Page 59 of The Roadie
A commotion erupted as a group of children chased after a soccer ball. They were probably no more than five or six, laughing and screaming with delight as they kicked the ball around.
“Do you want children?” Brett asked.
The question surprised Kira. Children never really fit into her life. Before Brett, a man never fit into her life. She had such a fast-paced schedule that having children seemed unrealistic. Audra and Jimmy had been married for five years and still haven’t brought another child into their lives. She shrugged. “I never really thought seriously about it, but I can’t imagine not having kids one day. I don’t know when, though, or how that would fit into my schedule. But Audra and Jimmy made it work with Mason. And Jessi, Tommy and Angel have certainly figured it out.” She looked into his eyes. “What about you? Do you want kids?”
“Yeah. The only family I have is my brother. I don’t really have any aunts or uncles or cousins. None that I’m close to or have seen more than once or twice since my parents died. I want to start my own family one day. With you. Not in the immediate future,” he clarified. “I’m thinking five years or so.”
Her heart ballooned with each word that he said. They were talking about their future together. About marriage and starting a family and a timeframe that worked. It was everything she wanted, and Brett wanted it too. Her heart was galloping in her chest with happiness, while her head was swimming, still taking it all in.
“Is that something you can envision? With me?” he asked.
“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate or stop to think about it. The answer flew out of her mouth with certainty.
He stuck his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and slowly nodded. “I’m glad we want the same things. It’s important to talk about them. To make sure. Discuss them now.”
She nodded in agreement. Most men hated talking about things of such a serious nature. It usually sent them running in the opposite direction, even those already in long-term relationships. But Brett was the one who brought up marriage and kids. This man was remarkable.
He started to rise from the bench, at least that’s what Kira thought, but, instead, he dropped to one knee and presented a small velvet box from his pocket.
“Will you marry me?”
She momentarily forgot how to breathe. Her head fogged and blocked out the singing birds and chatter in the park. She had tunnel vision. All of her senses were focused on Brett kneeling in front of her with a ring and a marriage proposal. “Oh my God.” She looked from the box to Brett and back to the box again. She couldn’t answer. She didn’t know why she couldn’t answer or why she kept repeating, “Oh my God,” over and over, but that’s all she could do. The shock of it all seemed to rob her vocabulary and the ability to form coherent sentences.
Still on one knee, Brett opened the small velvet box. It wasn’t a huge diamond. Not even a fraction of the size of the golf ball on Audra’s finger, but it was gorgeous. And it was hers. Tears pooled on her lower lids until the ring blurred. When she looked into Brett’s eyes, two lone tears fell down her cheeks. “Yes. I’d love to marry you, Brett.”
The most amazing smile spread across his face and his eyes sparkled. “You will?”
“Of course. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I love you, Brett, and I want everything we just talked about. And I want it with you.”
“Me too.” He took the ring from the box and slid it on her shaking finger.
Giddy laughter floated from her lips as she stared at her beautiful new engagement ring. “I love it so much. It’s gorgeous.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He stood up while hugging her tightly to his chest, lifting her feet off the ground and never breaking their kiss.
Waiting overnight to tell her father the news amplified Kira’s excitement, and she had to remind herself not to rush into the house and blurt out the news, as she had done with Audra. The shrill scream her sister had let out upon seeing the ring almost sent poor Aunt Mary into cardiac arrest and had Jimmy running into the room ready to pummel an intruder. Mason had been over the moon and said he was excited to get another uncle. “One as cool as Brett,” as he put it.
Audra had demanded to hear all the details while the boys went to hang out in the drum room and bond over the news. She had pulled Kira into the living room and sat with her elbow on the arm of the couch and her chin in her hand, sighing in all the right places, as she listened to Kira describe the proposal. Kira had to admit, it did play out like a fairy tale.
“I can’t believe he proposed at the playground,” Audra had said, after letting out another long sigh. “That’s so romantic, because he knows how special it is. He’s a dreamboat, Kira. You’re so lucky to have met him.”
The five-year family plan was something else that had Audra squealing. “Maybe Jimmy and I will have another child by then and our kids can grow up together! And Mason can be a big brother!”
The idea that they could have kids at the same time had Kira ecstatic. The ease in which everything unfolded seemed unreal. Audra had barely balked about the fact that Kira and Brett would be living in California for part of the year and already mentioned planning to visit for an extended amount of time.
Now, if her father had the same over-the-top reaction, all would be perfect. But he didn’t accept change easily, and he was a hard sell when it came to marriage material for his daughters.
As Kira walked up to the front door of her father’s vast estate, the house she grew up in, she glanced at Brett. He looked nervous, with a pensive brow. “Why are you so worried?” she asked. “My father likes you.”
Brett raised a skeptical eyebrow. “He does?”
“Yes. You call him sir. He likes that. No one does that outside the office.”
“I think it takes more than the way I address him to prove that I’d be a suitable husband for his daughter. Plus, I’m taking you away to California for half the year.”
She knew how to handle her father. “Leave that up to me.”
“Please don’t argue with him, Kira.”
She guffawed at the thought. “I don’t argue with my father, Brett. Audra is the one who stands up to him. The two of them can butt heads like a pair of bulls, but not me.” She displayed an innocent smile. “I’m the sweet one. I bat my eyelashes and pout, and my father turns to jelly.”
