Page 44 of Valentine's Day Proposal

“I meant what I said. I don’t want to return to DC without you. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t even stay in that apartment because everything reminds me of you.” I kissed her hand. “Say you’ll marry me, Willow. Say you’ll be my wife for real. Not the fake arranged marriage, the real kind. I want to make you coffee every morning, fight with you, make up, cry, laugh. I want to do everything with you every day for the rest of my life.”

She smiled and sighed out a laugh. “People are staring at you, Charles. We’re already married.” She talked through her teeth as if she were embarrassed.

“Let them stare. I never got to do this the right way. That stupid party where I proposed for the first time was so immature of me. And the arrangement, well that wasn’t a proposal. This—” I gestured around at the room of onlookers “—this is my last shot. If you don’t say yes to me right now, I’m done. Life will mean nothing without you. These people are my witness, Willow, that I love you more than anything else in my life. I don’t care that we’re already married. Will you be my wife for the rest of my days?”

She blinked and the tears came faster than she could stop them. She covered her mouth with both hands and nodded, and I fell on her lap, laying my head on her belly and giving in to my own emotion. I was overwhelmed with love and joy. Her fingers ran through my hair as I lavished kisses on her protruding stomach. With both hands cradling the tiny life inside of her, I kissed her.

Then I felt a kick.

She burst out laughing. “Wow, looks like the baby is pissed at you too.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t care if our baby takes your side in every argument. Just say you’ll be here with me to argue it out every day the rest of our lives.”

“I will.” Willow leaned down and kissed me. I missed those lips, soft and pliable.

A round of applause went up in the dining room, gawkers getting the point that she had accepted my proposal. I wasn’t sure how many of them, if any, knew we were already married. I wasn’t a huge household name in Virginia, being from Maryland. Still, it was a moment we’d never forget.

Maybe Peter’s plan had never been to get me married off for real, but it sure felt like it. The fates had a way of lining the stars up in order to align hearts, and this time the alignment worked. When Willow walked out of my life eight years ago, I thought I’d never see her again. Now my only prayer was that I never saw a day where she wasn’t a part of me.

38

EPILOGUE

WILLOW

Labor and delivery had been a whirlwind. My labor only lasted five hours before our little Hanna Grace entered the world. The doctor told me I was lucky to live so close to the hospital, and I laughed at him. We were out to dinner when my water broke, and my body decided that it wanted the baby out of me immediately. Charles had acted like a lunatic, racing me to the ER only to discover that we still had hours of laboring.

By the time my family even arrived, Hanna was hours old. Mel came the next day, bringing her new partner. I liked the woman, blonde and petite, the opposite of Mel. I had passed out from fatigue, and my visitors took turns passing the baby around. When I woke up it was just me and Charles, just like it was now.

Mentally drained and physically exhausted, I plopped into my favorite reading chair, pulling out a book. It had been weeks since I was able to sit and read. Charles sat on the couch holding Hanna, her tiny rosy cheeks the only flesh visible. He had her bundled up a little excessively for the late May afternoon, but he was cautious. It’s what made him a good father. Hanna had only been home for three days after a sting in the pediatric intensive care unit for a lung infection post-birth. I’d been home for a week, but all of our time was spent in the hospital anyway.

It was good to be home, though this apartment still didn’t feel like home. I missed Mr. Boots, who remained at my parents’ house until Charles, and I found a two-bedroom apartment that allowed pets. We even considered buying a home in Alexandria and commuting to work, but it lowered our options for childcare to do that.

“Do you think she’s hungry? I just have a few minutes left before I have to leave.” Charles acted like a helpless person when it came to her. Caring for a child was foreign to him. Or maybe it was that women were nurturers by nature, and it came naturally to me.

“Just enjoy cuddling, okay? I’ll feed her after you have to leave.” I loved watching him care for her. His attention level was entirely different now that the campaign was over. In fact, despite the vote he had to get to this afternoon, if I had asked him to stay home, he would have.

“You deserve a break though. I just thought I could help.”

“It’s okay. I can handle it.” Putting my book aside, I stood and strolled to the couch, curling up beside him. I rested my head on his shoulder and pulled the blanket away from Hanna’s face. “I can’t get over how much she looks like you.”

“Really? I thought she looked more like you.” He grinned and put his arm around me. “To think only a year ago life was so different.”

“Yeah, you were a complete ass hole.” I chuckled and poked his ribs.

“Funny, but I’m serious. You only had one office, now you’ve expanded to a new city. We are married—for real and happily. We have a baby.”

“And you are a US senator.” I sat up straighter, pulling him in for a kiss. “We could have two babies if you want.” I smirked at him, and he snickered.

“I think we have to find a bigger place first.” Charles shifted, handing Hanna over to me.

“We need a place that allows pets too. Mr. Boots needs to be with his family.” I nudged him, knowing it wasn’t his favorite idea due to his allergies, but he had promised me that my cat could come to stay. We even discussed our safety measures to ensure the cat didn’t cuddle with Hanna too much and risk smothering her—which was a concern of his mother.

“Mom will be over later this afternoon to drop off the gifts from my aunts. Don't forget.”

“I won't.” Both my mother and Charles’s had arranged multiple visits for the next few months. I hadn’t even thought of what it would mean for them to be grandparents, but my dad was eating it up. “This little gal has all the love in the world, doesn't she?”

He beamed, a proud papa. Even Peter had come to the hospital with a gift for Hanna when she was born. I had never felt more loved or supported with so many people around me.

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