Abby snorted, a huge grin on her face. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask that for ages,” she said, and I had to laugh.
“Oh yeah?” I said. “Well, I have another question for you.” I rolled away from her and grabbed my discarded trousers, pulling the small, black velvet box out of the pocket. I turned back toward the bed, where Abby was sitting up now, looking curious.
Slowly, I dropped down on one knee. “Abby James, will you marry me?” I asked. “I can’t imagine my life without you, either at home or around the office. And I know that I’ve already secured the future of your working alongside me, at least for a little while until your contract is up, but I don’t want to be without you for a single day outside of work either.”
Abby’s eyes lit up, and she nodded, putting a hand over her mouth. I could see tears in her eyes. Happy tears, I supposed. “Oh Daniel, yes,” she said, the tears overflowing into two crystalline streams that flowed down her cheeks.
I took her trembling hand, sliding the beautiful antique ring onto her third finger. “It was my mother’s once,” I told Abby. “I never got the chance to know her well, but I think she would have approved of you.”
Abby’s smile was dazzling as I reached up to brush away the tear tracks. She leaned down and kissed me deeply, passion spilling over from her lips to mine and vice versa.
“I do,” she said quietly as we broke apart.
I laughed and gave her shoulder a small shove. “I don’t think we’re quite to that point in our story just yet,” I told her. “But we’ll set the date soon, I promise.”
Abby giggled for a long moment, reaching for my hands and pulling me up onto the bed. “All right, smart-ass,” she said.
“And I guess we’d better start scouting for wedding locations as well,” I said. “I think we’ll have to be married here in Thailand now, in light of this history. So find somewhere that you really want Matt and Leanne and the kids to see.”
Abby grinned and leaned in for another kiss that quickly turned into something more. “Mrs. Abby McGregor,” she said quietly afterward, just as she was drifting off to sleep. I kissed her forehead and tried to memorize that smile on her face and the feeling of her body against mine. This was something I never could have imagined I would get in life, more perfect that I could ever have hoped for.
THE END