Junior gives an enormous yell, kicking his feet into the air as he wails about his myriad problems. I set the carrier down and lift him out, bumping him up and down until he settles to the merest whimper of injustice.
“Way to upstage me, kid.”
“Daddy! You didn’t finish.” Sophia turns her wide-eyed gaze to me. “He’s meant to ask you—”
“We all know what I’m meant to ask her, sweetheart. Just give me a second to regroup.”
“No, Daddy. Do it now. Otherwise, I’ll miss class.”
“Yeah, Daddy,” I say with a teasing smile. “You don’t want Sophia to miss her class, do you?”
“Fine. I had a speech prepared and everything—”
“Daddy!”
This time Little Miss Impatient stamps her foot and I burst into laughter.
“Isabelle. I love you and can’t imagine living a single day without you,” he babbles under the censorious eyes of his daughter. “Will you marry me?”
Without waiting for an answer, Baxter tugs my hand away from his son’s back long enough to slide a ring onto my finger. The stone is large and green, surrounded by a circle of gleaming clear diamonds.
“Aren’t emeralds unlucky?”
He rolls his eyes. “It’d be more unlucky to get you a stone you didn’t like. Now, get to the point. I’m too old to be kneeling for this long.”
“Stand up, then,” I say, bouncing Junior again as Baxter scrambles to his feet and pulls Sophia back against him like a shield against disappointment.
“Did she say it?” Sophia asks, turning her gigantic grey eyes towards her father.
“Not yet, sweetie.” He crouches down again despite his recent protestations. “She doesn’t have to say, yes, you know.”
“But then you won’t be married.”
“Oh, we’ll be married,” he says, winking at me. “Wearing that ring makes us married.”
As little Baxter falls asleep again, I return him to the carrier. “And what if I hand it back?”
“You can’t.” He pulls me against him, cupping a hand behind my head and holding me there while he steals a kiss. “Remember a certain promise you made a while back?”
“Hm.” It’s hard to remember anything as his free hand settles onto the curve of my waist, then slowly dips lower. “Remind me of this so-called promise?”
“You agreed that if I went to the trouble of selecting jewellery, you’d do me the courtesy of wearing it.”
“Because otherwise it would be a waste of your time,” I murmur, pressing my hands against his chest, picturing the muscles, scars, and tattoos under the crisp white shirt he always wears.
“Exactly.”
“In that case,”—my body sways towards him—“I have no choice but to say yes.”
“I’m so glad you agree.” His thumb traces a line along my cheekbone, tucking some loose strands of hair behind my ear. “Now, if you could just say it aloud for Sophia.”
Holding a finger up for time, I bend down until I’m level with the girl. “I love you, do you know that?” Sophia nods, dancing up onto her toes while sending out a lighthouse beam of a smile. “And it would make me the proudest woman in the world to become your stepmother. Officially.”
She squeals in excitement, bouncing on the balls of her feet before letting me pull her into a quick hug.
Releasing her, I straighten and tilt my head back to meet Baxter’s eyes. “Yes, I will marry you.”
Sophia claps her hands, then abandons us for the ice, grabbing hold of her best friend’s hand and performing a lovely spin to show off all her sequins.
