by Emily Bishop
The other diners in the restaurant cheered and hooted congratulations but the only voice that I could focus on was Shane’s, whispering how much he loved me into my ear and holding me like he never planned on letting me go.
After what felt like an age and still seemed all too soon, Shane loosened his hold and turned me to face my dad. There were happy tears shining in his eyes, and his voice was gruff as he congratulated us.
“I’m so happy for you, honey,” he said. “Your mother would be, too. In fact, I think she’s over the moon right now because you felt that pull. You allowed the universe to click you into place.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” I said, giving him a tight hug.
My dad and Shane exchanged a one-armed, back-slapping hug. “I knew you were the one for her, and I’ll be proud to have you as my son-in-law.”
“I can’t wait to officially be part of the family,” Shane said, sounding really excited about it.
“You’ll have to start fishing with me and Drew,” my dad warned.
Shane grinned. “I’d love that. Speaking of Drew, we should get to Fiona’s place.”
“Why?” My curiosity piqued.
“They actually went to Fields of Fire last night,” Shane told me. “He wanted to do something for us.”
Apparently, the men had settled the check while I was in the bathroom, so there was no need to wait. My head was in the clouds when we walked back to the truck. I didn’t let go of Shane’s hand for so much as a second.
“You happy, baby?” he asked, once we were buckled in and headed to my house.
“Unbelievably,” I practically squealed.
“I was so fucking happy when you started dropping those hints that you were ready,” he admitted. “I’ve been ready since that first morning we talked about it.”
I arched a brow. “I thought you were ignoring the hints, or just not getting them.”
“I always get you. You should know that by now.” Shane smirked, twining our fingers together and squeezing tight.
“You do.” My heart gave a happy little lurch because I knew that it was true. “I should’ve known that you were up to something. How did I miss it?”
“You didn’t. Remember the other day when you asked me what I was talking to Bart about for so long?”
“Yeah.”
“I was having him get my grandmother’s ring resized and shipped over,” he confessed.
I gaped at him. “This is your grandmother’s ring?”
“Yup,” he said, smiling with a faraway look in his eyes. “She wore it for fifty-five years of happy marriage before she passed away.”
“Wow.” I stared at the ring again. “It must mean a lot to your family. Are you sure it’s okay that I wear it?”
“Fiona, it was left to me to give to the woman I’d be happily married to for at least fifty-five years. That woman is you.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“And it’s yours.” Then he paused. “If you want something more modern, that’s okay.”
“No! I love it.” I brought my hand to my chest as if defending the ring from being taken away from me. “I just, I can’t believe that you would give me something that means so much to you.”
“You mean everything to me.”
“And you mean everything to me,” I said, my voice cracking. I reached across the truck and squeezed his thigh. “So, Drew’s organizing something at my place?”
“Yeah, it’s only going to be me, you, your dad, Drew, and Drew’s girl though,” Shane said.
“Sounds perfect to me.” It really did. There was no one that I wanted to celebrate with more.
“Speaking of your place, you know that this means we can move in together, right?” He glanced at me before continuing. “I spoke to your dad about it when I asked him if I could marry you, and he said it would be okay.”
I was stunned again. “You asked my dad?”
“Of course, I did.” I was touched that he had not only thought about it but actually followed through on what I thought he would see as an old-fashioned gesture. “He would’ve killed me if I hadn’t.”
“True.” I smiled. “We can really move in together?”
“We can. You just need to decide whose house you want to move into.”
“You’d move into mine?”
“I told you, I would follow you to the ends of the earth. Or just to your house. I’ve been thinking, though. Maybe we should get a new place?”
“You want to buy a house?” I asked.
“Sure. A new place to signal the start of our new life. Together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, loving the symbolism of the idea. “In the meantime, though, I think we should live at your place.”
“You do?” He lifted a curious eyebrow.
“I do. There’s not enough space at my place for two people, and besides.” I flashed him a grin. “My dad and Drew are likely to hang around, talking for hours.”
“And you have other plans for later?” he guessed.
The mood between us changed instantly. The air thickened in the cab. He leaned over as we pulled up to my house, slanting his mouth over mine and kissing me until I was breathless.
“That’s my girl.”
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Also by Emily Bishop
Saving Scarlet
Untouchable
Wet Dreams
Bachelor’s Secret
Mr. Anything
Mr. Everything
About the Author
Emily Bishop is a breakthrough romance writer from Seattle, Washington. She originally attended University of Washington as a history student but soon found a passion for words and stories. Upon graduating with a degree in creative writing, Emily fell in love and moved away from the hustle and bustle of the city to a quiet little town in Oregon.
She is now a full time writer who loves her job. She enjoys bad horror flicks, hair pulling, lemon pound cake, and spending time with her husband, Charlie, and her dog, Roscoe.
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