“What?”
My eyes adjusted, and I stared in shock at the crowd of our friends and family on the back lawn. The Schultzes were grinning broadly, and Blade’s little brothers were jumping up and down, barely able to contain their excitement. I whirled around to ask Blade what the hell, but he was on one knee in front of me, smiling.
“Avery,” he said. He took a box out of his jacket. “I feel like this might be either a little premature or really late. I know we started off proposing marriage to each other. I wasn’t planning on it, but then I fell in love with you. I was just going to ask you if you wanted to date me officially, but then, as these things do, it spiraled out of control. Now there’s a party and the food and the film crew, and I just decided, shoot, why not? I’ll ask her to marry me.”
He opened the ring box. Inside was the pretty ring I had loved at the jewelry shop from the Weddings in the City designer. Tears started to run down my face.
“Yes, Blade, yes, I will marry you!”
He slipped the delicate gold and diamond ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly. Then Blade stood up, tipped my head back, and kissed me long and slow to cheers and applause.
“Wow,” I said, “that is the second-best time I’ve ever been proposed to.”
“Geez,” Blade said.
I laughed. “Just kidding!” I reached up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his mouth. Then I knelt down in front of him and took his hand. Blade was confused. I took the watch off my wrist.
“Blade,” I said. “The last time I was on my knees in front of you was in your office.”
Blade made a horrified noise, and my grandmother scolded, “Avery!”
I grinned and waggled my eyebrows. “I was looking for my phone under your desk.”
There were groans from the audience. Ida yelled, “None of us believe that!”
“Blade, people say size doesn’t matter, but when it comes to Svenssons that’s clearly not the case. Not only are you tall and very well endowed—yes, Ida you were correct: I wasn’t just looking for my phone down there.”
“Avery!” my grandmother admonished.
I grinned up at Blade, who was slowly shaking his head and smiling. “You have a big heart, a big family, and a big amount of love for your family, friends, and this town. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with in this big, crazy world. I love you, Blade, and so I have to ask, will you be my very real fiancé?”
He grinned. “Of course, Avery.”
I fastened the watch around his wrist then jumped up and pumped my fist. “He said yes!”
Blade pulled me back to him for another kiss. “Does this mean I get to keep the watch?” he asked against my mouth.
“Yes,” I said. “But it comes with a number of strings attached, many of them involving bedroom activities of a certain,ahem, nature.”
He grinned dangerously. “Seems like a very fair trade.”
“I know a thing or two about proposals,” I replied with a wink.
“What are you going to name your children?” Weston yelled.
“We are having a very long engagement,” I announced loudly. “Like three or four years. I cannot with another wedding right now, so children will wait.”
Blade was shifting on his feet.
“You don’t agree?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I mean, yeah, I’m done with weddings for a good bit, but—”
“He’s a dad!” Weston announced proudly.
“I adopted some siblings for Cesario,” Blade admitted.
“You got bunnies?” I screamed, jumping up and kissing him.
