29. Liz
LIZ
One Month Later
"And here we are. Your personal pilot is at your service," Travis exclaimed as we landed on the heliport and took off our headphones. As I’d promised my parents, I was back one month later for my birthday.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" I asked him. "My parents would love to have you at the table."
"Nah, I got an errand to run," he said. "But I'll be back for you in time."
Next to me, Declan frowned. "Is that safe? How many hours a day are you allowed to fly?"
Travis glanced at me. "Please make him relax."
I winked. "It's on my to-do list. Don't worry. Thanks a lot, Travis. Come on, let's go," I told Declan.
"I'm so excited that we're here."
He got out first, then held the door of the helicopter open, giving me a hand to help me climb out. I couldn't believe we were back in Sunnyvale. We found an Uber quick enough and immediately headed to my parents' house.
"I love the way you light up whenever you’re home," Declan said into my ear.
I smiled. "Yeah. It makes me happy. And being with you here, it’s even better."
My bakery was exactly where I expected it to be.
It was doing well, and I was on the right track.
Honestly, that was all I ever wanted. And in my downtime, Declan treated me like a princess, always taking care of me.
I loved that my bakery was close to his office.
Whenever he worked late, I went to his office with treats and spoiled him right back.
I was visiting Helen three times a week. I always took goodies with me, and whenever I tried out a new recipe, she tested it for me.
I also spent a lot of time with the Maxwells.
Travis dropped by the bakery a couple times a week, giving me marketing pointers while grabbing a donut—he loved the powdered sugar ones—and Luke spent an entire weekend at the bakery building shelves in my supply room.
Luke was a fan of the bear claws, so I always made sure I had some fresh ones tucked away for when he stopped by.
Even though my family was here, I found I had a family in Chicago as well.
Still, I got a bit emotional when I stepped into my parents’ house and hugged the living daylights out of everyone.
Mom cooked my favorite meal: roast turkey with mashed potatoes and salad.
I couldn't be happier. Last year on my birthday, my life was…
well, I wouldn't say "in shambles" because I didn’t like to be negative, but I was ready for a do-over. My ex and I had just broken up, and I still hadn’t recovered from my injury.
I would never have thought I'd be here this year: with my family surrounding me, waiting to hear how my bakery is doing, and with this amazing man by my side.
The cherry on top? My niece was perfectly healthy.
"Declan, we're glad to have you back again," Dad said.
"I know both of you are busy, but I so love seeing you two," Mom added.
"We'll always make time for family," he replied, looking straight at me.
"Yes, we will," I murmured.
"Then why aren't you staying longer?" Rose asked.
I laughed at my sister. She was even better than Mom at guilting me into everything.
"My employees are overwhelmed whenever I’m not there. And I don’t have the budget for more right now.”
"Babe, we've talked about this," Declan said.
"Yes, and we agreed that I was going to wait for sales to increase before hiring someone else."
The corners of his mouth tilted upward. "No," he said, "I'm still going to convince you that you need help so you don't overwork yourself."
"Oh, I like you more and more by the minute, Declan," Rose said.
"But anyway, we have to go back because Declan's parents have prepared a party to celebrate my birthday.” Reese even hinted at going out for drinks afterward.
She was going through a bit of a rough time.
The interview she gave got a lot of attention.
To put it in her words, it made dating even harder.
To be honest, I think it made it more difficult for her to move on.
"By the way, Mom, this is delicious," I exclaimed. Turning to Declan, I added, "It's my favorite dinner."
"I know," he said with sass. “You told me a couple times.”
"Well, we don't have our baby here too often," Mom chimed in.
I was thrilled to be here with my family and the man I loved.
"I'm glad we all get to hang out together," my sister said.
While we ate, I updated them on how the bakery was going.
Sales were still a bit lower than I hoped, but I was on the right track, and I was very proud that I already had loyal customers who came in every day.
I absentmindedly patted my stomach—it was already full from so much food.
I felt the scar beneath my fingertips, but it didn’t bother me like it once did.
As we all finished, Dad looked at us with a twinkle his eye. "Who's ready for a scavenger hunt?"
I grinned, glancing at Mark and Rose, then at Mom, and finally at Dad. "Really, you prepared one? I thought it was exclusively our Christmas tradition."
"It is. But as your mom said, we don't often get our baby home. We wanted to make the most out of it."
I turned to look at Declan. "Be prepared. You're going to see my family in action."
"I can't wait. You told me so much about these hunts that I'm curious to see how they are."
"Let's go."
"Oh, shoot," Rose said, "I need to go to the toilet. I think Amy spit up on me, and I want to clean up a bit so I look good for the final picture at the end."
"Sure."
"Babe, can you hold her?" she asked Mark.
"Of course."
"Or I can," Declan offered.
My eyes bulged. My sister went to him, and he immediately took Amy, resting her on his arm. Oh, this image right here. I wasn’t sure if I was swooning or melting or both.
"You're good with kids," Mom remarked.
"I had time to practice with my niece."
"How old is she?"
"Ten." Declan told them a bit more about Paisley. Rose returned only a few short minutes later, taking Amy back.
