by Lisa Crane
“You – you love me?” Brooke echoed, stunned.
“I do, my little Bunny-girl,” Travis said, smiling down at her. He slipped a hand in the pocket of his jacket and withdrew another small, black velvet box. “I have one last gift for you, Brooke. And if you’ll have it, you’ll make me the happiest man in the world.”
“What else could you possibly give me, Travis?” Brooke whispered with a nervous little laugh.
Slowly, with fingers that shook as badly as Brooke’s, Travis opened the little box and said, “My heart.”
Brooke gasped again. The box contained a ring, and on that ring was a diamond in the shape of a heart; Brooke had minimal knowledge of diamonds, but to her it looked enormous. She stared at the diamond ring for a moment before raising wide violet eyes to Travis.
“Travis, what is – is that a – Travis!”
“Marry me, Cupcake,” he whispered.
The blue flame burned in his eyes as he gazed down at her. Brooke gazed at him, her eyes searching his, looking for answers.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Brooke, I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life!” he said adamantly. “I love you. If you won’t say yes tonight, I’ll just keep asking until you do! I’ll ask you every day for the rest of my life, until you agree to marry me.”
“Yes,” Brooke whispered, tears sparkling on her lashes.
“Yes!” Travis shouted. He pulled Brooke into his arms and spun her around in a circle. “She said yes!”
Suddenly, the gazebo was filled with people. Jazz and Riley were there to congratulate Travis and Brooke, along with Rafa and Meghan. Nick Rodgers gave Brooke a brief hug. Even the limo driver was there, smiling at Brooke, tipping his cap to her. Then just as suddenly, they were gone again, leaving only Travis and Brooke; the string quartet had moved a bit further away and continued to play quietly. A few infrared heaters had appeared and now warmed the atmosphere in the gazebo.
Travis seated Brooke at the small table, then sat across from her. The covered plates were forgotten as he reached across the table and picked up Brooke’s hand. He slid the diamond ring onto her left hand, his eyes locked with hers. Brooke was still in shock.
“Travis,” she said quietly. “What made you realize…?”
“That I’m madly, undeniably, eternally in love with you?” he finished for her. She nodded, blushing. Travis smiled and reached in his pocket. “I nearly forgot. I do have one more thing.” Travis pulled the scarf from his pocket; he rose and looped it around Brooke’s neck. “When you gave my scarf back, it didn’t smell like anything. I was hoping it would smell like you, and when it didn’t, it was like I was hit by a freight train. I knew what I’d be missing if I couldn’t get you back.”
Epilogue
Brooke leaned back against Travis’ broad chest and looked up at the tall Christmas tree; he wrapped his arms around her waist and she sighed. She turned in his arms to face him and he lowered his mouth to hers. When he raised his head, they were both breathless and Brooke sighed again.
“You’d better stop that,” she said with a throaty laugh. “Our guests will be here soon.”
“I suppose it wouldn’t be very good manners to leave them out on the front porch while we…?”
“No, my handsome husband, it would not!” Brooke giggled and pushed away from Travis. “I need to go check on a few things in the kitchen. Would you build a fire in here, Trav? Oh, and in the fireplace on the patio, too – I think people will go out there if there’s a fire to warm things up.”
“I thought I was warming things up!” Travis said, pulling Brooke back into his arms. He smiled down at her. “One more kiss and I’ll let you go.”
“One more kiss and you won’t have to, Travis!” she laughed again.
Brooke kissed him and started to pull away again, but Travis stopped her. His blue eyes burned as he gazed down at her, all the love in his heart shining through his eyes. He kissed her again, his mouth moving across hers, his tongue teasing hers.
“I thought last Christmas was the best,” he said, his voice husky with love and desire. “But I was wrong.”
“Oh?” Brooke looked up at him, her head tilted slightly.
“Yes. This Christmas, I know you’re mine. No doubts, no worries, no surprises at all. I love knowing I’ll wake up to you every morning and that your face is the last thing I’ll see every night.” He smiled. “You surprised me when you crashed your bike in front of my house. You surprised me when you turned out to be the woman of my dreams. You surprised me when you said yes even after I messed up so royally. Now I know you’re mine forever. So yeah, no more doubts and worries, and no more surprises.”
Brooke gave him an enigmatic little smile, thinking of one special gift she had to give Travis this year. She unconsciously pressed a hand to her flat belly and smiled up at him.
“Oh, I might have one surprise in store for you this year, my love,” she said. “Just maybe.”
“I don’t think so, Bunny-girl!” Travis laughed, going to answer the knock at the front door. “And if you think that cool new GPS under the tree is going to surprise me, think again.”
“Would a mini-muffin surprise you?”
Travis looked over his shoulder as he reached for the door. He cocked his head curiously at her.
“A mini-muffin?”
“Well, yeah,” Brooke answered, shrugging a little. “That makes sense, doesn’t it? If I’m your Cupcake, wouldn’t my baby be your mini-muffin?”
“Your b-baby?” Travis stuttered. “You – we – a baby? When? How? No, wait, I know how! When?”
“Next August,” Brooke answered, laughing at his sudden lack of composure.
Ignoring the repeated knocking at the door, Travis swept Brooke into his arms and twirled her in a circle, much as he had almost a year ago. He clutched her to his chest and held her there in the protective warmth of his arms.
“I take it back, Brooke,” he whispered to her. “Surprises are just fine with me.”
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Epilogue
