Chapter 41 #2
He grinned and leaned in a touch more to kiss her. She would never get enough of Dawson, of kissing him, of being his best friend, of being his.
“I love you, Caroline.” He smiled at her and then reached out to use the post to help himself stand up. “And let me tell you, I was really worried that Rocks wouldn’t find those beads.” He exhaled and turned back to their breakfast.
“You planted those beads.”
Dawson laughed as he sat down, and he didn’t let her go by him to her seat. Instead, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again. “Of course I planted those beads,” he said right before he slid his lips along her neck. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife.”
Caroline let her fingers slink through his hair, enjoying the way he held her and loved her.
“When can we get married?” he asked.
“I’ve talked to my mom and sister about it,” she said. “I don’t think we need anything extravagant.”
He lifted his head and looked at her. “No?”
She shook her head. “How do you feel about maybe…March?”
“Sweetheart, I’d marry you tomorrow,” he said. “Our house will be done by the end of February, so March sounds about perfect.”
“I think so too,” she said, pure joy spreading through her.
“Great,” he said. “So we’ll get married in March.”
Nugget cawed, startling Caroline’s attention over to the bird.
“Oh, go on, you,” Dawson said good-naturedly. “Leave us be. You two have done what you needed to do today.”
“Can they be in the wedding?” Caroline asked. “And Ruffin, of course.”
Dawson looked at her with a hint of surprise in his gaze. “All right,” he said after a beat or two. “They can all be in the wedding.” He shifted, and Caroline stood to return to her own seat.
“Now,” he said as he picked up a crispy slice of bacon. “Tell me where you want to get married.”
Caroline took a bite of her toast, because she had made this decision already. She just hadn’t told Dawson. She hadn’t wanted to, because she’d been very clear with him—no diamonds until their year was up.
“First, I asked Belle to help me plan the wedding, and she’s already got catering and flowers taken care of.”
Dawson blinked, pure shock registering in those pretty eyes. “Okay,” he said simply.
“Second, she’s doing that, because I want to get married here. Right here, on Hidden Hills Ranch, where I fell in love with you, and where we’re going to raise our family.”
Everything about Dawson softened, and while he’d left this decision to her—and would likely allow her to make most of their wedding decisions—he very clearly wanted to get married at Hidden Hills. At the Rhinehart Ranch.
“Because I love your dog and the crows here,” she said. “And I love this ranch, and I absolutely adore the cowboy who comes with it.”
He grinned at her. “Well, I love Texas, and I love this ranch, and I absolutely adore the idea of you at my side as we build our lives together.”
She giggled, and he chuckled with her, and then they both sighed in unison too. That only got her laughing again, and when she sobered, she felt like God Himself had poured glittery stars into her bloodstream.
Caroline looked at Dawson, and he looked back at her. “I love you,” she said at the exact same time he said, “I love you so much.”
And that only got her to start laughing again, with Dawson joining her. She ducked her head, her eyes catching on that shiny diamond, and she felt very crow-like in her attraction to it. She couldn’t wait to marry Dawson, and she lifted her toast to take another bite.
“I’ll talk to your mom about where we can get married here,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m sure Zona and the girls would like to help too.”
Caroline grinned at him. “Yes, we’re going dress shopping next week.”
His hand with a forkful of hash browns frozen. “Next week?”
Giddiness pranced through her. “I was hoping you’d ask me to marry you before then, but I figured I’d need a dress eventually anyway.” She shrugged one shoulder and took that bite of her toast.
Dawson took his bite of breakfast too, gave her an almost-grumpy look, and said, “I suppose that’s true.”
“Now,” Caroline said. “Can we talk about the honeymoon?”
“Please do.”
“I want to go on another road trip.”
“You do?” Dawson seemed surprised once again. “I didn’t think you liked those long days of driving.”
“Okay, not a road trip,” she said. “A plane trip to the beach.”
He grinned at her. “There it is.”
“Can we do that?”
“Yes, sweetheart. Name the beach, and I’ll get us there.”
And she knew he would too. She nodded and said, “I’ll work on it and let you know.”
He tapped on his phone and tapped. “So…March. Do you want to get married on what? A Saturday? Sunday?”
“Saturday is fine,” she said, nearing the end of her breakfast now.
“Saturday, March twelfth,” he said, looking up. “Sound good?”
“Yes,” she said, because she would marry him tomorrow too. “March twelfth sounds like the perfect day to become ‘us.’”