Page 110 of Beyond Friendship

“What?”

“Nothing. Just love watching my pregnant girlfriend enjoy her dinner.”

I stand and grab a chilled ice tea from the fridge while I hear the doorbell ringing. I open it and find a broad-smiling postal worker. “Good evening. Package for Brown.”

“That’s strange, I didn’t order anything.”

“Oh, but I did,” Brian cuts in and takes the box before I can say anything else.

“Hey, where are you going with that?” I shut the door and face him walking away. “Hold on there. That man said Brown, not Fox,” I remind him as he heads back to the kitchen.

Brian chuckles and shakes his head. “I realize that—I accidentally ordered it using your name.”

Accidentally, my foot! I move closer to him since he is still admiring it from a distance. In one swift move, I take the package from his hand.

“Hey!” He whirls around to face me, and I can’t help but smile at the surprise on his face.

I laugh and walk around the table, holding the small box up to my ear and giving it a little shake. “What’s in here? Doesn’t feel like much…”

“Amanda, give it back.”

“What’s the rush? Is this something secret?”

“No.”

“Is it meant for me?”

He groans, exasperated. “Yes, but not yet.”

I look down at my name on the white sticker. “Man, I hate surprises! Can I open it? Please?”

I bat my eyelashes at him, and he mumbles something I can’t quite make out.

“All right. Open it!”

“Seriously? You—”

“Amanda, if you don’t open it now, I’m taking it and hiding it someplace you’ll never find it.”

I hesitate for a moment. “If you do that, when will you give it to me?”

“Months,” he answers without missing a beat.

“No way. I’m opening it now, no matter what. My fingernails search for an opening. When I find one and open the box, I see a piece of fabric lying inside and pull it out to look at it more closely—a sweet silky soft romper. The thought of him buying this for our baby has my emotions soaring high in the sky.

“Did you order this for our little bean?”

“No, I bought this for you,” he says softly. “Turn it around?”

I turn it over and gasp when the words printed on the front of the romper become clear: Will You Marry Daddy?

Two strong hands grab my waist, and when I meet his gaze, he gets on one knee in front of me.

“I wanted to ask you this when our baby arrived, but since we don’t know what the future holds, why wait? So here it goes, my sweet Brownie. I knew I was in trouble the second my eyes landed on you. From that moment, my heart ached with the need to claim the most exquisite woman in the world. You made my heart more than just a vessel to pump blood through my body. I want to wake up next to you every single day, and I want to watch every romantic movie there is with you on our bed. And I can’t wait to raise our child with you. My heart is yours, and it will continue to be yours unconditionally, forever. You are my haven, my home, my forever love. Amanda Brown, will you be my wife and marry me?”

Not able to produce any words after his mind-blowing proposal, I nod.

“Sorry for not having a ring. Promise to get you one ASAP,” he says, getting up.

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