I never knew I wanted this but now I can't imagine anything else.
Her phone buzzes. She glances at it and grins.
“Tania drama,” she says. “Her car died, and she has to share a ride with Mitchell.”
“Who's Mitchell?”
“Her brother Elijah's best friend. Grumpy ex-military type. Lives next door to her.” She's texting back, still grinning. “I told her it sounds like a romance story.”
“Poor bastard doesn't stand a chance.”
“Nope!” She puts the phone away and looks at me. “Sorry. You have my full attention.”
I take a deep breath and stand, walking around the table. Dolly’s ears perk up and she barks once. I pull the ring box from my pocket and Karina’s eyes widen.
“Just over a year ago,” I say, “you walked into this room and pitched a charity about hugs to a bunch of bikers.”
“Clay—”
“You were nervous and brave… wearing the sexiest little pink dress I'd ever seen.”
“It wasn’tthatsexy…” she whispers, but there are tears sliding down her cheeks.
I drop to one knee. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“Right then, when you opened your arms and asked me to hug you, I knew you were going to ruin my life in the best possible way.”
She laughs through her tears. “You lookedsogrumpy.”
I open the box. The pink diamond sparkles in the light. “Every day, I wake up next to you and think, how did I get this lucky? How did a grumpy asshole like me end up with the most beautiful, kind, smart woman on the planet?”
“Clay…”
“I'm not good at soft words. But I love you, and I want to spend every day showing you that.” I hold up the ring. “Marry me, Karina. Let me be your grumpy hugging partner forever.”
She stares at me. Tears streaming down her face, she’s the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen.
“That's not a question,” she says.
I blink. “What?”
“You said 'marry me.’ That's a command, not a question.”
“Are you correcting my proposal right now?”
I stand up, haul her out of her chair, and kiss her. She melts into me, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt, kissing me back with everything she has.
“Is that a yes?” I ask against her lips.
“You bet it’s a yes!” She smiles up at me.
I slide the ring onto her finger. Karina wraps her arms around my neck. I pull her close, burying my face in her hair.
Then I kiss her again, soft and slow, while the fairy lights twinkle overhead and Dolly tries to eat a flower arrangement. She pulls back to look at me, her eyes bright and the pink diamond glinting on her finger.
“I love you. Happy Valentine's Day.”
“I love you too. Happy Valentine's Day, cupcake.”
