Chapter 45
Mae
Something about this evening has me feeling more nervous than ever. I don’t know why but I woke up with a strange feeling and haven’t been able to shake it all day.
I’m ready so early I’ve been sitting out on the porch swing waiting for him to pick me up. The summer heat is making my hair frizz, but I’ve learned there’s no amount of product I can put in it to tame it, so screw it.
Eventually Cooper pulls up the driveway and hops out of the truck.
“Hey there, hot stuff, you waitin’ for me?”
I gasp. “Oh no, you shouldn’t be here. I must have scheduled you wrong with the other cowboy I’m seeing.”
“Watch it,” he growls.
I smile meeting him at the top of the steps.
He takes one and lifts me off the rest of them so I’m looking down at him.
“I missed you,” he says.
I lean down and press my lips to his. “I missed you too.”
“Ready to go?” he asks.
“Yes,” I rasp.
He gradually slides me down his front and takes my left hand, lifting it to his mouth.
“Come on then, daylight’s a burnin’.”
“The sun has almost set.”
He chuckles and opens the passenger side for me. “It’s a good thing you’re the smart one in this relationship.”
I roll my eyes, and he closes the door.
We’re in the truck for about twenty minutes until he turns onto a familiar road.
The one from our first date.
My pulse leaps and my stomach flutters.
I don’t remember the direction he drove because I was so nervous I could barely see straight.
The truck goes up a hill and stops at the top in front of a blanket with pillows stacked up, surrounded by candles giving off a golden glow.
“I couldn’t do live candles, fire hazard and all. But what do you think?”
I look at him with tears in my eyes, pressing my fingers to my mouth.
He leans over and moves my hand to kiss me before hopping out. Staying in my seat, I wait for him to open the door for me.
“Thank you for waiting,” he says.
He helps me out and reaches into the bed, lifting a cooler out of the back.
“This is so nice, Coop.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he says, and moves the pillows around a bit.
“Take a seat,” he says, holding my hand and lowering me down to the ground.
He plops down next to me and opens the cooler, pulling a bottle of wine from it.
“I hope this one is good, June said it was.”
I smile and glance at the label. “It’s Italian.”
“I thought it was funny, you know … since you’re Italian.”
I snort and nod. “Yeah, looks good.”
He pulls out a container, and I know what it is before he even opens the lid.
“I’ve been craving this for weeks,” I groan.
He chuckles and pulls out two forks.
“Dessert before dinner, I like it,” I say, reaching for a fork.
Cooper rubs his mustache and stares at the cake.
“What?”
His gaze trails across my body, contemplative and full of heat.
“You’re making me nervous,” I rasp.
His hand drops, and the corner of his mouth tips up.
“Coop, what is going on?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m terrible at this. I thought I had it all figured out in my head, but I think I spontaneously forgot half the English language.”
I puff my cheeks out, deeply confused. “Did something happen to dinner? It’s okay, it’s not a big deal.”
He chuckles. “No, stubborn, I didn’t buy dinner because I planned on making you my dinner.”
Words choke on their way out of my throat, and a garbled gasp comes out instead as a warm hunger settles into my bones.
He rubs the back of his neck and sighs.
A million what if’s run through my mind, and the weird feeling I woke up this morning feels more like a warning?
“If you don’t say something in the next ten seconds, I’m going to eat all this cake, then run for the hills because whatever is going on is making me want to exit my skin.”
He huffs and leans forward, sliding his hand to the back of my neck, pulling me to his mouth.
“Are you pregnant?” I ask him.
He chuckles and brushes our noses together. “Nope, not last time I checked.”
“Well, I’m not sooo…” I trail off.
“Dammit, Mae, I love you,” he says on a laugh.
“Uh-huh, I love you too.” I pause and press my lips to his. “Whatever it is, it will be okay. Just tell me,” I whisper.
He grins and kisses my cheek before getting to his feet. He offers his hand, and I take it.
He puffs out a breath, looking out into the dark land, hands in his pockets. There isn’t a light in sight except for the battery-powered ones surrounding us. “Okay, yeah, alright,” he says and nods to himself.
I stand there frozen, nervous, confused, not sure what to do.
His hat comes off, and he puts it over his heart.
“For some reason I thought I would be a lot less nervous than I am.”
He takes a breath and looks me in the eye.
“The moment I saw you from across the room, you gave me a good feeling. It’s weird, and it’s hard to describe, but it was there. It wasn’t love at first sight. But something about you begged me to know more. Then, well … when you finally gave me a chance and …” he pauses shaking his head.
“Don’t stop,” I whisper.
The corner of his mouth tips up. “It didn’t take me long to realize that I saw a future with you. I knew you were it for me. I knew the first time we kissed, I was a goner. And when I replay it in my head over and over again, I remember the look on your face. I think you were too.”
I nod. “I didn’t know it then, but looking back, it was pretty obvious.”
He chuckles, placing his hat back on his head, and drops to his knee.
I gasp, taking a step back.
He holds up a ring and reaches for my hand.
“I don’t care that we’ve been together for months.
I don’t care about timelines that we make up for ourselves.
I love you so much it’s hard to explain it other than with those three words, and every day I promise to do whatever I can to show it to you.
So if you’ll have me, will you marry me, Mae Morgan? ”
I’m pretty sure my brain shut off and motor functions are the only thing I’m capable of because all I see is a stunning ring in his hand and he’s holding it up to me, like it’s mine.
“Me?” I ask him voice taught, I’m pretty sure my organs are failing now.
He huffs and nods. “Do you see any other women around here?” he asks.
“You want to marry me?” I ask him, pointing to myself.
His smile widens into a beaming grin. “Yes, stubborn, I want to marry you, but do you want to marry me?” he asks.
I shake my head up and down, because words aren’t a function I’m capable of.
Cooper sighs and slides the ring onto my left hand. “Thank God, I was getting really worried there for a minute.”
He stands, and in the back of my mind, it’s like a reboot is happening, but hasn’t completed the update. “I hope you like it. I asked June for some advice. She thought that shape would look good on you.”
I stare at the ring in shock, awe, and utter disbelief, and look up at him again.
“Am I … is this a dream?”
Cooper laughs and grabs my face between both of his hands. “I’ve asked myself that every day, but I can confirm this is not a dream. This is reality, and I love you,” he says, all wobbly, like the words were nervous on the way out of his mouth.
“Oh, wow.”
Cooper’s chest bounces, and he pulls me into his arms. “I’m going to take this as a good wow.”
I nod against his chest, and I think my reboot completed because I burst into tears.
Then suddenly, maybe it was the loud sob I heaved, but fireflies stir, lighting up the sky, floating around us. I gasp at all of them, as tears fall down my cheeks, so all the fireflies are blurry.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, swiping the tears from my cheeks.
I sob and reach for him, trying to kiss him through my tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you, yes, everything is amazing,” I blubber.
His expression dips. “Okay, good, but uh, are you supposed to cry this much?” he asks.
I slap his chest, and he laughs.
“I told you I didn’t need anymore friends.”
“I love you, smartass,” I say, grabbing his chin.
“I love you too, stubborn.” He clasps my hips in his hands and looks at me with a silly grin. “So how about that dinner?”