Chapter 26 #2
“I agree,” I said, tears filling my eyes.
Tears of love and relief and even a touch of grief, because I’d loved Sally and Ron Essex like second parents.
It hurt my heart that they would never be able to hold their incredible little nugget of a grandson, and he’d never know his grandparents’ love firsthand.
“So that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m going to try to be the best father I can be and the partner you deserve. And I’m going to put all my professional energy into the brewery, because, Anna, you’ve been right all along. That’s what I love to do. That’s the career that fulfills me.”
I let my eyes flutter shut for a moment, soaking that in, understanding that he meant every word and had finally, finally seen what I’d seen all along.
Happy tears streamed down my face, out of my control.
I climbed onto Kemp’s lap, straddling his legs, and threw my arms around him.
He pulled me in and squeezed me, as if he’d never let me go either.
We sat like that for a long time, and I felt the rightness of this moment, of his decision, in every cell in my body.
As if our destiny had finally, after all these years, clicked into place, and we were right where we were meant to be.
There were no regrets over the past, no more worries about Kemp working himself to death, no more questions hovering.
Our world was finally right.
Of course there’d be challenges. Life would always test us. But we’d face them together. And more importantly, we’d have a zillion moments of love and happiness to celebrate and savor.
I pulled away and put my palms on his cheeks, gazing into his love-filled eyes. “I love you with all my heart and soul, Kemp. I’m so happy you’ve come to terms with work and fatherhood and your parents.”
“It’s a lot because of you, Anna. You complete me. You and Oliver and me… We’re a family. I always dreamed of this, of you. You’ve been the center of my dreams since we were kids, even if I didn’t understand it all back then. I love you to the stars and back. I always will.”
With my heart a gooey mess, I leaned in to meet his lips in a kiss that went on and on and on, until the sweetest little boy interrupted it.
“Ah! Ba-ba-ba-ba!”
We laughed, and I climbed off Kemp, scooped up Oliver, and went back to Kemp’s lap with the baby between us.
“Sorry, Ollie-O. We didn’t leave you out intentionally,” Kemp said. “Sometimes you’re gonna have to be patient while I show this woman how I feel about her.”
I kissed Oliver’s forehead, then leaned against Kemp, feeling complete. And lucky. And overflowing with love.
“So I took a chance,” Kemp said. I sat up and met his gaze, curious. “I was hoping like hell we’d end up like this, and I hired Kinsley to come over in”—he looked at the time—“seven minutes. It’s backward as hell and way overdue, but I’m taking you out on a date.”
I laughed. “I had the same thought recently. We’ve never even gone on a date.”
“If you can be ready in a flash, we’re going to remedy that. I made reservations at The Cove.”
I glanced down at my work outfit, which would be suitable for the restaurant inside the Marks Hotel. “I’m ready and willing anytime. And spoiler alert, that risk is going to pay off in spades later tonight, when this guy is sound asleep.”
“I can’t wait. Let’s go, my love. Let’s get this party started.”
Kemp
Our first date was perfect.
We might’ve bumbled our way here, or rather, I’d bumbled my way here, but we’d made it.
Like the finest beer, Anna and I had been brewing for ages. Now we’d become something full-bodied, deep, and fully realized—or nearly. I had one or two more ingredients to throw in the mix.
We’d ordered the surf and turf special and a bottle of wine.
Every bite had been delicious, though I was completely caught up in the woman across from me.
Our server, Genevieve, cleared our plates, which we’d both cleaned completely as we’d talked about everything under the sun. Or almost everything.
“What do you think?” I asked when we were alone again. “How’s this rank for a first date?”
She laughed and gazed into my eyes with her mesmerizing brown ones. “It’s the best. All other first dates are dead to me.”
“They better be,” I said lightly, secure in the knowledge that anyone she’d gone out with before was history. She was here now and hopefully would be forever. Hopefully. “So I was thinking…”
“More thinking. Between the two of us, we’ve got smoke coming out our ears from all the thinking.”
“But it’s all been good, important stuff. The most important.”
“I’ll agree with that,” she said. “What were you thinking now?”
“I’d like to sell the house and find something with you.
Something that’s ours. For our family, moving forward.
