I swallow. Oh God. He is really doing this.
He pulls out a little plastic treasure chest and holds it up between his fingers.
I’m slightly confused. “Hadley lostanothertooth?” I kind of thought we just completed the last wave of missing teeth.
“Nah, but since she isn’t here, I had to incorporate her somehow.”
Breathe. We are back on track. Breathe.
Spencer is kneeling down.
“Wait.” I hold my palm up. “Does Hadley know you are here about to do what I think you’re going to do?”
He scoffs a laugh. “Babe, let me do my thing. I have one day off between games, so let me take advantage of that. We can talk logistics after.”
I ease into a smile again. “Okay. Do your thing.”
“April, to my dismay, you are by far more than I anticipated. The good kind of more. We took a chance, a lot of chances. But it was worth it. I kind of want to make sure that you can’t taunt any other man, and I enjoy having you around too much, so I’m hoping you will be my wife. Will you marry me?”
Tears sting my eyes, especially when his face has a slight shade of nerves. Does he really think I wouldn’t say yes?
My sight darts to the ring in the little pink plastic treasure chest, then I feel shock. “That’s huge, I mean the rock, the ring rock, not your rock.”
“Oh, okay, that’s where this conversation is going.” He still seems to be entertained.
“I’m going to sink when I go swimming!”
“Only if you wear the ring, because you agree to wear the ring, as in you say yes to becoming my wife. Preferably lock in that confirmation in the next few seconds or so, as I’m kneeling before you holding up a ring.”
I wipe away happy tears and smile ecstatically before I lean down and throw my arms around his neck. “Yes!”
He slams his lips onto mine. “Good decision,” he murmurs against my lips before creating space to slide the ring onto my finger.
Standing up, he pulls me up and loops his arms around my middle, with our eyes locked in a trance.
“You told Hadley once that you wanted a prince who went all out. I figured I would try this.”
“Listening to our prince talks again?” I give him a glare. “She’s in on this?”
“Not the specifics, but she helped me pick the ring. Something shiny for Queen Sparkly and a promise that she can wear the biggest pink dress there is,” he explains and brings my hand to his heart.
“A wedding full of tulle fabric it is,” I promise. Then it dawns on me how different this experience will be. I was engaged once, and everything felt like a compromise. This time, I’m with a man who treats me like nothing is an ask, only a wish he wants to make come true, and I want to make him happy.
Our mouths find one another for a kiss.
“Tonight, we can enjoy our dinner, and tomorrow the whole world can know,” he suggests. He slides the back of his knuckle along my cheek, and I love the feathery touch.
I squint my eyes. “Why do I feel like the important ones already know?”
Spencer tilts his head to one side. “Okay, so I had to seek your uncle’s approval, Piper needed to give me intel on your ring size, Hadley was bursting to tell you all day, hence why she said she was taking Pickles to practice being a ring bearer, and Ford gave me the advice that I should get down on one knee when I asked. So yeah, if you said no then this would be slightly fucking awkward.”
I laugh and walk with Spencer hand in hand to the table. “Good thing I wouldn’t dream of saying no.”
He pulls my chair out, and I sit down. We both get settled in our seats, and Spencer pops the cork on the champagne.
I chortle a sound because last time we were in this room, we were arguing and drinking before we combusted later that night.
“Times have changed,” I say and accept the glass of bubbly he hands to me.
