When the front door opened, I quickly grabbed and pocketed the ring before I could convince myself it was a bad idea. The drawer closed with a thump before I rose and tugged on a shirt, heading to find my girl. The perfect timewouldcome—I had to believe that, or I’d go crazy thinking of a thousand differentwhat-ifs.
Holding tightly to that idea and hoping it would boost my mood, I left the bedroom, walking down the hall and toward the kitchen. My bare feet helped silence the steps, and instead of immediately calling out or sliding behind her to wrap my arms around her waist, I opted to lean against the doorframe with my arms crossed—just watching.
Standing there, I let my eyes rove her body, drinking my fill of the love of my life. She wore gray sweatpants with the waistband rolled twice and a dark blue hoodie. Her hair was almost tamed in a high ponytail, but several curls had already escaped from the tie, falling around her face. The pastries were laid out on the table, and she was using the new milk frother her parents gave her, attempting to make a design on the top of my coffee cup.
Chuckling silently, I watched as she stomped her foot and huffed before using a spoon to stir in whatever design hadn’t turned out like she intended. Her perfectionism was adorable to watch, and since she preferred black coffee, I had no issue with the overabundance of milk in mine as she practiced. Each failure had pushed her to try harder each morning, balancing the frother so close to the cup it wasn’t unusual for her to have foam on the tip of her nose.
As I watched, it took me back to Valentine’s Day, when she presented me with coffee in bed, complete with a lopsided foam heart. There was barely time to take a sip and place it on thebedside table before I grabbed her, pulled her onto the bed, and fucked her until she was a murmuring mess.
Perhaps that’s when I should have asked.
In the years we’d been together, I’d come to appreciate so many things—much more than I had before.
The euphoric light in her eyes when I was inside her.
The soothing weight of her body pressed against me at night.
Mornings, waking up, only to inhale her curls.
Shattering between her legs.
Above everything else, looking back at our relationship, I’d become painfully aware that I should treasure each moment with Emma, ensuring she felt the same incomprehensible love as I did, and that it only grew each day.
“Emma?”
She turned, smiling and motioning to the oversized cup on the counter. “I’m almost there. This time, your coffee is going to be perfect.”
“It’s already perfect because you made it.”
“Oh, stop. You know I didn’t make it. The bakery did, but the design is all me.”
I leaned against the counter beside her, watching as she poured the milk with her tongue between her teeth.
“Damn it! Stupid leaves never want to turn out right,” she screeched, tossing the metal container in the sink and crossing her arms.
This. Now.
I loved her—needed her.
I didn’t want to spend another moment without a ring on her finger.
Bracing one hand on the counter’s edge, I went down on one knee and pulled the ring from my pocket.
“Will you marry me?”
Emma lost the grip on the spoon she’d been holding, and it clattered to the floor, covering me with droplets of hot milk. The sound echoed in the kitchen, and then silence filled the space. My pulse roared in my ears, and I swallowed, mouth dry as cotton.
The carefully prepared speech died on my tongue as I watched her eyes widen, and her face morphed from frustration to complete and total adoration.
She dropped to her knees in front of me, tears streaming down her face and her hand pressed over her mouth. Her lips quivered before a glorious, wide smile overtook her features.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Miller.”
I slipped the ring on her finger before pulling her tightly against me and wrapping my arms around her waist. Her shoulders shook as I rubbed my hands along her back, breathing in the sweet scent of peaches and something uniquely Emma.
“I love you. So much. Thank you, sweet girl. You’ve made me happier than I ever thought possible, and I’ll spend the rest of my days making sure you are just as happy as I am right now.”
Not bad for a half-cocked proposal on a random Saturday morning.
