I burst out laughing. “Me too.” Slouching and making myself comfortable on top of him, I cuddle into the crook of his neck, breathe in a sigh of relief, and smile into his warm skin. “Are we best buds again?”
“I say we completely skip just being friends and get married.” His voice sounds so deep with my ear pressed on his chest. It makes me want to pull his lips back onto mine.
Snorting, I fist his shirt in my hands, going along with his game. “Sounds good to me. When’s the wedding going to be?”
His cheek rests on my head, and his hand plays with my hair, making me shiver. “Right now. The sooner, the better.”
Watching the world fly around us through the open window, I don’t want to move a muscle; I feel so at peace. “We are driving in the middle of nowhere. Do you even know where we are?”
“Nope.” He pops theP. “I’m just as clueless as you are.”
I pinch his arm for that, and he makes me promise to try and forget the girlie yelp that escaped his mouth.
“Leelee, look at them. Yucky. Are they hugging?”
A little voice brings me out of sleep. A cramp straining both my thighs, I attempt to stretch my legs, but when I realize I’m not lying down but sitting up, my body grows stiff. Hearing a rumble vibrate my ear, I jolt in surprise and find a scared Elijah staring up at me.
We fell asleep on the couch. And I’m still straddling him!
Stumbling, I almost fall on my butt. The adrenaline running through my veins gives me a head rush. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
Mouth opening in a big yawn, he rubs his tired eyes and stretches his legs. “You really have to stop apologizing for everything. If I had been uncomfortable, I would have moved us to my bed, but I was more than fine. Trust me, being your makeshift bed was an honor,” he says with a flirty wink. “Let’s do it again sometime.”
He would have moved us to his bed.
“Not to impose, but we’ve been standing here the whole time and heard everything.” Levi’s voice, layered with amusement and laughter, sounds behind me, making me scream and spin around.
“Miss Lily, we have been looking for you!” Stella says, skipping over and hugging my leg. She peers a shy glance up at me. “Are you and Elijah getting married?”
Elijah chokes behind me, coughing up a fit. I rush over and pat his back when a wheeze comes out of his mouth.
“I just proposed to her, so, yes, we are.” Still red in the face and hardly able to talk, he manages to make a joke.
The little girl hanging on my leg squeals, jumping up and down and jolting me. “I can’t wait! Can I please be a flower girl? Pretty, pretty please with a marshmallow on top?”
“Elijah was joking, Stella. We are not getting married.” I show her my left hand. “I don’t have a ring on my finger, do I?” I call out over my shoulder, more for Elijah.
Stella falls on her butt. “But I want you to!” she wails, crossing her arms, pouting like I just killed her cat.
Crouching, I whisper in her ear, “A boy needs to ask a girl to marry him on his knee. Go bother him.” I point to the uneasy man behind me, still lounging away on the couch.
Eyes sparkling, she jumps and sprints to Elijah, who looks confused. Raising a brow, he doesn’t have any time to brace himself before Stella leaps into his lap. His face scrunches up in a grimace. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he forces out a deep breath and moves her to one leg.
“What are you waiting for? You need to get down and ask her,” she scolds, seeming triple her age.
Flabbergasted and still in pain, he directs a frown at the amused smile on my face. Picking up Stella and plopping her down on the couch, he makes a sudden beeline for me. I’m frozen in place, heart in my throat.
His face is stone-cold serious, and his intense aura wafts into my space when he drops down onto one knee. Looking up at me with his messy hair and pajamas, at this moment, he has never looked more attractive. He’s vulnerable and so nonchalant; it drives me up the wall as I try not to jump into his arms and stay there all day.
“Lily Papas …”
Stella giggles, breaking the silence of his emotional pause.
Lips twitching, Elijah continues, “The day I met you across the street from my house when we were just kids, I knew I wanted you to be my best friend. Like the earth’s core, you turned into something that held me together. I know a life without you and want nothing but to forget that walking nightmare that I was faced with. Would you give me the greatest honor of my life and let me become your husband?” Pretending to open an imaginary box in his hand, he winks. “Will you marry me?”
I stammer, like I have lost all ability to speak, as he patiently waits for my answer.
For dramatic effect, with a hand to my chest, I gush, “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
