Chapter 60
sixty
SUMMER
“I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE how much you cried at Mateo and Isabella’s wedding.” Daisy smiles down at her phone, no doubt looking at all the photos we took at their wedding this weekend.
It was a quick forty-eight-hour affair, since they’re planning a bigger wedding in the off season, but it was beautiful. They lit up the entire Altos de Chavón amphitheater with candles, and we watched them get married under the stars, alongside their family and friends.
The only thing that broke my concentration during the vows was the less than covert way Middlebrooks was staring at my sister, who did her very best to keep her distance from him.
I really hoped things would have smoothed over by now, especially since she’s the new team photographer and travels with us to away games.
Sooner or later, they’re going to have to leave the high school drama behind them and play nice.
Daisy and I decided to stay an extra two days at the house in Jarabacoa that she inherited from her mother. The same house Nick and Luisa got married in a few months ago. This place holds a lot of happy memories for my Daisy girl, and today I hope to add another to the list.
“I wasn’t crying, I was stoically weeping. At least that’s how Nick put it.”
“Ugh, I can’t believe you guys are such besties now. I think he took more pictures with you at the wedding than with Luisa.”
“That’s because midway through, he snuck off with her behind the restaurant and I caught them—”
“Never mind, you were a stoic, burly manly man who released axe-wielding tears. There, is that better?”
I pounce without warning. Over the past few months, she’s developed quite the mouth on her, and I’ve loved seeing her new sense of self flourish beautifully. I love punishing her in bed for it too.
“Get off. Your beard is tickling me,” she squeals.
I lift my head from where I was nipping under her jaw. “I thought you liked it when my beard tickled you.” I raise both brows playfully and I let her escape my hold. For now.
“I can’t believe I took such a long nap after breakfast. Those tres golpes really took me out.”
I smile. “A breakfast of mashed plantains, fried cheese, and salami will do that to you, I suppose.”
“Oh yeah, and you eating me out after as dessert didn’t do a single thing to send me into that coma whatsoever.”
I shrug unapologetically as I watch her reach over to the nightstand for her laptop. Looks like it’s almost time. Hope I don’t fuck this up.
I try to nonchalantly come to sit by her and lean against the headboard. It’s convenient since what I need is hidden under this very pillow.
“Oh no you don’t.” She tries to shoo me away. “I’ve got work to do, and if we’re in bed together long enough, you know exactly what’s going to happen.”
I don’t budge. Instead, I play my role as best as I can while racked with nerves. “First of all, you’re not supposed to be working on our vacation.”
“The intern said he needs help finalizing the clips to use for this week’s segment of Hot Mic. It shouldn’t take me more than ten minutes. Twenty tops,” she promises.
I sigh. “All right, then maybe I can help you so we can get back to our vacation festivities.”
She quirks a brow my way but doesn’t insist on me moving. Thank God.
“Hmm, that’s weird,” she says as she types.
“What is?” I’m scared she might be able to hear my heart attempting to beat out of my chest.
“The attachment. It’s usually a couple audio clips I can play right from the email, but instead it’s a link to open a much larger file.”
I stay quiet, not trusting my acting skills at the moment.
Her face is set in concentration as she continues to type on her keyboard. Then she presses play.
“Raise the volume,” I all but shout before clearing my throat. “So I can hear and help you out.”
She doesn’t pay any mind to my sudden outburst as she does as I ask, and we wait in silence for a few moments.
“This must be wrong. I don’t hear anything—wait, there’s live transcripts on these?”
Her head tilts. “Wait, is that us? Why did they send me—”
“Keep listening, Daze.” My stare must communicate more than I intended, because she goes stock still before maxing out the volume.
I pull the ring box out from under my pillow and slide off the bed. Bringing myself down to one knee, I open it. My recording continues to play as Daisy places both hands on her cheeks.
Tears silently stream down her face as she stares at me, then the ring, in awe. “Luke, is this really happening right now?”
I nod. “Yes, and surprisingly enough, I still have more to say.”
We both laugh, breaking the tension that built while we listened intently to my mic recordings. She scoots down the bed, sitting on the edge where I’m currently waiting for her on bended knee.
I take the ring out of the box and take her left hand in mine. “For so long, I battled with the fact that I no longer wanted to be just your friend.” She smiles. “When in reality, I wanted to be your very best one.”
She sniffles as I continue. “The person you walk down the aisle to and raise children with. The one to hold your hand when life undoubtedly throws us a few curveballs. Instead of friendship bracelets, we’ll have rings…
or tattoos.” I smirk as she shakes her head.
“We’ll share secrets and a last name. Our life will be one everlasting sleepover.
And when the real world gets too crazy, we can run away together to our secret haven.
The place where the rest of the world ceases to exist.”
She hiccups and giggles through her tears.
I need to wrap this up before we’re both in the same boat.
“Daisy, not only do I want to be your forever best friend,” I lean down and kiss her bare ring finger, “but I want to be your husband. I want to be your family. So, I’ll ask you today, like I ask you every day.
What do you want, Daisy? Think you wanna do forever with a grizzly grump like me?
” I blink away the tears so I don’t miss the beautiful sight before me.
She wipes her cheeks with her free hand and takes a deep breath.
“I want to be your wife, Luke. I want to be the mother of your children, and I want to see you become the best father on the planet. I want a small wedding with our closest friends and family. And I want to start forever as soon as possible with you as my husband.”
I slip the ring onto her finger before my trembling fingers dare drop it, and we both stare at how right it looks on her hand. Then I haul her onto my bent knee and kiss her deeply.
“I love you. Can’t believe you’re wearing my ring on your finger.” I kiss her smiling lips.
“I love you. So freaking much. I can’t believe you pulled that off! That must have been so hard to do, pulling all those recordings, getting the transcripts, working with someone from my team—”
She’s rambling, listing off a few of the many steps I had to take to get this done right.
Of course she’d be concerned about the logistics when she’s usually the one taking care of everyone else.
But she’s going to have to get used to it, because I plan on spending the rest of my life taking care of her.
I hold her face in my hands and gently pull her focus away from the laptop on her bed as she continues to rattle off the details of my proposal.
“Hard? Daisy, I’m only going to say this once, so pay attention.
” She straightens on my lap. “There are things we can’t control in life.
We will be tested in more ways than one.
Whether it has to do with work, our past traumas, or simply our day-to-day life.
” I scan her face and look deeply into the eyes I get to call my home for the rest of eternity.
“Being away from you is hard. Talking about my past is painful. But loving you? It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever had the privilege of doing.
And it’s been an honor to stand by your side as your boyfriend.
But as your husband? Just you wait and see what life has in store for us, because something tells me that it’s gonna be good. ”