He takes a deep breath, and his gaze locks on mine. “Abigail Sinclair, I love you so much. Will you marry me?”
Laughter bubbles up through my tears. I drop to my knees and throw my arms around his neck. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I love you. I want to marry you.”
Powerfluff meows.
“Just a minute,” John says to her, “I have something for you, too. But I need to finish with your mommy first.”
He slides the ring onto my finger—a perfect fit. As I hold my hand out to admire the ring, Powerfluff meows.
John shakes his head. “We’re almost finished.”
He kisses me, a kiss full of love and promises of our future together. Powerfluff rubs against our legs, meowing for attention.
After we draw apart, John reaches into his pocket again and pulls out a pink velvet collar with a small diamond charm dangling. “You two are a package deal. I wouldn’t leave Powerfluff out of our proposal.”
As John attempts to fasten the collar around our less-than-cooperative cat, I giggle. “You’re ridiculous. And I love you for it.”
“Should we start planning the wedding right away?” he asks. “There might be a sudden opening at a local bridal store today.”
I swat his arm playfully. “Honestly, I don’t care if I beat Rachel to the altar. I made that bet in the heat of the moment. What I’d really love is…”
“Whatever you want, my love, as long as I get to call you my wife at the end of it.”
An idea takes shape, and I know it’ll be perfect. “I want to get married on Christmas Eve.”
“That’ll be perfect,” he agrees. “Grandma will be so happy to have something else to do besides tell everyone it’s not Christmas yet.”
That could be a problem. “Will she mind if I want everything decorated for the holiday?”
“In our case, she won’t mind at all.”
“Wonderful, because I’m imagining a winter wonderland complete with a big Christmas tree and lots of lights.”
Powerfluff must tire of her spin as a model, because she plops onto my lap, and I pet her. “You have a daddy now.”
She doesn’t even flick her tail.
John shakes his head. “She’ll have to get used to the idea.”
My cat isn’t the only one. So much has changed in my life in only a couple weeks. I went from thinking my boss hated me, to pretending to date, to actually going out for real. Now, I’m engaged to a thoughtful man who loves and respects me. I’ve also stood up for myself against years of family dysfunction. And I’m on the brink of a whole new chapter in my professional life. We both are.
I keep wanting to repeatI love you, but I want to say something else. “Our relationship began with a lie so I could save face in front of my family, but being with you has blossomed into the most beautiful truth I’ve ever known. Thank you, Mr. Barrington.”
His smile widened. “Anything for you, Ms. Sinclair.”
I know that, because I’d do anything for him.
EPILOGUE
Abby
The bells ringing outside the church tell me it’s time. I force myself to breathe. Passing out from excitement would only delay me saying “I do.” After more than eleven months of wedding planning, I’m about to marry John Barrington, my former boss and now a colleague at the corporate headquarters.
How is this my life?
I wiggle my toes in the new white shoes I’ve been wearing around the house to break them in. I’m so grateful for him and his family and the position I transferred to in February.
What can I say?
