by Dahlia Rose
“Geez, I thought I only worked at the pub,” Mari teased as she bent to kiss him. “I’ll get you your snacks, a.k.a. nibbles.”
“It’s one or the other, sweetheart, not both,” Haile called after her.
“Let me live my life!” she shouted from the hall.
“I don’t even know what that means, her life has nothing to do with snacks,” Haile murmured and shook his head.
He pulled the ring box from his pocket with a grin and dimmed the room lights so the fireplace was the most light, giving it an intimate setting. He waited until he heard her boots on the hardwood floor to get on one knee facing the door. The light of the fireplace danced off the diamond in the ring and when she stepped inside the room, Mari stopped in the tracks. Her face registered surprise, and Mari’s gaze settled on him bent on one knee. Her smile was gentle, and the love he saw on her face almost took his breath away. She came inside and set the tray on the coffee table before turning to him.
“What’s all this?” Mari asked in a shaky voice.
“Sit down, Dove,” Haile said huskily. When she did, he reached out and cupped her cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
“I think I’ll be saying that to you every day for the rest of our lives. I think it was fate that I saw you that night. I was enamored by your beauty, then your strength as I got to know you. Your love and your passion consume me, and I cannot imagine a day in my life without you in it. Marisol, marry me. It’s only been a few months, I understand that, but it feels like a lifetime. Share my life with me, and I promise there will not be a day I won’t cherish you.”
“The answer is yes.” Mari grinned. “I’d marry you quicker than a chicken on a June bug.”
“A chicken and what?” Haile asked, confused.
“Never mind that.” Mari held out her hand. “The answer is yes.”
Haile slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her thoroughly.
Mari sighed. “Loving you is sweeter than stolen honey.”
“I like that one.” Haile laughed. “Are you happy, Dove? Are you sure this is what you want?”
She tugged at his hand. “Get up here, Lord Haile Buchannan.” When he sat next to her, she took his hand and kissed his palm. It was a gesture that humbled him, and she placed another kiss on his lips. “You already fill me with a joy that I can’t explain. I feel it when I wake up and see you lying next to me and all through the day until we go to bed. I love you, and I am your lady, now, forever, and till death do us part.”
“That makes you three times my lady,” he teased.
“Ugh, so corny, but I get it.” Mari laughed. “Now come on. Our liquored up hot chocolate and snacks, a.k.a. nibbles, await.”
“It’s one or the other, not both,” he pointed out.
“Let me live my life,” Mari repeated.
He kissed her again. “As long as you share it with me, you live your life, Dove.”
By the light of the fireplace, they shared the food, and he noted more than once that Mari looked at the ring, as if she didn’t believe it was real. They’d have to plan a wedding quickly because he wanted her to be his wife as soon as they could find a priest to marry them. Who cares if he didn’t win the bet, he’d found a priceless treasure in the love he shared with his Marisol. Besides, Mrs. H probably had the thing lock, stock, and barrel anyway. The thought made him chuckle as he pulled Mari into his arms, and they stared into the flames dancing in the hearth.
The End