Dad clapped his hands once. "Okay, everyone in the backyard."
I did a small pirouette, happy about how the day was going. I was smiling from ear to ear when we stepped outside.
"So, who's participating?" I asked, looking at Declan.
He held his hands up. "No, no. I'm observing," he said. Of course my grumpy lawyer wouldn't participate, but I loved him anyway.
"We are," Mark said, referring to himself and Rose.
"I'll hold Amy," Mom offered.
"So it's just the three of us, huh?" I said, rubbing my palms together. "Dad, are you timing us?"
"Of course. Liz, your packages are black. Mark, yours are yellow, and Rose, yours are red."
"Got it," Mark said.
I looked around the yard, and I immediately saw the black bump near the nut tree.
The second I stepped off the porch, I entered scavenger hunt mode.
My eyes were on the prize. I crouched next to what I thought was a package, but instead, it was a black gift bag.
A small one. I looked inside. It was empty except for a piece of paper with an arrow.
I made sure not to move it before tracing the direction of the arrow with my eyes.
Okay, 45 degrees south. I turned the bag around to see if there was anything else, any other clue.
No time to analyze. I needed to get to my next spot.
I blocked out whatever my sister and brother-in-law were doing.
They would only be distractions, and I needed to focus on my path.
It didn't matter what they did. I practically ran to my next stop, crouching down and grabbing…
A black velvet pouch—tiny and also empty.
I had no clue what this meant. The sheet of paper with the arrow was hidden in the bush behind it, pointing to 90 degrees west. I broke into a run and couldn't help myself—out of the corner of my eye, I tried to spot my sister and Mark.
Neither of them was in my periphery, but I didn't look more because I didn't want to waste time.
Instead, I ran to the next clue. I looked on the ground and found nothing. And then I looked in the hedge and saw the small jewelry box.
"Hey," Declan said from behind me.
"Oh my God. Why would you do that?" I exclaimed, putting a hand on my chest. "You scared me."
"Sorry, I just thought you may need help."
"Finding clues?" I said.
"This is the final one."
"How would you know?"
A corner of his mouth lifted. "I helped your dad."
"Wait, what? That doesn't sound like you."
He reached for the hedge, taking the box.
"Hey, that’s my gift. I'm supposed to open it."
"It's the kind of gift someone else opens for you, babe." He was smiling at me now but seemed nervous.
Huh?
Before I realized what was happening, he went down on one knee, holding the box open. It was only then that the pieces started coming together. The gift bag, the small jewelry bag. And oh my goodness, he’d arranged the scavenger hunt so he could propose?
He cleared his throat. "Liz, I wanted to ask you to be my wife in this place that means so much to you.
You're an amazing woman, and I want to spend my life with you.
I love your ability to smile, even on hard days, and fight for what you want.
You're wonderful, kind, and I love you so damn much. Will you be my wife?"
I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, unable to stand still. Euphoria poured through my veins.
"Yes. I love you, Declan, with all my heart. This means so much to me. Who knew my grumpy lawyer could be so romantic?"
"Hey, don't tell anyone. I need my reputation intact," he said, rising to his feet as we both put the ring on my finger. It was a white diamond surrounded by smaller ones.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.” I squealed. “God, Declan, I love you so much."
"I love you too, babe. You make me so happy every day. You’ve changed me.”
"Some things I couldn't change. You still hate dancing in the mornings."
"I said you're amazing, not a miracle worker. But I'm ready to change my mind on mornings. As long as you’re next to me when I wake up."
"Wow, you are truly romantic."
He smiled. "I try my best. And right now, I want to kiss you like there's no tomorrow."
My eyes widened. "You can't do that. My parents are here."
"I know. The flaw in my plan. I didn't think about that. I wanted to propose in a place that’s special to you."
I put my hands around his neck, lifting on my toes and giving him a chaste kiss.
"That's all you get," I murmured against his lips.
"Bad move," he said. "That makes me want you more."
"Later," I murmured.
"Later. When you'll be all mine."
He put an arm around my shoulders, and we walked together toward the house. That was when I realized Rose and Mark were next to my parents without any prizes.
"Wait a second," I said as we approached the porch. "I was the only one with a scavenger hunt?"
"We were the decoys," Rose said proudly.
"It would have been too obvious if I’d set it up just for you," Dad said.
I smiled as Declan took my hand. " So this was a collaborative effort."
"You bet," Mom said. "So, who’s ready for dessert?"
I raised my hand. "I am."
As we all went into the house, she walked with me, wrapping one arm around mine.
"Congratulations, darling. I'm so happy. Declan is a wonderful man. And the way he looks at you, well, he’ll love you his whole life."
"And I’ll love him right back."
“I heard that,” Declan said, coming up behind me.
“Good. It’s not a secret,” I murmured.
Mom beamed at me and then at Declan. “You’re a good guy, Declan. And you do deserve the upgrade,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
Rose came up on my other side. “He was quite creative when he asked for your hand. Said he wanted to upgrade from ‘boyfriend of the year’ to ‘fiancé of the year.’ I think he more than qualifies, right?”
I looked up at Declan. He wiggled his eyebrows, making me laugh.
“Totally.”