“I love you,” I said against his mouth. “God, Theo, I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Postie.”
“Postie?”
He chuckled and ducked his head in the most adorably embarrassed way. “That’s how you’re listed in my phone. It’s the British—”
“Oh, I know what it is. How are you so fucking cute?”
He ducked into my shoulder again, a giggle tickling my skin.
Then we were moving again, a tangle of limbs and half-removed clothing and soft laughter as we made our way down the hallway.
We’d barely made it to the bedroom when Theo suddenly stopped, his hands still tangled in my hair, his breathing ragged.
“Jer,” he said, and something in his voice made me pull back to look at him.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just . . .” He took a shaky breath. “Today, watching Shane and Mateo, seeing how happy they were . . . andholding your hand with Debbie right there . . . I just . . . I can’t get over how right it all felt.”
I waited, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“I want that . . . with you. I want to stand up in front of all our friends and family and tell the world that you’re mine and I’m yours and we’re choosing each other forever.”
The words hit me like lightning. “Theo—”
“I know we’ve talked about it, kind of, around the edges, but I’m saying it now. I can’t stop myself. It’s gotta come out.” He gulped hard and then looked into my eyes as if searching for my soul. “I want to marry you, Jeremiah. I want Debbie to be our flower girl slash dragon princess. I want Mrs. H’s bagpipes and all the chaos our friends can create. I want it all . . . with you.”
I gaped at him, this brilliant, beautiful man who’d somehow decided I was worth something—no, worthforever—and felt my throat go tight and legs wobble.
“Is that a proposal?” I managed.
He thought a moment, his eyes squinting in that loveable way he did when he thought deeply about something. “Why don’t we call it a pre-proposal. The actual proposal is going to involve significantly more planning and probably some input from our resident dragon expert.” His smile was soft and nervous and wholly Theo. “But I needed you to know. After today, after watching what we could have . . .”
I kissed him then, cutting off his rambling with lips and tongue and all theyesI couldn’t quite put into words yet.
“I want that, too,” I said when we broke apart, both breathing hard. “All of it. The chaos and the dragons and the bagpipes and forty years of this.”
“Forty years?”
“I’m rounding. You know I’m bad at math. At least forty. Maybe fifty if you’re lucky.”
He laughed, and the sound filled something in my chest I hadn’t even realized was empty.
“I love you so damn much,” he said again, and this time it sounded like a promise, like a vow, like the beginning of everything.
Tomorrow, we’d pick up a sugar-crashed five-year-old and listen to detailed reports about sleepover adventures. We’d return to the routine of work and school and the everyday chaos of being a family.
But this night was ours.
And as Theo’s bedroom door closed behind us with a soft click, I realized that this was what happiness felt like—not the dramatic, overwhelming kind on the big screen, but the quiet, steady kind that came from knowing you were exactly where you belonged.
Chapter 41
Theo
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely button my shirt.
