Kerry found it on the bedside table and handed it to him. “Are you okay?”
He stopped and grinned. “Great. Just… you know. First Christmas in a while that’s a different routine, and I didn’t see Becca and Charlie yesterday, and they’ll be over soon, so…” He tapped his screen. “Nothing yet. I’ll text her.”
She slid the latte into his hands. “Here. Drink this.”
He took a big sip, then pulled her against him. “Last night was a lot of fun, but this old man isn’t cut out for early mornings after a party.”
“You’re not old.” Kerry wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He followed her into the living room.
She had been busy this morning.
“Wow. A year ago, I thought my days of huge present piles under the tree were numbered.” Owen shook his head in disbelief. “Where did all of these come from?”
“I may have gotten carried away…” Kerry bounced up and down. “I had to get stuff for Charlie, and Becca, and Hayden. Your brothers have presents there, too.”
“Hayden doesn’t need anything,” Owen muttered, but he didn’t mean it. He had a couple of gifts in the pile for Charlie’s dad, too.
His phone lit up as he was still taking in the stack of presents.
Becca: We’re on our way over!
Owen: See you soon!
He showed it to Kerry. “Your enthusiasm for Christmas is contagious. Note the double exclamation mark.”
“I love it.” She picked up a flat rectangle wrapped in shiny red paper. “I want you to open this one before they get here.”
Owen nabbed his special present for her, too. “Let’s trade.”
“You first.” She beamed at him.
He ripped off the paper. Inside was a leather notebook, embossed with his name on it. Inside there were Post-it notes on the first few pages, all in Kerry’s neat handwriting. Things he had said he wanted to do.
Buy a four-wheeler
Unplug for a whole weekend
Smoke a joint
Spend the weekend naked with Kerry, laughing
He liked her modification to the last one the best. “This is amazing.”
He clasped it to his chest and embraced her around it, holding the book between them as he kissed her.
“I’m still a big fan of your plan to do all the things you couldn’t before,” she said. “I think it’s time to start writing down your wish list so we can start crossing things off.”
He couldn’t agree more. “Do you have a pen? Let’s start now.”
She grabbed one from the side table and handed it over.
“You open yours while I do this.” Owen carefully removed the sticky notes on the first page and put them on the next one.
As she discarded the gold and silver paper around the ring box, he dropped to one knee, then turned the notebook around so she could see what he had written at the top of page one:Owen Kincaid’s Great Husband Plan.
“I have a new plan.” He grinned up at her as she bit her lip and bounced in place. “No more bachelor dreams for me. You’re it.” He reached out with one hand and opened the ring box in her hand. “You make me happy every single day. I want to wake up next to you, and tell you that I am in love with you, forever and ever. Will you marry me?”
