“You heard me. Go. The sooner I get my nut, the sooner you can get yours,” he said with a wink.
I narrowed my eyes at him but started walking backward toward the necessary aisle. “Since when do you know what a galvanized hex nut with a locking flange is?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Since I began running a hardware store, that’s when. Stop being an ass.”
I blew out a huff of air and grumbled as I went to grab what he needed. “What’s this for?”
“A permanent solution to an issue I’ve been having.”
“An issue with what?” I called over my shoulder, already scanning the bins out of habit.
He didn’t answer.
I crouched down and pulled open the drawer labeled3/8” Galv Hex Nut—Lock Flange. Inside, nestled among the dull silver hardware, was a small velvet ring box.
My heart stuttered.
I stared at it for a beat too long before reaching in and picking it up. When I turned around, Adrian was standing a few feet away, suddenly looking less smug and more… terrified.
“I, um—” He cleared his throat. “You once said the secret to making s’mores was to hold on tight and not let go, even when you’re scared. And, ah… that’s what I want. For us.” He swallowed. “Shit. This sounded much better in my head.”
I couldn’t speak, not even to chuckle at his loss of composure.
Adrian took a shaky breath and stepped closer. “Maddox Sullivan, will you marry me? And keep holding on? Even when it’s hard. Even when you’re scared. Even when I’m being a dramatic, overaccessorized pain in your ass.”
I looked down at the ring box, then back up at him, grinning like a fool.
“Glad you mentioned that last part,” I managed, my voice thick. “But yeah. Yeah, I’ll marry you. I told you I’d pick you every time, Adrian Hayes.”
He exhaled a laugh that cracked into a relieved sob, and when I grabbed him, the ring box bounced to the floor and clattered on the old hardwoods, forgotten for the moment. Because I was kissing my fiancé in the damn nuts-and-bolts aisle—and there wasn’t a single part of my life I didn’t want to hold on to.
Especially him.
“I love you so fucking much,” he said, voice rough against my throat. “I can’t believe I get to have this. Have you, and Maya, and… our family here. Just… everything. I’m so fucking happy.”
“I love you, too,” I agreed, turning his face to kiss his lips before meeting his eyes. “And I will be your family for the rest of our lives. Nothing would make me happier than to share my life with you forever.”
Adrian pushed me up against the wall of tiny hardware drawers, kissing me deeply and shoving his thigh between mine. When he finally pulled back, his eyes carried the promise of a heat I was desperate to kindle. I just needed to get him upstairs and into our bedroom first.
“C’mon, you promised me a nut,” I said, straightening up and adjusting myself.
His face broke into a teasing grin. “I gave you one, jackass. And you dropped it on the floor.”
Shit, the ring.
I scrambled down to the floor in search of the velvet box. By the time I found it and opened it, Adrian had moved next to me and squatted down on one knee to watch my reaction.
Inside was a black band with an inlay of dark wood. “Holy fuck,” I breathed. “It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s tungsten inlaid with old-growth heart pine.” He tipped my chin up until I met his eyes. “Taken from one of the planks we had to remove from the shop floor during the expansion. This wood has seen a hundred winters, a thousand boots, and a lifetime’s worth of memories of the man I fell in love with. I figured it was an important part of our next chapter.”
I was speechless. It didn’t surprise me that he’d recognized how important my family’s legacy was to me, but I was still bowled over by his thoughtful gesture.
“I don’t know what to say,” I croaked.
“I just need you to say yes when the officiant asks you a question one day very soon.”
I nodded like a bobblehead as he pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on my finger. I let out a choked “I love you” again and tackled him to the ground, kissing and hugging him like I’d gone a little bit loopy.
