Page 84 of Doctor Daddy

“Oh, that’s so romantic,” her tone was thick with sarcasm.

“Sorry,” I shrugged. “I hadn’t really planned on the audience. It’s a bit intimidating. Besides, I think your dad is going to deck me again if you say no.”

“Peyton is not going to hit you again,” Karen interjected.

“Mom, this is kind of my moment,” Brooke said exasperated.

“Not much of anyone’s moment if you ask me,” Peyton grumbled.

Brooke and I both glared at Peyton. His commentary was not helpful.

“You try to be suave while your future father-in-law is breathing down your neck,” I complained.

“Well, are you going to say yes or not?” Karen asked.

I leaned in close and put my lips next to her ear. “Brooke,” I whispered just for her. “I will make this up to you. I swear. We can have a proper engagement. I’ll buy a diamond ring and drop it in your champagne glass while I get on my knee in front of a restaurant full of strangers if that’s what you want.”

She turned her face and wrapped her free hand around my head and kissed me.

I was briefly aware of Karen clapping and Peyton grumbling before I let all of that fade away and focused on the lips under mine.

“Yes, Mark, I’ll marry you. I don’t need you to go down on your knee in some fancy restaurant, or in front of the Eiffel Tower. That’s so cliché. This will make for a much better story, don’t you think?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Karen, who was crying and squeezing Peyton’s hand while he tried to continue to glare at me. “Getting engaged under threat is always a better story.”

“This is like a wonderful early Christmas present, first the twins, and now Brooke is engaged. Our baby girl is all grown up.”

“Don’t worry Mom, you now have two little girls to spoil,” Brooke said.

I started to laugh.

“What?”

“I was just thinking,” I turned my attention to Karen. “Do I call you Mom, or can I still call you Karen?”

“Don’t you dare.” She swatted at my arm as a smile spread across her face.

For a moment everyone, including Peyton, relaxed.

“I guess when we get home, I should get your room all set up for the babies. Or will you be moving in with Mark?”

“I’m staying here,” Brooke said.

I felt her words like a punch in the gut.

“I’m in the middle of a degree program, and I want to finish it.”

“You can finish it later,” Peyton said.

“Aren’t you the one who was always grumbling and rolling your eyes that I could never commit or finish anything?” she asked her father. “Well, I want to finish. I have it all worked out that next semester I’m doing the classroom-based courses. I can do that online, so I can stay with the babies. The school has childcare, and I’ve already applied for them to get in when they are older. I want to marry you, Mark. But I want to, I need to finish. No one has once asked me about what it is that I want. It’s all been assumed that I just ran away because of the babies.”

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll figure it out. If you want to finish school, I’ll support that. I can be here on the weekends if I'm not on call. We can make it work.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course, I’d do that for you. I love you.”

38

---