“And that’s why I want to marry you.” I cup his cheeks. They’ve pinked up even more since we’ve been kissing. I love that I can bring this out in him. “I want everyone to know that I belong to you, Charlie. That you’re mine.”
“Yeah?” His eyes glaze over.
“Shit. I’m doing this all wrong.”
Stepping back, I grab one of Charlie’s hands and sink to one knee.
“You’re going to get wet.” Charlie’s voice is watery.
“I don’t care. I love you, Charlie. More than I ever thought possible. I never knew this was a kind of love that I could have. It shocks me every day that you chose me. That you love me and that I, for some lucky reason, get to love you back.”
“I think I’m the lucky one,” Charlie tells me, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Marry me, Charlie. Marry me and let’s spend the rest of our lives being lucky together.”
Charlie stares at me before bursting out into laughter. “Oh my God. Could you be any more cheesy?”
I stand, getting cold now from kneeling. “Ouch. This is how my proposal is met? I’m rethinking the entire thing. I even had an ornament painted at home to commemorate the occasion.”
Charlie’s face goes soft. “How can I say no when you made me an ornament?”
“That’s what gets you to say yes?” I scoff. “I should have brought it with me. Lead with that.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing you made it because I’m saying yes to you.”
“Me and my ornament?”
Charlie waggles his eyebrows. “That sounds dirty.”
I laugh, loving this man. “Of all the ways I imagined this going, this is not how I pictured it.”
Charlie throws his arms over my shoulders. “Did you imagine me falling all over you and jumping into your arms and confessing my love to you?”
“I mean, yeah. A little more emotion wouldn’t hurt.”
I act hurt, but I’m not. Because I didn’t miss the yes in between all of this. It’s why I’m not prepared when Charlie throws himself at me.
Wrapping his legs around me, he knocks us both over into the snow as he peppers my face with kisses.
“Of course I’ll marry you, you idiot!” Charlie shouts between bursts of laughter. “I love you so much, Brooks. I don’t know if it’s because you proposed or it’s the cold, but I’m in shock!”
Pressing one last kiss to Charlie’s lips, I pull back. “It’s time to get you inside then. I don’t want my fiancé to catch frostbite.”
“What a thoughtful fiancéIhave.”
Charlie is beaming as we both stand. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the small velvet pouch and find the ring in there.
It’s a titanium steel band—something that will hold up on the long nights at the tavern.
“It’s perfect.” Charlie catches my hand as I slide the ring onto his finger. It’s a bit snug, but he forces it down.
“I love you, Charlie.”
“I love you, Brooks.”
Linking hands with him, I lead us toward the barn wherethe music is blasting and the reception is still in full swing. With midnight closing in, there will surely be fireworks to celebrate their wedding and the new year.
Everything about this night is perfect. Charlie on my arm. Celebrating our friends.
