Page 91 of Loving You

Next came Jackson, on the opposite side of the aisle, with another flower. Then Will, who grinned so wide I thought it’d split his face, but he did his part and handed her a flower as well.

On and on it went with April taking a flower from each side of the aisle as she passed through it. Her sisters took their turns, then Jake and Ellie, then Willa, Sammy, and Rachel. Then her mom, then mine. And then we were at the end, where a single white chair waited.

Her eyes cut to me, and I nodded, urging her into the seat before kneeling at her feet.

“You’ve been different for me since the day we met,” I began. “What started as fighting ended in—”

She covered her mouth, eyes smiling even though tears had snuck out the corners, and I just knew she was hiding a devilish smile.

I gave her a mock glare and continued. “Started as fighting and ending infriendship, and then shifted to something so much more profound than I ever could’ve hoped for.”

She dropped her hand and nodded. But in true April fashion, she couldn’t stay quiet. “For me, too.”

“I thought about all the ways to do this, but one thing’s clear to me: you are loved by so many people, April, because you are an amazing person. These flowers symbolize the gift you give every one of us by sharing yourself, your friendship, your sisterhood, and your smart-as-a-whip and wholly addicting personality with us. Your generosity and humor and beauty from every atom of your being is a gift to us all, and we’re all grateful to have you in our lives.”

She choked out a happy sob, too moved for words this time.

Behind me, twinkle lights lit the walkway between the building and this outdoor area, and I jerked my chin to show her that as our families filtered inside, they revealed hundreds of tulips we’d placed along the path, opening up to the ridiculous heart ringing the place where she sat and I kneeled.

Her mouth dropped open as she took them in, then blinked back at me when I squeezed her hand. “I want to love you more every day, build a life with you, and be a part of whatever amazing future’s ahead for you.”

She sucked in an audible breath as I drew the small box from my pocket, then pressed her lips together and waited.

I opened the box and got this last part out with a single wobble in my voice, and I was damned proud of it. “April Marie Carrigan, will you do me the incredible honor of marrying me?”

29

APRIL

For a heartbeat, I considered keeping it simple and giving him a quick and basicyes.

But… it was me. And it was Eric. And if I didn’t ruffle his feathers after the rest of the family had slipped away to give us our privacy, who would we be?

So I thought of a witty reply that would surely earn me one of those stern headshakes I was way too damn fond of, and right when I opened my mouth to say it, I stopped.

Heknew.

He must have seen a gleam in my eye or a twist of my lips that I hadn’t been in control of because a very sexy,veryheat-filled glare replaced the earnest expression he’d worn a moment earlier.

“April,” Eric said in a warning tone. “Don’t even think about messing with—”

He let out a little grunt as I crashed into his chest, still holding the flowers from our families. My arms circled his neck as I plopped onto his bent knee and kissed him as hard as I could.

He snaked his free hand around my middle as he stood, bringing me with him and lifting me right off my feet as he straightened to his full height.

With one final peck of my lips, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “Is that ayes, smart ass?”

Oh, did this man know me well, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

I also couldn’t get enough of the way he held me against him, supporting my full weight with one of those deliciously muscular arms of his, holding up the ring box with his other hand.

When we were first thrown into the sharing-a-roof situation, he constantly watched me… like he was trying to discover who I was behind all the jokes and deflection.

And let me tell you, being the object of Eric’s sole focus was a powerful, heady thing. He’d gone from patiently studying me like a textbook to easily reading me like I was his favorite novel, and now he saw every move I made before I even made it.

Truth be told, it was equal parts hotandfrustrating.

The fact that he’d known I was about to say something so veryAprilof me at a time like this, and I hadn’t managed to catch him off guard, only made me want to try again.

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