I felt his hand holding mine tighten. Colin Slade—the man who never hesitated in boardrooms—suddenly looked terrified.
“I can’t let this moment go without telling you how I feel,” he said in a rush as if he might burst.
I was confused by this admission, since I thought that was precisely what we had been doing, and I was about to tell him so when he dropped to one knee on the floor in front of me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Idon’t have a ring because seeing you every moment I’m not working gives me no time to go ring shopping.”
My mouth dropped open, and my heart raced in anticipation as he gave his explanation.
“Katelynn Donovan, I don’t want to spend my life with anyone but you. I want us to grow old together, whatever that looks like. I want you to be the mother of my future children, and I want to experience your love for them and for me for the rest of my life. Marry me, Kate.”
My chest tightened, not with fear, but from the sheer magnitude of what he was offering me. Shock pinned me in place, feeling slightly out of focus as if I’d stepped into someone else’s life.
But it wasn’t someone else’s dream. This wasmylife. And I’d forever see it as before this moment and after. In the after, there would be holidays and hard days and ordinary Tuesdays, all of them suddenly precious because we’d face them together.
He was holding both of my hands then, and I pulled him up so that I could look up at him—my favorite way to look at him and feel him looking down at me with purpose and care. There was a sense of being chosen, seen, and held all at once.
“Say yes, my love,” he whispered, watching me expectantly.
“Yes, Colin. Of course. Yes, let’s get married.” My voice betrayed the emotion I felt, but that was okay because I had no reason to ever hide anything from him anymore.
Colin’s breath left him slow and shaky, as if he’d just realized it was safe to exhale.
His posture loosened, and a quiet, almost disbelieving smile broke across his face. His eyes brightened, and he didn’t hold back. Gone was the serious and stern CEO.
“You don’t know how happy I am,” he burst forth, hugging me so tightly to him that I could hardly breathe.
“Idoknow because it’s how happyIam,” I said, everything finally bubbling up to the surface. I was smiling. Maybe crying. Definitely shaking.
He put his hands on my face and swiped a tear away with his thumb.
“Don’t cry, my love. This is a good thing.”
“I know,” I said with an unsteady voice. “It’s thebestthing. I just can’t help the overwhelming feelings.”
“Then cry if you need to. I’m here.” He lowered his lips to mine, and we had our first kiss as fiancés.
We keptthe news to ourselves that evening, but the rush of having that little secret gave us both a little extra energy, and even Colin was willing to try out some more line dancing. We stumbled along together, laughing heartily at the many mistakes and near-falls. Stealing kisses and sharing knowing looks.
I caught my mother watching us sometimes. It was obvious from the thumbs-up sign she’d give me across the room that she approved of Colin.
The next morning at breakfast, we told my mother. She looked back and forth between us with a hesitant smile, as if waiting for me to tell her it was an April Fool’s joke.
“We’re serious, Mom,” I said.
“I’d love it if we had your blessing, Mrs. Donovan,” Colin added, taking my hand.
My mother banged both hands on the table and afterward brought them up to her face. “Oh, my goodness! That’s wonderful! Yes, you have my blessing!” She cupped our hands in hers. “I hope you’ll both be as happy as your father and I were.” She dropped her head as a soft sob escaped her.
Colin got up from his chair and hugged her. I couldn’t stop myself from crying, simultaneously watching the love of my life comfort my mother and envisioning him do the same to our kids when they’d had a bad day. I also knew why my mother was so overwhelmed, and it was what she’d expressed yesterday—that she’d be the mother of the bride but there would be no father of the bride at the wedding.
“Mom, will you walk me down the aisle?” I asked.
She sighed as she cried, then nodded and brought me into the hug.
Even Colin’s eyes looked bright and a little wet when we all sat down again. My mother cleared her throat and said, “So let’s get down to business. When? Where? And I don’t see a ring.”
