Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
TWO MONTHS LATER
A lex
“Yes!” I clapped. “Did you see that, babe? Lucy scored a point.”
“I saw. She’s really good at tennis.”
“She better be for what I’m paying her coach.” My brow arched.
With Lucy’s training and persistence, she made the tennis team at her new junior high school, and we couldn’t have been prouder.
“YES! Way to go, sweetheart!” I stood up and shouted when she won the match.
“Good job, Lucy!” Hannah clapped.
“We are so proud of you.” I hugged my daughter. “Let’s go celebrate at the Seaside.”
I needed to buy some time so Adalyn, Luis, and Alfred had time to decorate the patio at the house. Pulling out my phone, I texted Adalyn.
“We just got to the Seaside.”
“Okay. We’re almost done. I’ll swing by and take Lucy home with me for the night.”
“Thanks, Addy. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Alex.”
“I need to use the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back,” Hannah said.
“Now, remember. Adalyn is coming to pick you up here, and you’ll be spending the night at her house.”
“I know, Dad. Don’t worry about me. Worry about whether Hannah will say yes or no.”
“Do you think she’ll say no?” My eyes widened.
“You never know. There is a slight chance.” She smiled. “Nah, I’m just kidding. Of course, she’ll say yes. Stop being paranoid.”
Hannah returned to the table, and we ate a great meal. Just as we finished, Adalyn walked in, carrying Ellery’s car seat.
“Hey, babe.” Colin walked over and kissed her. “How’s my angel.” He took the car seat and set it on the table.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here.” Hannah hugged Adalyn. “Give me that baby.” She took her from her car seat.
“Lucy, how would you like to spend the night at my house and help me with Ellery? Colin has to work late.”
“I—oh yeah. I do. I have that late shipment coming in.”
“Can I, Dad?” Lucy asked.
“Sure. Sounds like fun.” I smiled.
“We’ll swing by later and pack her a bag.” Adalyn smiled.
“Okay. Babe, are you ready to head home?”
“Yeah.” She kissed Ellery and handed her to Colin. “We’ll see you later.”
When we arrived home, I ran upstairs, grabbed the ring I bought for Hannah, and placed it in my pocket.
“Alex?” she shouted.
“Coming. What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Look outside.”
“What’s wrong?” I furrowed my brows, walking to the sliding door. Opening it, I smiled when I saw the patio decorated with twinkling fairy lights, red rose petals scattered all over the concrete, two dozen red roses elegantly arranged in a large crystal vase, small votive candles flickering on the tables, and red heart balloons tied to the columns.
“What the hell is this?” I played dumb. “Did you do this?” I grinned.
“No! I didn’t do this. Did you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well, someone did, and I want to know why,” Hannah said, grabbing her phone.
I took her phone from her hand and set it down.
“What are you doing? I was going to text Adalyn.”
“Adalyn can wait. This is beautiful, and we need to take advantage.” I grabbed the small remote and turned on some music. Holding out my hand, I asked her for a dance.
“Dance with me.” I smiled.
“How can you think about dancing when someone broke into our home and did this?”
“First of all, someone didn’t break in. Second, I think it’s romantic.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her into me.
“Aren’t you the least bit bothered that someone did this?” she asked, staring into my eyes.
“A little bit. But right now, I want to dance with my beautiful girlfriend on this beautifully decorated patio. We can figure out who did it after.” I smiled.
“Those roses are from my shop. So, it had to be Adalyn. But why?”
“Have I told you how much I love you?” I asked.
“Every day.” She grinned. “I really have to text Adalyn, Alex. This is really bothering me.”
“Fine. But, can I say something first?”
“Of course.”
We swayed back and forth to the music.
“You’ve stolen my heart, and it’s yours to keep forever. You are my person, best friend, lover, and the light that shines daily in my life. I love you so much and want to spend the rest of my life with you. The future is only bright because you’re in it.” I pulled the ring from my pocket, got down on one knee, and took hold of her left hand.
“Hannah James, will you marry me?”
Tears filled her eyes as she placed her hand over her mouth in shock. We’d never discussed marriage, and she didn’t see this coming.
“Yes, Alex. Yes! I will marry you!”
With a smile, I slipped the four-carat flawless princess-cut diamond on her finger. Standing up, I kissed her lips and hugged her tight.
“I was so afraid you were going to say no,” I whispered in her ear.
“I would never have said no.”
Breaking our embrace, I cupped her face in my hands and stared into her beautiful, teary eyes.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you more. So, it was you who did this?” A smile crossed her lips.
“I cannot tell a lie twice.” I smirked. “Adalyn, Luis, and Alfred did this for me while we were at Lucy’s tennis game.”
“And Adalyn asking Lucy to spend the night?”
“Already planned.”
“Colin isn’t working late, is he?”
“Nope.” I picked her up. “We have the whole night to ourselves to celebrate.” I opened the sliding door and carried her inside.
“I can’t stop staring at this beautiful ring.” Hannah held out her hand as I carried her up the stairs. “Did you pick this out yourself?”
“I may have had a little help from your future stepdaughter.” I winked with a smile.
“You mean my daughter.”
“Yeah, baby. Your daughter. Between you and me, she asked if it would be okay to call you Mom when we get married. So, act surprised when she talks to you about it.”
Hannah started sobbing as I set her down on the bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” She sobbed. “She hated me at first. Now, she wants to call me Mom. I love that kid so much.”
“I know you do, baby.” I wiped her tears.
Leaning in, I softly kissed her lips, and she sobbed harder.
“Hannah, what is wrong?”
“I don’t know, Alex. I can’t stop crying.”
We lay on the bed, and I held her tight until she was finished. Then, we made love and celebrated our engagement more with a fine bottle of Champagne.