Picture eight was another favorite of mine, taken the weekend we spent at his house after his first game. The girls were grinning ear to ear, playing blissfully in the fort Brody had made them in his living room the night before. Diesel liked the fort too.
The next picture was of me, Brody, the girls, and Zach. It was taken last Halloween when we all went trick-or-treating together. It was the first time we all hung out together for the girls’ sake. There had been many of those occasions since then, but that one would always be special.
I pulled the tab again.
“What picture are you at?” Brody asked.
I moved the View-Master down just enough to look at him as I answered. “The one of you and Andy from the night you were awarded the William M. Jennings trophy. You looked so hot in your suit.”
Picture number eleven was from just a couple weeks ago when we got another big rainstorm and Brody ran out and bought hot pink rain boots for the girls so they could jump in puddles with him. This picture was the most breathtaking shot of Lucy’s and Piper’s ecstatic faces just as they hit the ground and the water sprayed up around them.
The next one was another recent picture. It was a big group shot of me, Brody, the girls, Derek, Alexa, Tommy, Lauren, and their new son, Max. Tommy had his arm proudly around Brody’s shoulders and the way Alexa was standing, you could really see her pregnant belly starting to pop. I had a five by seven of this one in my bedroom. I would never get sick of looking at it.
Picture thirteen was of a Ferris wheel. I sighed. Our first kiss.
I pulled the tab again and immediately recognized the barn from Brody’s parents’ property. I squinted my eyes to look closer and gasped when I realized that Brody was standing next to it, pointing up at red letters painted on the side that read:
My knees suddenly felt like Jell-o and my hands started shaking.
“What is this last pict—” I lowered the View-Master and froze.
Brody was down on one knee, staring up at me as he held a black ring box open. He hadn’t even said a word yet, but tears started streaming down my cheeks faster than they ever had.
“Kacie, I’ve thought about what I wanted to say for a long time now, and I know I’m probably gonna mess it up, but here goes.” He took a deep breath. “I love you. I love you so damn much it scares me. But what scares me more is the thought of ever losing you. I have no idea what the future holds, or where my career will take me, but I do know that none of it is worth looking forward to if you’re not by my side. Please, let me love you forever. You and the girls. Will you marry me?”
I clutched the View-Master to my chest and let go of a sob I’d been fighting like hell to keep in while he talked. “Yes. Yes!” I cried, flying into his arms as he stood up. He caught me, thankfully, because I sailed into him with such force that I was surprised we didn’t both tumble into the lake.
He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight, lifting me off the ground. “Say it again,” he mumbled into my shoulder.
I cupped his face in my hands, staring into the eyes of my best friend, my soul mate, my fiancé. “Yes, I will marry you.” I pressed my lips against his and closed my eyes, desperate to remember every detail of the moment so I could relive it over and over. He pulled me hard against him and slowly dipped his tongue in between my open lips. Our mouths moved together in slow, sensual waves feeding off of each other’s excitement and pure joy. My eyes danced around his face as I pulled back. “I’d marry you tonight if I could.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “We could be in Vegas in just a few hours.”
“Okay, no. I take that back.” I giggled. “I need my family there.”
“True. Both of our moms would kill us if we eloped.” He set me down and locked his hands around my waist. “Especially yours, she’s been as excited about this as me.”
I jerked my head back a little. “She already knows?”
A devilish smirk curled the corners of his mouth upward. “Who do you think set up the lanterns for me while we put the girls to bed?”
I looked around at the pier and shook my head. “I didn’t even think about that. You sneaky little brats.”
“I wanted you to be surprised.”
“Well, it worked. I’m blown away… and so damn excited to be Kacie Murphy.”
“Holy shit.” His eyes widened. “I love the way that sounds.”
“Me too.” I pulled him down against my lips. He slipped his hands around my waist and tugged me against him, returning my kiss.
He pulled back suddenly. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?” I was left needy, wanting to feel his lips on mine again.
“We forgot the most important part.” He opened the ring box that was still in his hand. “Let’s make it official.”
I’m not a high-maintenance jewelry girl, nor do I know a lot about diamonds or rings, but when I looked at the ring he’d picked out for me, it took my breath away.
“Oh, Brody.” I covered my mouth with my hands. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s simple but beautiful, like you.” He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my shaky left hand. “I hope you never, ever want to take this off.”