I wink, hoping she knows how proud I am of her.
She was willing to change plans and follow her heart. To learn how to be kind to herself and still follow her ambitions.
I also know what it took for me to open up my heart again after losing both my parents. And the only woman I could ever love is standing on that stage before me.
After the show, I go backstage with a bouquet of roses for her.
We’re in her dressing room, and Winter thanks me as she buries her face in the roses to sniff them.
“Ouch!” She brings her head up and stares into the roses.
I hide my smile. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s just that I banged my nose on someth—” She pulls out a shiny piece of jewelry. “Hunter? What is this?”
I take the ring out of her hand and drop down on one knee. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
She puts her hands over her mouth.
“Winter Princess Allen, I love you. I will always love and respect and cherish you. Will you marry me?”
I didn’t think I’d be nervous. I’m used to being in the spotlight and needing to deliver in the clutch. And yet, here I am with shaking hands, hoping the woman I love will say yes.
“Yes.” She drops to her knees, and I slip the ring on her finger.
I take her chin in my hand and kiss her to seal the deal.
We’re still kissing when there’s a loud bang on her dressing room door.
“Can we come in?” Ashley’s voice says.
Winter laughs. “Sure.”
Ashley and Peyton barge through the door with Murph and my three nosy brothers in tow.
“Well?” Jared stares at us. “I got his plan out of him, Win. So you may as well tell us first—are y’all getting hitched?”
“We are,” she says.
He scoops her up in his arms for a hug, and then he, Liam, Max, and Murph pound my back.
Ashley has some gold squares in her hand, and she takes her water bottle and starts soaking a paper towel from the stash on Winter’s dressing table.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask Ashley.
“Giving us all some temporary tats, a perk of my job. To celebrate your engagement in style.” She presses a square onto my upper arm and holds a wet paper towel over it.
When she peels off the backing, I stare down at a glittery goldNOLA Groomdesign on my arm.
“NOLA Groom?” Jared breaks into laughter. “That’s pretty funny.”
Ashley grabs his arm and presses a square and then a wet paper towel onto him next. When she peels off the backing—
“For Better or Worse?” He squints at the design tattooed on his arm. “Is that a gold dick pic below the words?”
Ashley smirks at him. “It’s not an actual picture. It’s a design to match the slogan. That’s what you get for making fun of my work accessories.”
“I wasn’t making fun!” he protests as he tries to wipe off the tattoo.
