No no. Think positively, Reece.
She loved when he chased her around the house. She said he cooked pasta and grilled burgers much better than she ever could. She liked to sit on the toilet and watch him shave. She told him every night how much she loved him, even after they’d argue. They bought a dog together, for Christ’s sake!
He heard her open the front door. Poppy barked. Then silence. Then the back door knob turned. He heard her voice through the door.
“Reece?”
She emerged, the dog on her heels.
“Reece? Ree . . .” She gasped. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
“Do you like it?” he asked, standing up tentatively.
“Reece,” she whispered, and her feet moved automatically, in a daze—a dream. She seemed to float around the yard, taking in the details of his hard work. She reached up and fingered the twinkle lights on the pergola. She bent down to smell the new flowers he’d planted. She pointed to the candles floating in the fish pond.
He smiled at her, absorbing her surprise—her expression that voiced the impossibility of this space.
“How?” she asked.
“How?” he repeated.
“How did you do all this?”
He walked toward her and took her hand.
“I had lots of help,” he replied.
“Who?”
“Camden and Chris,” he said. “And Soledad.”
She laughed, shaking her head, and the lights from the pergola caught her face, reflecting the tears that coursed her cheeks.
“Don’t cry,” he said softly.
“No one’s ever done anything . . .” Her voice broke, and she cried outright.
“Bailey . . .”
He wrapped her in his arms and let her cry on his chest.
“It’s just so beautiful,” she said. “You brought back my oasis.”
“Our oasis,” he said gently.
She nodded against his shirt and hugged him tighter.
“Happy birthday, doll baby,” he whispered. “I grilled steaks.”
She pulled back. “Really?”
He nodded. “You came home at the perfect time.”
“I came home when Erica said,” she replied.
Reece grinned. “Good ol’ reliable Erica.”
Bailey scanned the yard once more. “Did she get sick on purpose? To keep me away?”
“I think I just got really lucky,” Reece joked. He bent down and picked up Poppy, holding her face directly in front of his. “You, sweet thing, can stay for dinner. But afterward? You’re inside. Got it?”
Poppy licked his nose, and he set her down.
“You wanna eat?” he asked Bailey.
She thought for a moment. “I need to shower first.”
“Okay.”
“I . . . y-you did all this,” she began, looking down at her clothes, “and I oughta dress nicely. Do my hair. My face.” She paused and stared at him. “But it’ll take forever.”
“I don’t want you to wear make-up or even dry your hair, Bailey. I just want you to get out here as fast as you can.”
She nodded and kissed his lips before rushing into the house. When she emerged, freshly showered and sporting a tank top, cotton shorts, and wet hair, Reece thought he’d never seen someone so beautiful. No fancy clothes. No curled hair. No great big eyes with shimmer and shine. She was just Bailey. Raw, bare Bailey, and she was more beautiful to him in that moment than she could ever be if she were dressed like a queen.
I can’t wait. I won’t make it past the first bite, he thought, gazing at her.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I should at least dry my hair,” she said. “I mean, you set the table.” She pointed to the patio table dressed in linen and glassware. There was a bottle of champagne chilling in one of her galvanized tin buckets. She laughed and asked him.
“You don’t mind?” he asked. “That house is filled with all kinds of useful things.”
“I know. That’s why I purchased them.”
He breathed deeply and took her hand. He grabbed the champagne and walked her to the bench near the fish pond. He popped the cork and took a nice long satisfying gulp. It burned his throat and stung his eyes.
“You okay?” she asked. “Not very romantic. You left the glasses on the table.”
He took another swig then placed the bottle on the ground.
“Okay,” he said, wringing his hands. He took another deep breath.
“Reece?” Bailey asked quietly.
“Bailey, I’m not good with stuff like this,” he began. “I mean, look at me. I’m sweating like a whore in church.”
She giggled as she watched him wipe his forehead.
“Usually I’m pretty cool and confident, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t feel very confident now,” he admitted. “Even though this back yard looks kickass.”
What the hell kind of proposal is this? he thought.
“It is kickass,” she agreed. “It’s perfect.”
He dropped to his knee in front of her.
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
He clasped her hand in his. It was clammy with nerves and the nagging fear that she’d run. Why did he think she would? Who was this man kneeling here completely devoid of all his natural characteristics? He should be confident. Maybe a little cocky. He was, after all, about to whip out the prettiest engagement ring on the planet. Well, according to Erica.
“Bailey,” he began. He inhaled sharply. “I’m having a hard time breathing.”
“Reece?”
His hand grew clammier, and she squeezed it, encouraging him to say it. Say it!
“I love you,” he said. He looked into her eyes. “I love you. I’ve never loved anyone but you. Do you understand that? I thought I loved girls in the past, but I didn’t. I know that now because what I have with you is so different—so much better. Deeper. Fuller. It’s true love.”
She bit her lower lip.
“And I want to love you for the rest of my life. Will you let me?” He paused and watched as her head bobbed up and down. “Will you be my wife?”
She didn’t hesitate. She jumped into his arms, knocking him backward onto the small patch of grass bordering the pond.
“Yes!” she squealed in his ear.
“Really?”
She burst out laughing. “Did you think I’d say no?”