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“Want me to carry you up the stairs, baby?” Nix asks.
I look down at my pink cast and pout. “Yes.”
He smiles and scoops me up in his arms. “It’s all right, sweetheart. I’ll carry you everywhere, if you want.”
“No!” I complain, burying my head in his chest. “I want to walk. Stupid cast…and stupid Ryan!”
His lips brush against my forehead and he kisses me softly. “It will heal, baby. Just like you did.” My body relaxes in his arms. We enter the bedroom and he sets me on the bed.
“Can I get you anything, baby?”
“No, just come lay with me,” I answer, patting the bed.
“You got it, boss.” He climbs into bed and I shimmy down off the pillows and roll into him. He tucks his arm underneath me and pulls me closer.
“You know what the worst part was?”
“What?”
“Thinking about never seeing you again or the babies getting hurt. I didn’t care what he did to me as long as I got home to you and our babies were okay.”
It’s so weird. I spent so much time being scared of this, being unsure, but when Ryan took me all I could think about was spending the rest of my life with Nix. I’m not scared anymore. I know that this is what I want.
“I love you so much, Emma.”
“Marry me,” I blurt out and he jerks away.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
He looks down at me for a moment before smirking and shaking his head.
“You are seriously stealing my thunder here, babe.” He tries to sound irritated but I can see the smile growing on his full lips.
Giggling, I say, “I know but will you marry me anyway?”
He sighs and reaches into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a black velvet jewelry box. My mouth forms a perfect O as I watch him open the box. Inside is a princess-cut diamond ring with smaller diamonds surrounding the center stone and lining the band. The light catches the gems and they sparkle back at me as tears well up in my eyes.
“You already had a ring?”
“Yeah. I bought it the day after we found out about the twins. I told you, baby, I want it all with you.”
“Oh, Nix.”
“Will you let me do this right?”
I nod eagerly. He climbs out of the bed and struts around to my side before dropping to his knee. Even though I knew it was coming, the sight still has me tearing up.
“Baby, from the day I met you, I knew I couldn’t live without you. I don’t want to spend a single minute of my life without you as mine. I told you, I want it all. The wedding, babies, rocking chairs, and the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
He smiles a brilliant smile and pulls the ring out of the box before sliding it onto my finger. My heart swells with happiness as I think about this man being my husband.
Husband.
