Page 83 of Hot Mess

“Oh no, you’re all wet. We need to get up,” Kayla said as she began squirming against me.

“It’s a good thing we are outside, or I would definitely not let you up at all.” I tightened my arms around her. “I’m not letting you go until you answer me. Will you marry me?”

She braced herself against my chest and pushed up. “Yes, I will marry you. Now let me stand up, so you can get up as well and let's get you out of those clothes before you catch a cold. No dying of pneumonia.”

I let her up. But I stayed sitting on my ass.

“You mother isn’t going to let me stay with you, is she?”

“Are you serious? She probably already has the guest room made up for you. Oh, you meant in my room. No, that’s not going to happen. And, no trying to sneak into my room either. My bed is as squeaky as a rusty mouse.”

She pulled on my arm until I got to my feet. “What the hell is a rusty mouse?”

“I don’t know. It was the squeakiest thing I could think of. You are soaking wet. Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Well?” Was the first thing out of Kayla’s mothers’ mouth when we stepped back inside.

“What?” Kayla countered.

I hadn’t noticed how much on the defense she had to be around her mother.

Her mother glared at me.

“She said yes. But Kayla is a bit more concerned that I try not to kill myself before we can get married.”

“Aren’t you going to at least show me the ring?”

“The ring?” Kayla asked.

I started laughing. I had never managed to get the ring out of its box. Knowing this would make her mother extremely happy, I pulled the box out of my pocket and sank down onto one knee. No icy puddles under me this time.

I held the box up and opened it, showing Kayla the ring.

She held out a shaking hand to me, and I finally slipped the ring on her finger.

35

EPILOGUE

KAYLA

Nine months later…

Iheard Chrissy fuss. With a groan I pulled back my covers and started to flail my way out of bed.

Nick’s strong arm came around me and pulled me back into the center of the warm bed.

“The baby is fussing,” I said, my voice groggy and heavy with sleep. I struggled weakly against his grasp

“I’ve got her. You worked hard yesterday. Merry Christmas, sleep in.” He gave me a quick kiss and was out of the bed before I could protest.

Not that I would. I rolled over and fell back to sleep.

The house was full of the smell of sweet warm cinnamon when I woke up. It was hard to believe that a year ago I had woken up and the place had been cold and quiet. There had been no way of knowing that it was Christmas outside.

This year, with the help of a professional interior designer, I was able to decorate. The entryway, the living room, the dining room, all of the major rooms we used were full of twinkling lights and Christmas cheer. No more runs at the crack of dawn to buy whatever decorations I could find.

Garlands and ornaments trimmed the handrail of the stairs, and around the arches that opened one room into the other. We had a single central tree that was decorated like my wildest dreams. The tree was tall and decorated in red and gold ornaments. Bows, angels, and lights covered every branch. It was the kind of tree that I had only ever seen at the mall, but now it was in my home.

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