“Let me finish, Tate.” He strokes my hands inside his. “You love her the way she deserves to be loved. You love her like I do. You love her unconditionally, like a mother should.”
I blink away tears at the tenderness in his voice.
“She deserves a mother like you.”
He holds my eyes, his signature intensity burning brighter than I’ve ever seen it before.
“What are you doing?” I falter as he pushes back his chair and drops to one knee.
“Molly?” he instructs in a soft voice, his eyes staying on me. “You know the next part we spoke about?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she says seriously as she comes to stand beside him.
He holds his hand out and she places a signature blue, Beaufort Diamonds box into his palm.
“Good job, Sweetheart.” He kisses her on the head.
“Tate?” he says, his voice catching with emotion as he flicks open the box to reveal a ring inside. “Will you marry me?”
My heart stops. The platinum band has two giant stones set side by side so that they look like one giant gemstone.
Both are blue.
“A diamond from each of us, hoping you’ll say yes to our proposal. Because we come as a package deal.” He searches my eyes, an uncharacteristic vulnerability in his as he waits for me to say something.
I stare at him, then at Molly, who’s looking up at me, all innocent eyes and round, rosy cheeks.
My coffee cup is beside her. I reach for it in a daze and dip my finger into the cocoa-dusted foam.
I draw a semi-circle and finish it off with two dots.
Sullivan’s brow is pulled taut as he watches.
I rotate the mug so they can both see.
A face smiles up at them from the foam.
“Is that a yes?” Sullivan asks, the uncertainty in his voice making me want to grab him and kiss him.
“It’s a yes.” I smile at Molly, before turning to him. “Yes. To both of you, my answer is yes.”
“Yes?” His brows shoot up and he lets out a shaky breath. “Yes?”
I nod. “An absolutely-one hundred percent-yes!”
My throat burns, and I can’t stop the fat tears from bursting out as Sullivan pulls Molly into a hug with us and brings his mouth to mine in a crushing kiss.
Molly giggles as she’s squashed in our embrace, and it makes me laugh too, breaking the kiss.
“You knew all about this?” I ask.
The proud smile on her face makes my heart melt.
I’m looking at her, soaking in the sound of her giggle as something is slid onto my left finger.
Sullivan’s eyes heat as I turn to him.
I look down at the giant glittering ring on my finger and suck in a sharp breath. Seeing it there makes it so real.
