Page 99 of The Archer Brothers

“You know I’d be happy walking around. We didn’t have to do this.”

I nod and bury my face in his chest as we start to move. “I needed to do this,” I tell him as he rubs my back. The wheel goes around twice, maybe three times. I don’t know because I’m not counting and I’m definitely not looking. But when we stop and his words tell me to look, I know we’re at the top.

Sitting up, I look around at the peaceful valley surrounding us. We’re higher than some trees and I’m trying not to let that freak me out. I shift slightly and look at him, realizing this is now or never and it really has to be now.

“Evan, will you marry me?”

“What?” he asks choking on his word.

“I love you and we’ve spent far too many years apart. Six years ago we were supposed to get married and couldn’t, but we can now and I want to be your wife. I want to have your babies and grow old with you on our front porch.”

The ride jerks and we’re moving again. Evan is staring at me with bewilderment in his eyes but hasn’t given me an answer. We stop and it’s our turn to get off. My heart falls because I thought I had this in the bag. Maybe after being home he’s realized that we’re just perfect the way we are.

“Hey buddy,” Evan says to the operator. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you put us back up top for the next few minutes.” The guy doesn’t hesitate and slams our bar down, starting the ride again and stopping us when we get to the top.

“Ask me again,” he says, cupping my cheek.

I swallow hard. “Will you marry me?”

“A million times over.” He kisses me deeply, cradling my face in his hands as our tongues explore and meld together. My hands clutch at his shirt, pulling him as close to me as I can.

When he pulls away, we’re back at the bottom and getting off.

“Thanks, man,” Evan says as he hands him the money. “Best thingever.”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot,” the guy laughs, pocketing the cash.

“Nah, my girl just asked me to marry her and she ain’t even knocked up.”

I roll my eyes and slap him in the chest, but he just laughs. Someone yells out that they’ll marry him because they are knocked up. I grab his hand and pull him out of the crowd and toward the exit before anyone can try to steal my man.

“Why are we leaving? I want to win you one of those giant stuffed animals.”

I shake my head, biting my lower lip. “I just wanted to stop and ride the Ferris wheel so I could ask you to marry me.”

“I should’ve asked you by now.”

“No,” I say stepping to him. “It was meant to be this way.”

We walk hand-in-hand back to the car, stopping every few steps so he can kiss me. He tells me that as soon as we’re moved in, he’s placing a ring on my finger. I’m not worried about a ring. I just want to be his wife.

“When do you want to get married?” he asks as he shuts the car door. He’s going to drive us to a hotel because there’s no way we can have sex in the car and wehaveto have sex… now… according to him.

“When my mom can walk down the aisle holding only your brother’s arm.”

“Next summer?”

I nod. “In Coronado,” I say, much to his surprise. “I want to marry you on our beach.”

Evan smiles and presses his lips to mine. “You and me on the beach surrounded by our friends and family, sounds just about perfect.”

“You make everything perfect, Evan.”

He does, at least for me. Meeting this man when I was seventeen was a dream come true and with everything that we’ve been through, marrying him is like starting a new chapter…

One that I can’t wait to write.

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