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“Actually.” Orion licks his lips. “I have something I want to talk to y’all about.”

A million butterflies take flight in my belly, each one carrying a brand new, paralyzing what-if on its wings. “Is…” I lick my lips. “Is everything okay?”

“I hope so.” He smiles, but it’s different than his usual cocky grin; more subdued. “Maverick, you know how much I love you, right?”

He nods. “Yeah, a whole, super lot.”

“Nailed it, bud. But you remember how I said your dad loved you, too, right?”

“You told me he was always in my heart,” Maverick says proudly, patting his chest.

Speaking of hearts, mine is on some kind of fucked up fair ride right now, and can’t tell up from down. It’s spinning-spinning-spinning while I hold the edge of my chair with a white-knuckle grip.

I know Orion’s working up to something; I just can’t tell what, and it has me on edge.

No, more than on edge. It has me dangling halfway down the cliff, with only a flimsy cartoon-like sapling holding me in place.

“That’s right. He loved you Mav, and I do too. So much that I would actually love to be your dad. But there’s something else I have to do first.”

“What’s that?” Maverick asks, voicing what we’re both thinking.

“Well.” Orion stands from the table and drops to one knee in one fluid movement. “I have to ask your mama if she’ll be my wife.”

“What?” I whisper, my voice barely audible over the whooshing in my ears.

Is he asking me what I think he is? Surely not.

But then he pulls a small, velvet box from his jacket pocket, and everything and everyone around us fades away.

I stare back at him with wide eyes as my entire world tilts on its axis.

“Frankie, baby. I love you. With every ounce of my being, I love you. Both of you. Looking back, before y’all, I was merely going through the motions. But now, thanks to you, I’m truly living. You make me strive to be a better man. You and Mav, y’all are the future I want. Today, now, and forever. So, tell me, Bluebird, will you do me the immense honor of being my wife?”

He flips open the box revealing the prettiest damn ring I’ve ever seen. A tear-drop shaped Montana sapphire nestled into salt and pepper diamonds on a soft gold band—it’s my every Pinterest dream come to life.

“Orion, it’s beautiful.”

“Blue,” he murmurs, plucking the ring from the box, “for my Bluebird.”

“I love it.” I can feel fat, hot tears rolling down my face, but I can’t find it in me to care. “I love it so much.”

“Enough to say yes?” He smiles up at me with the most hopeful, boyish smile I’ve ever seen.

I glance over to Maverick who gives me two thumbs up and the most exaggerated nod ever. It looks like he’s on board.

“Yes.” I reach forward and cup his cheeks. “A million times yes. Forever, yes.”

He grabs my left hand and pulls it away from his face, kissing each finger until he gets to my ring finger. “I can’t wait for you to have my last name.” He slides the ring onto my finger and then stands.

I launch myself at him, peppering his face with kisses. “I love you so much.”

It’s not until he pulls away that I realize people are clapping—and that our server is standing off to the side with our pizza, watching on with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, God! I’m so sorr—”

“Don’t.” She sets the pans down on the center of the table. “Don’t apologize. That was the best thing I’ve seen all week. In fact, celebratory ice cream on the house when y’all finish. Congrats.”

“Pizza, ice cream, and a dad?” Maverick exclaims, his eyes as big as the pizza tray. “This really is the best day ever!”

I smile, feeling completely at peace for the first time in a long time, because he’s not wrong. Today is the best day ever, and more than that, it’s the start of a lifetime of best days.

It’s the start of our forever.

EPILOGUE

ORION

THREE YEARS LATER

Bluebird: I have a surprise for you when you get home.

I read the text for the fifth time before slipping my phone back into my pocket, willing this damn meeting to end.

What was meant to be a quick working lunch to discuss a small tweak to a build has turned into an engineering nightmare, and all I want is to get home and to see what my Bluebird has planned for me.

Note to self: no more Friday meetings; especially when Mav is staying with my parents. Kid-free nights are not to be wasted.

My phone buzzes again, and I discreetly slide it into my lap, unlocking the screen. Another text from Frankie; an image this time.

Thanks to the shitty cell reception, it takes a few minutes to load, but once it does… I’m gone. Game-fucking-over.


Tags: L.K. Farlow Romance