiant. "Is that it? Because I don't think my heart can take much more."
"Actually," I say, moving to where Holden set up the superhero display. "There's one more question I need to ask."
I gesture for Ryder to join me by the table and his eyes go wide again when he sees the full display.
"Ryder Antonio Martinez," I say, dropping to one knee so I'm at his eye level. "For a little over a year, you've been calling me Daddy, and it's been the greatest honor of my life. You've made me want to be the kind of man who deserves that title."
His little face is serious now, understanding that this is important.
"I want to ask your permission to marry your mommy. But more than that, I want to ask if you'll let me adopt you. If you'll let me be your real dad, legally and forever. Will you be my son, Ryder? Will you let me give you my name?"
He doesn't hesitate for even a second. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I want to be Ryder Hunter!"
