“Travis,” I say as he leads me up the sidewalk. “What is going on?”
We start walking up the steps that lead up the hill to the stunning house. The house is pitch black, and it looks like no one is home.
Travis stops us about midway up the porch stairs and positions us toward the house. “So, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“The house.”
“Um...it’s gorgeous. Who lives here?”
He digs into his pocket and pulls out a small box. My heart begins racing, thumping hard in my chest as I watch him. He opens it slowly, and I swallow down the anxiety of what is happening right now. I study the little box in his palm and wonder if it’s what I’m thinking.
“As of this morning, we do.” He opens the box and pulls out a key with a red ribbon tied through it.
“Wait,what?” I gasp, my head spinning at his words because they make no sense. We’ve been looking at apartment ads, but nothing seemed to work out. “I don’t understand.”
“I made an offer on this house about a month ago, and it just closed this morning.”
“But...I thought we were apartment hunting?” I’m thoroughly confused, and I don’t know if it’s pregnancy brain, but my mind is a clusterfuck of emotions.
“That was just to put you off my surprise.” He smiles. “I saw a sign for an open house and on a whim decided to go check it out. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was meant for you and me. There’s a large dining room, a fireplace in the living room so you can read next to it, a large bathtub so you can relax once the baby’s asleep, and even a little nook with built-in bookshelves for your Harry Potter collection. Plus, there are four bedrooms, which means we can decorate one to be the nursery. The neighborhood is perfect. It’s close to my job, has good schools, and there’s a nice big backyard for Gryff and even room for a swing set. I didn’t know if you’d come back to me, but I just knew I couldn’t let it go. I put an offer in the next day, and they accepted.”
“You bought it before I was even back home?” I ask, shocked and completely amazed by this man standing in front of me.
“I did.”
“I can’t believe you did that.” I can’t believe I ever doubted this man’s love for me.
“I want to give you the world, Viola. You deserve everything and more, and now with a baby on the way, I want to make sure you’re both taken care of. No more games, no secrets or lies. I want us to be a family.”
“I don’t know what to say…” My eyes are watering, and I can’t get a handle on my emotions.
“Say you’ll move in with me,” he says, placing the key in my hand and wrapping his fingers around my fist. “I can’t imagine living here without you.”
“Are you kidding me?” I squeal, wrapping my arms around his neck and digging my face into his neck. “I couldn’t imagine anything better.”
He cups my face and covers my mouth with his. We share a heated kiss, passionate and sweet. I love this man, and without any doubt in my mind, Travis King was always meant to be mine.
“Are you ready to come look inside?”
I nod my head furiously. “Yes! Oh my God, I can’t wait!”
He leads me to the door and gives me the honor of unlocking the door. I hold my breath as I push it open and look inside. He flicks the lights on, and I gasp.
“It’s so beautiful,” I murmur, trying to look at everything at once. “I can’t believe this.”
“Come on, let me show you the rest.” He leads me into the living room and flicks on the lights, and once again surprises me. There’s a white-lit Christmas tree and white lights hanging from the ceiling.
“What have you done?” I spin around with the biggest grin on my face. I can hardly contain myself. “It’s gorgeous in here!”
He grabs my hand and leads me to the center of the room. When I look up, I see mistletoe hanging from one of the light fixtures and giggle. “You know you didn’t need mistletoe to get a kiss.”
He doesn’t respond, so I assume he doesn’t hear me. I spin around, ready to repeat myself, but when I do, he’s down on one knee holding out a ring.
“What—”
“Viola, myprincess.”