Another thrill shot through her. “Yes,” she declared.
“Abigyes?” he asked.
“That is abigyes!Huge!”
The crowd cheered as Emmitt slipped the ring on her finger, picked her up in his arms, and gave her a long, celebratory kiss. “I’m the happiest man alive,” he breathed against her lips.
“And I am the happiest woman,” she said before kissing him again.
Emmitt turned to face the crowd and rested a hand on Sloane’s lower back. “She said yes!” he cheered.
At the request of a few in the crowd, Sloane showed off the ring. It glistened there beneath the lights, looking exactly like one of the stars in the sky. The vision made her think of her father and wonder, with a quick upward glance, if he could see her now.
Emmitt gave her a squeeze and brought his mouth to her ear. “I think he’s here with us,” he said, proving he knew just where her thoughts were. “I think they all are.”
Sloane nodded as a burst of warmth rushed over her. The right place at the right time, that’s what that meant. Everything inside of her said that was true.
Lucky for Sloane, she would get to spend a lifetime in this special place, the small town of Haven Hills. And best of all, she’d have Emmitt right by her side.
She moved her lips to whisper something in Emmitt’s ear. “Thank you. This is so much more than I could ever ask for, no?”
Only Sloane already had the answer.
That was a yes. Abigyes, indeed!
* * *
Lucy barreled through the snow at Lucas’s heels as he ran circles around the large gathering.
“Are they ready for their Valentine’s hearts yet?” Lucas asked through giggles.
“Almost,” Andie said.
Tucked into Lucas’s small fists were a pair of clay hearts. Hearts that would, just for this special day of love, be placed inside the snowmen they were building.
It was a sight that gave Sloane hope. She’d always dreamed of being a mother one day, and now that she and Emmitt were engaged, she was that much closer to fulfilling that dream.
It turned out Lucas already had a few cousins on the way. Just after New Year’s, Andie and Trenton announced they were expecting a baby in September. The following week, Richard and Ava’s announcement came. They were expecting in the same month.
Sloane could hardly suppress a grin. Andie and Ava would go through pregnancy together. What a joy that would be.
As planned, Memphis had gotten down on one knee on New Year’s Eve. He’d cut it pretty close though, pulling out the ring just minutes before the countdown began. Memphis and Ty planned to marry in April, while Sloane and Emmitt had their sights set on a date in May or June once the weather warmed and her mother could spare a day to make the event.
“Okay,” Maverick said as he adjusted one of the branch limbs on the guys’ snowman. “We’re about ready for one of those hearts, Lucas.”
Ty, who’d been helping build the accompanying snowwoman, tightened its red scarf. “We’re ready too.”
“It looks like they’re going to get married,” Lucas said.
“They do look pretty sharp,” Memphis agreed before picking Lucas off the ground and hoisting him onto his shoulders. “Hey, look…” he bellowed while Lucas squealed. “You’re taller than everyone now.”
Emmitt wrapped his arms around Sloane from behind and sandwiched her hands in his.
“Think it’s time for those sugar cookies yet?” he asked, his mouth grazing her ear and giving her goosebumps.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Sloane admitted.
They looked up in time to see Lucas placing each heart, one after the next, into the snow couple, making them complete at last.
