“Can’t a man stalk his wife at the mall?” He smirks and takes the bags from me. “You look beautiful. Are you done?”
“I think so.”
“How about we make it a yearly tradition?” He nods at the kiosk. “I think Jess would approve, don’t you?”
“She’d be disappointed if we didn’t.”
It’s a tight squeeze, but we manage to fit mostly side by side in the booth. My ass is halfway on Griffin’s lap, but it’s not like he’s complaining. I slide the credit card into the slot, and the timer starts counting down.
I lean in so we’re cheek to cheek as the first flash illuminates the enclosed space.
There’s a four-second delay between photos, but it only takes one for Griffin to leave me utterly speechless. An oval-shaped diamond on a gold band is nestled inside a blue velvet ring box, and he’s holding it up between us. My hands fly to my face as the next flash goes off.
“Will you marry me?” he blurts out the words so fast I almost missthem.
I nod. “Yes. Yes! Of course!”
He slides the ring onto my finger, and I grab his face to kiss him for the third photo. Conscious of the ticking clock, I hold up my hand for the camera and let my cheesy grin speak for itself. The flash goes off, blinding me one last time.
“I think I blinked that time,” Griffin says. “Maybe we should do it again.”
“Don’t you dare! It was perfect.”
I kiss him again, soft and unhurried.
He smiles against my lips and pulls away.
“We did everything backward,” I whisper.
He toys with the diamond on my finger as if he can’t believe his eyes. “No. We didn’t.”
“You’re supposed to do the falling in love thingbeforeyou get married and have babies.”
“I did, Angel.” He brings my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “I fell in love with you six years ago, before we ever stood at the altar. I was just waiting for you to catch up.”
I scoff. “That’s ridiculous. That would mean…”
“I was a goner right from the start.”
He picks up my bags and the strip of photos, and we walk out of the mall hand in diamond-clad hand.
“How do you feel about a Vegas wedding?” he teases.
“Vegas weddings are cheesy and overdone. How do you feel about a honeymoon in Mexico?”
“I think Europe would suit you better.”
Chapter 39
Love is Infinite
? Ends of the Earth - Lord Huron
Angelina
It’s early morning,and the traffic is light as we make our way to the Nashville airport. The first flight is mostly uneventful. Jessie sleeps on my lap for the two-and-a-half-hour leg to New York, where we have a short layover at JFK.
After a quick lunch, we board the flight to Rome. Jessie gets restless shortly after take-off, and we pass her back and forth a few times, trying every trick in the book to get her settled. When she gets like this, the only thing that seems to work is nursing, so I settle her on my breast until her eyelids grow heavy and her limbs go limp. As soon as I move her, she lets out an angry wail, fat tears falling down her chubby cheeks.
