Page 60 of Finding Forever

The waiter came back to bus the table and once they’re gone, Maverick cleared his throat, causing the kids eyes to pop up and meet his gaze. From the corner of my eye, I caught Maverick give a discrete hand signal before Penny and Mycah started pulling something from under the table.

On the table, they placed a scroll-like paper in front of them. They looked so proud of whatever it was, and I couldn’t help but wonder,what are they up to?

“Let’s open it and show Gina,” Maverick prompted.

They began unrolling the scroll, and that’s when I realized it was a blueprint for something.

“A gift,” Maverick supplied when he saw the confused expression painting my face. “That is, if you’ll accept.”

I was sure he meant for that statement to clear things up, but it only made my confusion grow deeper.

“It’s a house, Mommy!” Mycah supplied happily.

His revelation cleared up a little of my perplexity. But I still didn’t understand why they were showing it to me. Or why they all seemed to know what it was, and I didn’t.

“Let me show you around,” Maverick said. He moved his hand from my thigh and held the corner of the paper in place as he began pointing. “This would be the kitchen. It’s a chef’s kitchen with double appliances and plenty of room for entertaining. Maybe we could trick your mom into coming over and cooking for us a few times,” he laughed.

A chuckled escaped me as my vision started to cloud.

“But we’ll have a private chef, of course,” he added casually. “Over here is the sunroom. I know how much you like sitting outside in the morning and the evening and now you can do that no matter what the weather is because this is enclosed.”

Next, he pointed to a large section at the back of the house. “This is the deck. There’s space for the kids to play in the back yard and set up a barbeque station.”

After that, he moved to another area of the blueprint and started telling me where the different bedrooms were.

“This is Mycah’s room,” he said, pointing. “Right next to Penny’s, see?”

My eyes trailed every place he pointed, still trying to piece together what it meant.

“It’s lovely, sweetheart. But what does all of this mean?”

Maverick looked as if he’d been waiting for that question.

“I’ve been working on this blueprint with Enrick for the past month,” he shared. “And I asked the kids to help me surprise you with it. It’s a brand-new home. A home that I hope you and Mycah are willing to share with me and Penny.”

“What?” I breathed, with tears forming in my eyes. I didn’t know why I was crying, but I was sure my brain would catch up with my heart and tell me soon. This was all so overwhelming that I placed my hand over my heart in hopes of controlling the racing beat there.

“I’ll leave the house I have right now to Enrick. It’s too small for all of us anyway,” Maverick added.

Finally, he stood up and looked at the kids, who watched him eagerly.

“Are you two still okay with what we talked about?”

They nodded in unison, their eyes dancing with joy. By the time I looked from them and back at Maverick, his position had changed. He had moved his chair from the table and was on one knee beside me.

“Oh my God,” I cried, before he ever said a word.

On bended knee, he pulled my hands into his and said, “Gina, the last few months with you have been a journey. Every moment hasn’t been perfect, but having you by my side has made the roller coaster ride worth it.”

A tear slipped onto my cheek as I smiled at him.

Oh my God.

“You are an incredible woman and mother. I know the way we met and fell in love wasn’t conventional, but I’d do it over again if it meant we ended up right here in this moment. I want to spend the rest of my life learning with you and becoming the partner you need so that you feel like you can finally relax and just be. Your beauty is breathtaking, but so is your heart, Gina. I want you beside me every day for the rest of eternity. What do you say?” he finished, pulling a square, velvet box out of his breast pocket.

“Maverick,” I gasped, the pieces in my head falling together at a rapid rate now that some of my shock had cleared.

“Gina Carter, will you marry me?”

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