Not my parents’. That house holds thousands of memories, happy and sad and everything in between.
It’s been a central part of my life. But I’ve always thought of it as my parents’ house.
When they died, I stepped in and took over for them, with the house, with Natalie, with the obligations that came with it all.
I did what I needed to do, and I had no problem doing it.
But I was thinking it would be good if we took the next step together.
Picked out our place. It doesn’t need to be bigger necessarily, but we need different spaces. ”
“Like a bedroom for Oliver,” she said.
Nodding, I said, “And we’ll make a place for Natalie too. And maybe…any babies we have in the future? If you want kids, that is.”
“I definitely want your babies.”
“That’s what I love to hear,” I said.
I caught Genevieve’s eye over by the drink station and gave her the signal we’d agreed on earlier today—a tug on my left ear. She grinned, disappeared for a flash, then made her way back to our table.
“Dessert for the two of you?” she asked as planned.
“Yes, please,” I said, eyeing the plate she held just above our eye level. “What do you have there?”
“This is our spring mille-feuille, which is golden layers of flaky puff pastry, velvety, decadent whipped cream, and fresh, tart raspberries. I heard raspberries are somebody’s favorite.” Genevieve winked at me as Anna whipped her head toward her.
“I love raspberries,” Anna said.
Genevieve still held the dessert up a bit, almost teasing us with it. “Excellent. This one looks extra special.” She shot another quick glance at me, and I gave her the smallest nod.
Finally she set the plate down closer to Anna and disappeared instantly.
“Oh, my God,” Anna said at the sight of the perfect gourmet dessert. Then she did a double take and repeated herself with even more feeling. “Oh, my God. Kemp?”
That was my signal. I stood and went to her side, taking her hand in mine, my heart hammering out of my damn rib cage. Her eyes went from mine to the circle-cut diamond in the infinity knot setting that glistened up from between the center raspberry and an artful mound of whipped cream.
She let out an incredulous nervous laugh. “Kemp, what did you do?”
“Damn, I wondered where that thing went.” I laughed as I carefully plucked the ring from the picture-perfect dessert, then went down on one knee. My hands were steady as a rock that’d been lodged in the floor of the lake for a million years as I held it between us.
“Anna Noelle Delfico,” I said, barely conscious of the heads that were turning our way.
“I can’t remember a time when you weren’t in my life.
You were there even before my memories took hold.
You’ve been my friend, my companion, and my heart through everything, every stage, every age.
You were my ride-or-die in my Power Wheels Jeep when we were five, my partner in crime during raspberry season when we were teenagers, and my rock through the toughest tragedy I’ve ever faced in our twenties.
You were my favorite person when you wore a Barbie swimsuit and your hair in braids, and you’re still my favorite person now, the most beautiful woman in the room whether you’re in leggings or a formal gown.
” I swallowed, my gratitude for this woman overwhelming me.
“We’ve grown together through life’s hardest knocks and the most memorable, shining moments.
Always together, always becoming closer, until our lives have finally, after all these years, entwined like two branches becoming one solid, unbreakable trunk that can weather any storm. Even a seven-month-old one.”
She laughed, her eyes glistening with tears, her gaze glued to mine.
“You were made for me, Anna. You make me a better man every day and twice on Sundays. I can’t imagine the rest of my life without you in it, my love. Will you make me the happiest, luckiest man in the universe and be my wife?”
She let out a joy-filled exhale. “In a heartbeat. Yes, yes, yes, I’ll marry you, Kemp Ronald Essex. I’ll choose you every day for the rest of my life.”
I restrained myself from yelling gleefully at the top of my lungs and instead took her hand, slid the ring on her finger, and leaned in to kiss the hell out of her.
The people around us broke into applause and a chorus of ahhs as I clung to my fiancée, my heart, my everything. I ended the kiss long enough to stand and pull her into my arms.
“I love you so damn much, Anna,” I said into her ear.
“I love you too, Kemp. Forever.”
When we broke apart, still holding hands, I nodded to the people whose eyes were still locked on us.
“One question,” Anna said so only I could hear. “Can we take the dessert to go and eat it in bed?” She whispered, “Naked?”
I laughed and nodded. “You’re the girl of my dreams in every way possible. Let’s go celebrate.”