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My heart soared. "I was trying not to push my luck. I figured it would take some time to convince you to take it as well. So … if I asked you to marry me, you would say yes?"
Kati's entire face broke out in a smile, not just her lips but her eyes as well. "Maybe," she teased.
I nuzzled into her neck. "Maybe, my ass. You know you want my last name just as much as Lucien does."
I was elated when she sighed and agreed with me. Her asking was more than I expected. I would buy her a ring as soon as I could and make this shit official.
"I love you, both. I didn't realize before I came to Texas what I was missing in life, but now I do. It was the two of you. My life wasn't complete until the two of you came into it."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kati
The five of us squished into one of the larger booths inside The Crazy Fox diner. Me, Lucien, Easton, Lyla, and Nolen thought it was best to eat out after two days of being locked down inside my house. I refused to leave Lucien. Easton refused to leave the both of us. Lyla insisted that she too needed to be around just in case, and I still hadn't figured out why Nolen had yet to go back to his own place.
My small house was starting to feel crowded and it was either come here to eat or I would've lost my mind. This seemed like the safer bet.
Although, with the amount of food in the house, we probably should've eaten in. The bad thing about living in a small town, where everyone looked out for each other, meant that by the time we got home from the hospital, Ms. Daisy had started the meal train. People were stopping by left and right dropping off food.
Breakfast? Covered.
Lunch? We could feel an army.
Dinner? Pretty sure I didn't have to cook for a month.
Even Maisie from Wickedly Delicious had dropped off a shit ton of desserts.
My fridge was full. My freezer looked like a game of Jenga. And forget counter space. There wasn't a free spot in sight. Which was another reason we had left the house. The clutter was getting to me.
I had begged Easton to take some food to the office, but he refused. If Nolen didn't take some of it tomorrow when he went in, then I was going to drop it off myself. There was no way the five of us could eat everything. We might as well share it with Easton's co-workers.
"Afternoon. What can I start you off with to drink?"
I nearly did a double take when I recognized the voice.
"Hey, Jo. When did you get back in town?" Josephine was Bee's granddaughter and two years ahead of Lyla and me in school. We never really hung in the same crowd, despite attending a small school, but she was nice whenever we spoke.
"I've been stopping back in more often lately, but officially moved back last week. Grams mentioned needing some help, so I offered while I figured out my next move."
Say her name and the woman herself appeared. Bee slung her old arm around her granddaughter's lean waist and crushed herself to Jo's side. The contrast between the two was startling. Bee was five foot two on a good day, whereas Jo took after her father and was closer to five ten. Jo's olive-colored skin and dark hair were the complete opposite of her grandmother's. I had seen plenty of pictures of Bee in her youth. The woman had porcelain skin and strawberry-blonde hair before going gray.
"Isn't it great to have her back? I've been bugging her for years that Willow Creek was her home, but of course, my grandbaby is stubborn like her mama. Had to go and figure it out on her own."
Jo rolled her eyes at Bee's remark but the small smile on her lips told the real story. Jo always had a soft spot when it came to her grandmother.
"Yeah, yeah. Everyone in town knows you get your way, Grams."
"And you better remember that, darling. Now I'll let you get back to work. Kati, I'll stop back soon and see how you're doing. You gave everyone a scare this week. Not nice to do to an old woman."
It wasn't until Bee was halfway across the diner before I found my voice to answer. "It wasn't my fault," I whined, looking at my friends and back at Jo. "Well, it wasn't."
Jo held her hands up in surrender. "You don't need to convince me. Tim Sr. was in here the next day telling anyone who would listen about it. Trust me, he was sure to stress that guy purposely hit you."
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Of course, I was the talk of the town again. So much for someone else taking the heat off of me. With any hope, things would die down now that Alejandro was dead and his second-in-command was convinced Lucien wanted no part in Los Cangris.
We gave Jo our drink order and then listened as she told us about the specials, which everyone at the table ordered, including Lyla. When I gave her a questioning look, she explained that she didn't have it in her to spar with Bee today.
“Besides,” she said, “I’m in the mood for some good old-fashion grease and since the special contained bacon, it’s right up my alley.”
