Today is Esperanza’s dance showcase where her students can show off what they’ve learned in her ballroom classes. It’s completely voluntary, but I signed us up to do the tango. Phoenix complained for about two seconds before I convinced him. On my knees.
Phoenix’s hand wraps around my back, and I give him a wink. “We’ve got this. Just don’t get a boner in your dancy pants.”
He snorts and nudges me with his hips. His costume consists of very tight black pants and a white shirt with most of the buttons undone. He looks hot as hell, though an unexpected erection would be quite obvious.
My outfit is completely gorgeous; a sky blue romper with tons of sparkles. I’m obsessed with it.
The music begins and we start to move, doing the carefully choreographed steps we’ve been practicing. Spins and twirls and dips… it’s sexy but not too raunchy because there are kids present. I love being in Phoenix’s arms. Love the feel of him guiding me, connecting with me in our own special way.
When it’s done, we’re both smiling like loons, and the first two rows containing our families are on their feet cheering like the maniacs they are. I blow a kiss to Reecie, who Helix is holding up so she can wave wildly at us. I love that little girl so much. She’s become ingrained in me, sharing her place in my heart with her father.
I grin at my family and turn to exit the stage so Esperanza can do the wrap up since Phoenix and I were the last couple to dance.
But I feel a tug on my hand and turn to find…
“What are you doing on the floor?” I ask, bending to look into Phoenix’s eyes since he’s kneeling on the stage. “Did you hurt yourself? Oh my god, you got a boner, didn’t you?”
He laughs and shakes his head. “No, I don’t have a boner, Jordie.” He looks down at his crotch. “Well, maybe a half-chub.”
“Well, let’s get off the stage before someone sees,” I hiss. Then I freeze when I see what he’s holding in his hand. A very distinctive blue box. “Oh my god!”
His smile is so genuine and sweet it takes my breath away as hereaches for my hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. There are a few oohs from the audience, but a hundred percent of my focus is on the man in front of me.
“Jordie McNamara, you came into my life full of sass and strength one year ago today.” I swoon because of course he remembered. “You changed me that day, turned me into a better version of myself. You tore down my roadblocks and opened my heart to the idea of love. Then you worked yourself right here.” He taps his chest with the ring box.
I roll my lips between my teeth to keep from yelling “Yes!” at the top of my lungs before he’s even asked the question.
Phoenix’s eyes sparkle like the sun bouncing off the ocean waters. “I love you, Jordie. Will you please make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”
I am thrilled, my chest tight and full. “I love you too, Phoenix. You’ve taught me real love exists and it comes with smiles and laughter. You flirt with old ladies just to see them giggle. You make me feel I can do anything. You always…” I pause and dart my eyes at the audience. I don’t think they can hear everything we’re saying, but I lower my voice anyway. “You always put a cushion under my knees when I’m… you know.”
He chuckles. “Careful, goddess, or my dancy pants are going to give the audience more than the price of admission.”
I grin down at him. “The point is, you take care of me even when I don’t need you to because that’s how you show your love. And you show it to me every day. Nothing would make me happier than being your wife.”
He doesn’t waste any time sliding the ring on my finger, and the audience roars its approval. Phoenix is on his feet in an instant, picking me up and spinning me until I’m dizzy.
“Reecie,” I say once he’s put me down, and Phoenix turns to gesture at Helix, who pops the precious little girl onto the stage. She takes a running leap, and we catch her, embracing her between us.
“We’re getting married!” she squeals.
“We are, sweetpea,” I say, kissing the top of her head as my heart swells with happiness. “Will you be my flower girl at the wedding?”
She tilts her head to the side, her lips pursed. “Only if I can wear a polka-dot dress and dragon wings.”
Phoenix’s eyes, suspiciously damp, meet mine over her head, and I nod with the biggest grin on my face. I would give this kid anything she asked for.
“You got it, baby girl,” her dad says, hitching Reece onto his hip and wrapping an arm around my waist. “As long as we get to be a family.”
We’re seated in the banquet room of Carver’s Family BBQ. With the size of our families combined, we pretty much have to have our own space. Phoenix and I have changed out of our dance clothes and into jeans and T-shirts.
My new fiancé sits to the right of me, and Reece is on my left. She taps my arm, leaving tiny barbecue sauce fingerprints on my skin.
“Jordie, since you’re marrying my dad, does that make you my mommy?”
The world freezes around me, and I glance to Phoenix for help. He leans over me and dabs a bit of sauce from Reece’s cheek.
“Technically, Jordie would be your stepmom, baby.”
