This time feels like the beginning of something that was already ours finally being said out loud.
The diamond catches the sun again as I slide it onto her finger, rainbows twinkling across her skin.
Carina stares down at it for a second, turning her hand slowly to make the rainbows sparkle, her lip trembling slightly.
“Holy shit,” she breathes.
“Language,” I murmur automatically.
She laughs under her breath, shaking her head as she looks back at me.
I push to my feet and lean in to cup her jaw, my thumb brushing lightly along the curve of her cheek where a tear slipped earlier. She leans into the touch without thinking, the way she always does.
For a moment we just look at each other.
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The grill ticks quietly behind me as it cools, and the breeze shifts through the leaves around the treehouse. Ivy babbles happily to herself as though she’s watching her favorite show.
Carina’s hand slides up my chest, curling into the fabric of my shirt.
“You’re ridiculous,” she murmurs.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “But you said yes.”
Her mouth curves, and then she pulls me down the rest of the way.
The kiss is warm and familiar and somehow brand new all at once, starting soft before deepening as my hand slides to the back of her neck to pull her closer.
Her fingers slide up into my hair, tugging lightly, and for a moment everything else fades into the background.
Behind us, Ivy lets out a loud squeal.
“MAMAMAMA!”
Carina breaks the kiss with a breathless laugh, pressing her forehead against mine.
“Your daughter,” she says.
I glance over her shoulder. Ivy is now wriggling in her highchair, arms raised in a request to be set free.
“Yeah,” I say. “She seems supportive.”
Carina snorts and kisses me again, quick and soft this time, before leaning back to admire the ring once more.
“God,” she murmurs, turning her hand in the light. “It’s beautiful.”
“I had help,” I remind her.
Carina looks toward Ivy. “She has excellent taste.”
I settle into my own seat and slide an arm around Carina’s waist, pulling her chair closer to mine as the quiet of the evening settles around us again.
For a moment it’s just us.
My fiancée. Our kid. Our home.
