Fitch pointed at me. “He’s in love with her. And he thinks we don’t notice he’s been rubbing his heart.”
Wysdom clapped her hands to her heart and gave me a big “awww.” Tears sprung up in her eyes. “Flelia FOREVER!”
“Mi amor,” Luke’s warning fell on deaf ears when a small voice shushed the room.
“Y’all need to keep it down. I understand there’s a woman in need of big-time rest. And she’s earned it,” Celia croaked from the bed. She peered up at me. “Any chance of a drink, you big lug?”
I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I grabbed her in a tight hug until she squeaked. “Sorry. Yes. Drink. Water? I’ll get you some water!”
Before I could stand up, Wysdom yanked her husband and my brother out of the room to fetch water for Celia.
“Let me get the nurse. Or the doctor. Or both,” I babbled.
Celia reached out to grab my hand. “Stop. I need to ask you something.”
“Is this about the pregnancy? Because I came clean about it with Adlen, Fitch, and Quinn. My Mama knew Celeste was pregnant, but she didn’t know the baby was from another guy. The guy Celeste cheated on me with.”
Celia smiled. “Thank you for sharing that, but it wasn’t necessary.”
“It wasn’t?”
She shrugged. “Your past is your past. And if I’ve learned anything from our little road trip, it’s that we can’t let the past define our present or our future. We have to let that nonsense go, otherwise, it will drag us down, my love.”
My heart warmed at the sentiment. “Are you going to start calling memi amor, like what Luke says to Wysdom?”
She scrunched up her face. “Ugh. That’s also what my parents call each other, so that’s a big fat no! It’s too much.”
God. She was adorable. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.
“Stop looking at me like that, you crazy man,” Celia reached up to touch her hair and gasped. “My hair!”
I squeezed her hand. “It will grow back.”
A lot of her hair fell out from the selenium poisoning. What was left was clumps here and there, with a lot of bald patches in between.
“I probably look hideous!”
“Don’t you dare talk about the love of my life like that,” I growled.
She blinked. “The love of your life?”
“You told me you loved me. Is that still the case?”
She nodded.
“And I love you.”
She sucked her lips into her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes.
“I loved you from the get-go, but being stubborn runs in your family,” I mock-sighed.
She slapped my hand. “My family? For Pete’s sake! Y’all are a bunch o’ drama queens if ever there were!”
I tilted my head to look at the most beautiful woman in the world. “Fine. Drama queens. So, what did you want to ask me?”
“Well, now I’m not sure I want to say anything,” she pouted.
I couldn’t resist poking at her a little. “See. Drama.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I was going to ask you to marry me.”
My heart stopped. I blinked. “Marry… you?”
Celia covered her face with her hands. “Ugh, I know. Terrible time to do it. But all this talk about moving forward makes me want to grab life by thecajones.”
I stared at her. “There is no one else I’d rather grab life by the balls with than you. So, yes. I’m going to marry you, Celia Saber. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together because we’ve waited too doggone long. And it’s about time for a happy ever after, don’t you think?”
Before she could reply, Wysdom yelled from the doorway: “Flelia FOREVER!”
