“Ethan, you’re home.” Her eyes lit right the hell up.
Yeah, when she walked outside, and her gaze caught his, she may as well have been all decked out in a fancy frock because she knocked him for six with emotion that settled in near his heart.
“Hey, girls.” She strutted toward the three of them, handing out a round of hugs, ending with him.
“Hi.” She held on as she leaned back. “You’re here.”
“Hi,” he replied. “I am.”
He loved this woman.
She got a funny look on her face before she tossed her arms around his neck and, well, kissed him until he probably turned a little blue.
“This is so ridiculous,” Fiona said under her breath.
“Will they ever grow up?” Annie asked.
Emmaline smiled against his mouth. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said again, grinning against her lips.
Fiona and Annie made in-tandem gagging noises, but now seemed like a good time to get down to it.
He’d been planning this for months. Waiting for just this moment.
“Didn’t you have a thing tonight?” Emmaline asked, squashing her eyebrows together and letting go of his neck to pull her sunglasses from her head and stick them in her purse.
He didn’t move. Couldn’t form a sentence.
“Why are you acting like this?” she probed.
“I’m not acting like anything.” Was he?
“You’re acting weird, Dad,” Annie confirmed.
Fiona nodded. “You are.”
“Are we having s’mores night?” Emmaline glanced around them at the fire pit burning away, the tray of fixings he’d set on the table there, and the chairs all set up with their marshmallow skewers. “Fancy.”
“Dad.” Annie raised her eyebrows. “Just do it now. Get it over with.”
“Do what now?” Emmaline’s smile kinda faltered into frown territory.
“Well.” Ethan rubbed her arms, elbow to shoulder. “I had a plan tonight.”
“Uh-huh?” she sort of asked.
He waved a hand toward the barbie. “We were going to come out here and eat s’mores with the girls.”
Emmaline laughed uncomfortably. “Okay.”
He was making this way more uncomfortable than he needed to. He took a deep breath and said, “And then I was going to ask you to marry me.”
She blinked. Super hard.
Went white.
“Like right now?” she asked.
