And then, he gave me the cockiest smile ever. "So…will you marry me?"
Already, my eyes were filling with tears. I didn't even have to think about it.
Judging from Chase's expression, he knew darn well what I was going to say. But I said it anyway. "Oh, yeah. I mean, yes, totally. A hundred percent."
Was I babbling?
Yup. Definitely.
But I could hardly care as Chase removed the ring from the box and slipped it on my finger. Oh, wow.
I might have called the ring the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, if only something more beautiful wasn't claiming all of my attention.
It was the look of pure joy in Chase's eyes just before he stood and pulled me up into his arms for one heck of a kiss.
Normally, I might've felt funny about kissing him like that in front of so many kids and families, but the way I saw it, a little public spice – especially in times like these – wasn't all bad.
And judging from the cheers and congratulations all around us, no one was bothered in the least – unless I counted Ginger and Emory Hawthorne, who we happened to pass just as our kiss was ending.
They were standing along the wagon's path, looking decidedly miffed, even more so when I gave them a happy wave.
Oh, well.
I was thrilled enough for all of us, and I told Chase so repeatedly as he once again claimed the spot beside me and pulled me tight against his side.
As the wagon rumbled along behind the tractor, I couldn’t help but hold out my hand and admire the gorgeous ring, even as I leaned into the guy who'd given it to me.
I loved the closeness. I loved him. And now, I could love the thought of being with him always.
I smiled. Always.
It had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
Pun totally intended.
And just then, I recalled something – something I'd never mentioned to Chase. I turned to him and said, "You wanna hear something crazy?"
"Always."
"Do you know this was exactly how Grandpa Lipinski proposed to my grandma?"
Chase grinned. "I do."
Oh, boy. I loved the way that sounded, even more so when I considered that I'd be hearing those two wonderful words in a totally different context sometime in the near future.
I loved weddings.
During the past year, I'd been a bridesmaid two times – first for Arden and Brody, and then for Cami and Mason. And of course, I'd stood with you-know-who.
By now, all of us felt like one big happy family, except for when the guys gave each other grief.
But hey, a little excitement wasn't all bad.
As my thoughts swirled, Chase's last statement finally caught up with me. "Wait a minute," I said. "So you knew that's how he proposed?"
"Oh, yeah." His gaze softened. "It's a family tradition, right?"
His words warmed me to the core, and yet, there was something I still didn't understand. "But how did you know?"
"Your dad told me."
Over the last year, my dad and Chase had been getting along a lot better. Even so, I was a little surprised to hear they'd been talking about family traditions.
Normally, they just talked about tools.
I studied Chase's face. "Seriously? When?"
"A couple weeks ago, when he returned my hammer."
Now I couldn’t help but laugh. "That hammer?"
By now, Chase had told me the story of my dad threatening him with his own hammer. I'd offered to intervene, but Chase had declined, telling me yet again that it would take a lot more than a hammer to scare him off.
Now, this I believed.
In reply to my question, Chase said, "Yup, that's the one."
I was beyond curious. "So what made him decide to give it back?"
"Hard to say. But it might have something to do with my asking his permission to, well, you know."
I could hardly believe it. "You seriously asked my dad's permission?"
Chase grinned. "Yup."
This was a night full of surprises. Chase wasn't an old-fashioned guy, so I knew exactly why he'd done it. For me. And to keep another family tradition alive.
I was so touched, I hardly knew what to say. In the end, I couldn't help but tease, "And if what he'd said no?"
Chase laughed. "You think I would've let that stop me?"
No. I didn't.
And knowing my dad, he knew it, too.
But it didn't matter. These days, we were all getting along just fine, which was a darn good thing, considering that soon, Chase would be one of the family.
And together, we could start building new traditions of our own.
Epilogue
Chase
Five Years Later
It was a sunny day in July, and I was standing with Brody and Mason in the festival midway when Mason started laughing.
These days, the sound wasn't as rare as you'd think. Still, I had to ask, "What's so funny?"
This was the first day of the annual Tomato Festival, and we'd been making it a family tradition to attend as a group.
And I did mean family, considering that our numbers had grown considerably over the past few years.
In reply to my question, Mason pointed to something just past my shoulder. When I turned to look, I saw Mina heading in our direction, walking with Cami and Arden along with my kid sister Willow and the newest additions to our family.
By now, Mason was the father of two young boys, and Brody was expecting his first child in just a couple of months.
And me? Well, I was looking at my newest contribution to the family – a ten-month old "tomato" named Emma Marie. She had her mother's baby blue eyes, my stubborn disposition, and a handmade outfit, courtesy of Mina's mom.
Beside me, Brody was now laughing, too. "Did you seriously dress her as a tomato?"
I grinned. "Hey, it's a family tradition."
But already, Mason was shaking his head. "You know she's gonna get you for that, don't you?"
I couldn’t resist tweaking him. "Who, Mina? Eh, don't worry. She's got a tomato costume of her own."
Mason gave me a look that told me he wasn't quite sure if I was joking.
I could see why.
Mina really did love the festival.
And I loved her.
While I was at it, I loved my brothers, too, even if they did give me grief sometimes – just like I gave them. But that was small potatoes – or should I say tomatoes – because we were family, and we were going to stay a family no matter what.
The End
Sneak Peeks & Bonuses
First in the Blast Brothers Series
(Brody's Book)
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Arden Weathers is a girl on a mission, and that mission most certainly doesn't involve Brody Blastoviak, the hometown hottie who made her college prospects go boom six years ago.
Brody Blastoviak knows better than to stick his you-know-what into Crazy. So why is this tool-toting billionaire losing his cookies over Arden Weathers, the uptight chemistry partner who "accidentally" torched his truck back in high school? If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, you'll LOVE this story.
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Allie Brewster has a problem, and his name is Jaden Bishop – the most impossible person she's ever met. So why, oh why, is he haunting her dreams like some kind of rock-hard shirtless nightmare? It's all so wrong, especially when hating him feels so right…right up until Allie realizes something terribly inconvenient. Turns out, there's a lot more to her billionaire boss than meets the eye, and just maybe, she's been haunting his dreams, too.
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© Copyright 2020 by Sabrina Stark
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
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
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Epilogue
Sneak Peeks & Bonuses
© Copyright 2020 by Sabrina Stark
Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3) Page 30
