“We have a cleaning service.”
“We do?” She tilted her head.
He smirked. “We do.”
She unfastened Rory’s harness, and he zoomed around the yard in ecstatic loops.
“He’s really motoring,” Cary said, lobbing a tennis ball across the grass.
“He’s never had a yard before. Now he’s got a football pitch. So much for ‘poor Rory.’”
Cary kissed her cheek. “Come inside.”
“My stuff . . .” She nodded toward the trailer.
“We’ll get it later.”
“Yeah, I need a shower.”
“You look beautiful,” he said, giving her a wink and a lifted brow. “And you know I like you dirty.”
“Cary!” She tried to hold a straight face—but failed.
She called Rory and he came instantly. The dog had the worst case of FOMO she’d ever seen, and that was saying something from someone who worked in the music industry.
“Welcome home.” Cary lifted her off the ground.
“Put. Me. Down!” she squealed, kicking like a toddler as he carried her over the threshold.
“Surprise!” he said.
She gasped. Her entire family stood in the foyer—and Cary’s too—plus Allie, Kim, and Vegas.
“Oh my god,” she whispered, tightening her topknot. “I look like shit.”
“Yeah, join the club,” Dylan said, cradling her pregnant belly.
“I’d like everyone’s attention, please,” Cary announced, handing out champagne flutes like a department store Santa. He offered one to Tyler, but she waved it off and poured herself sparkling grape juice instead. She wasn’t drinking while they were trying again.
“Thank you all for coming,” Cary continued. “We’ve officially moved to Winnipeg!”
Cheers erupted, glasses clinked.
He reached for her hand, eyes locked on hers. “Babe, my favorite part of every day is learning something new about you. Like how you can’t sleep if there are dirty dishes in the sink. Or how your toast has to be cut diagonally. And your favorite movie is that Metallica documentary—which, fine, is entertaining, but maybe notthe bestmovie ever made. But I want to spend the rest of my life learning everything about you.”
“Everything?” she asked, eyebrow raised.
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Cary grinned and pulled out a small velvet box, dropping to one knee. “It’s already a yes from Bert and Rory,” he said, “so what about making it—”
“A hat trick?” she cut in, earning another big laugh.
He rolled his eyes playfully and opened the box to reveal an emerald-cut diamond. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she cried, and he slipped the ring onto her shaking finger.
It was everything—her teenage crush, her love of music, and the feeling of being truly home. Everything she’d been through felt like it led to this moment: becomingMrs. Cary Kingston.
