Page 120 of Free to Run
Taking a deep breath, I reach for my daughter’s hand when she tries to race by me to get to Charlie. “Well, if he accepts, I’ll be marrying Keene tonight. You wouldn’t mind performing the ceremony like you did for Cass and Caleb, would you?” Before the words are out of my mouth, I’m engulfed in a hug by my surrogate father.
“It’d be my honor. My absolute honor,” Charlie croaks. Leaning down, he hooks an arm around my daughter and brings her into our circle.
Now I wait for the family to arrive so I can ask the man I love the most important question of our lives.
* * *
Everyone knowswe’re celebrating something. Phil asked one of the waiters for a notepad. He’s walking around and taking odds on if I’m pregnant again since I’m not drinking anything. If he’d been paying any sort of attention, he’d also see I haven’t eaten anything either, but let him have his happy little delusion until Keene arrives.
Speaking of that, I glance at the clock over the bar. He should be here any minute. And then I feel it—the charge in the room electrifies. Turning around slowly, I see Keene ascend the last of the steps.
He’s stunning in a black suit and a blue tie, shot through with platinum threads. I left the suit and tie out for him. It bounces off the white shirt he’s wearing, making his eyes gleam. He’s been letting his beard grow, defining his jawline even more than normal.
He also has a smirk on his face.
God, it makes me want to jump him right now.
“Dwaaddeeee!” Kalie shrieks, teetering forward. Keene’s face softens as he reaches for our daughter.
“Hi, precious. You’re up past your bedtime, but don’t you look pretty?” He searches the crowd and finds the entire family is present. “Are we celebrating something?” he asks mildly. A hush falls over the crowd, and I fidget a bit. Okay…a lot.
“Why don’t you give her to me, Keene? Ali’s been busting at the seams for the last hour,” Phil drawls.
Thanks, brother. Remind me to adjust your running workout to take you uphill both ways. Jackass.
I step away from the crowd and move toward the man I love, looking much more confident than I feel. I suddenly have so much more empathy for the men of this world. I know there’s a 99.9 percent chance Keene’s going to say yes, and still, I feel like I’m going to be ill.
Keene checks out my outfit, looking appreciative. “You look beautiful, my love.” His eyes rake over me from head to toe, and his lips twitch back into a smirk. “Nice shoes.” His eyes heat as they meet mine. “Brings back some memories.”
I’m suddenly calm because he remembers the shoes. This is going to work out perfectly. “Honey, can you sit down for a second?” Colby comes up behind Keene with a chair.
“Thanks, Colby,” I say gratefully.
He winks before melting back into the semicircle.
“Oh! I need my purse. Can someone get it for me?” I call out.
Corinna steps forward. “Here it is, Ali.”
I do a quick list in my head when suddenly, I feel it.
Keene’s thumb rubbing back and forth across my wrist. “I’m going to love it, whatever it is, Alison,” he promises.
Where do I start? I can’t kneel. That will give everything away. I drop down into his lap, and he catches me so I don’t fall.
I expect nothing less.
That’s who we are now.
“It started with these shoes and Phil’s wedding. I took a dare and it changed my life, Keene.” Suddenly, the room fades away as I talk. I’m bombarded by memories large and small. “You were so irresistible and intolerable all at once.” Everyone laughs. “I never knew which end was up with you. We were so afraid of what we could be that in our own ways, we both ran. Then we stopped running and found ourselves right back where we started, with each other, where we’re always supposed to be.”
“Alison.” Keene’s voice holds a warning, and his hands shift to my hips. I lift my finger to his lips.
“Please, let me finish?”
His eyes blaze, but he nods.
“When you’re a runner, you always look for sure footing because there are so many things that can trip you up along the route. Because of you, my life is the race I’ll always win. You’ve made sure I have the right gear, know where each footfall is going to land, and that I’m safe. And every moment, every day there’s the thrill I’m out for the run of my life. On the course, there’s the love and joy I feel when I wake up and see you in the bed next to me. The thrill I feel when I see our daughter. There’s nothing like it.” I take a deep breath and continue. “I want to ask you in front of everyone we love if…”
