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He took both my hands, bringing me around to face him fully.

For a moment, he simply looked at me.

The surrounding festival noise continued, but I barely noticed it as he brushed his thumb over my knuckles.

“When you came knocking on my door last October, I had no idea how much my life was about to change,” he said. “I thought I was doing just fine on my own. I had Sienna, my house, and everything I thought I needed.”

My smile softened.

“Then you showed up with those damned muffins, convinced me to help with a haunted house I swore I’d never touch again, and somehow managed to make yourself a permanent part of our lives.”

I laughed softly, but there was a suspicious tightness growing in my throat.

Duncan brought one of my hands to his mouth and kissed it.

“Whenever you come home from a trip, you tell me everything that happened, even when you’re tired. You still try to convince me coffee isn’t breakfast. And half the time I pass your office, Sienna’s there drawing another monster while you work. I love every bit of that.”

My eyes filled.

He stepped closer, still holding my hands.

“This past year has been the happiest I’ve had in a very long time, Goldie. We’ve built a good life here, and I want to spend the rest of mine with you.”

He reached into his jacket pocket.

My breath caught when he brought out a small velvet box.

Then Duncan lowered himself onto one knee beneath the glowing FALL IN LOVE sign.

“Marigold Graham, I love you more than I ever thought I could love another woman. Will you marry me?”

He opened the box.

A beautiful diamond ring sparkled beneath the festival lights, and I stared at it through the tears gathering in my eyes.

For several seconds, I couldn’t manage a single word.

I looked from the ring to Duncan’s face, taking in the tenderness in his expression and the way he was watching me.

Then Sienna stepped closer.

She’d been standing quietly beside us, but now she moved to her father’s side and reached for my hand.

Her dark eyes were bright, and she looked at me with an expression so hopeful and sweet that my heart nearly burst.

“Will you marry us?”

I started laughing and crying at the same time.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

I bent to hug her, holding her close as she wrapped both arms around my waist.

When I straightened, Duncan was still kneeling before me, the ring waiting in its little velvet box.

“Yes,” I said, smiling through my tears. “Yes, Duncan. Of course I’ll marry you.”

His face broke into the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.