Page 116 of A Stealthy Situation

“My legs hurt,” Benny complains, and I finally stop.

This is useless. My hair is damp under my hat, and if we go any further, we probably will end up lost. That’s definitely not the kind of trip I’d been planning.

So, with my heart lodged in my throat and disappointment churning in my gut, I force a smile. “You’re right. Let’s go back.”

“Fina—” His eyes shoot wide. “What the fuck is that?”

My head shoots around, expecting to find a ghost or a man with an axe, but there’s nothing there. I narrow my eyes, searching until—holy fuck. We found them.

I grab Benny’s hand and drag him off the path, making note with my phone compass on which way we’re heading as I pray no spiders jump out to ambush us.

“No, don’t go toward the thing!” he protests, but I don’t let him go, and when we step through a thick patch of shrubs, my mood soars.

This is better than I imagined.

A whole cluster of ghost mushrooms. There are four thick trees here, and growing all up the sides of their massive trunks are brightly glowing fungi.

“Wow,” Benny breathes.

Wow, indeed. I’ve never seen so many together like this. It’s like I’m on an otherworldly planet.

Benny wraps his arm around me, head resting against my shoulder. “This is what you were looking for?”

“Yep.”

“It’s … fucking unreal.”

“Yep.” I take a deep breath, heart that was in my throat back in my chest and hammering out a fucking drum solo. “So are you.”

I click off my flashlight, and the mushrooms glow brighter. They’re not bright enough to see him clearly, but there are gaps in the canopy above, letting enough moonlight through for me to catch his smile.

“There you go being sweet again,” he murmurs. Like he can feel it too. The something magical in the air that makes us whisper so we don’t disturb it.

“You know I love plants, and you know I love you?—”

“Probably in that order,” he teases.

“Which is why when I did this, I knew it had to be this way.”

Benny’s eyebrows pull together, and when he slowly lifts his head, I know he’s figuring it out.

“When … when you do what?”

“Ask you to marry me.”

“Oh my god.” Both hands fly to his mouth as I pull out the ring.

“I know we said it didn’t matter either way if we took this step or didn’t take this step, but the truth is, I lied. Call me a romantic, but I want to marry you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been planning this since I met you. Maybe not consciously, and maybe not actively, but there was never any other choice. I was always going to end up here. In Australia, surrounded by nature, asking you to be mine.”

“Goddamn it, Harrison.” He swipes at his nose, and I know that look. The one where he’s close to tears. “You flew me to the other side of the world and hunted down some stupid glowy mushrooms, all so I’d know you were serious?” His voice hitches. “I know sometimes I joke around asking why I love you when you’re being all dorky, but this is why. This is the dorkiest, sweetest, youest thing in the entire world, and when we tell everyone about this, we’re going to leave out the part where I’m a dumb, crying mess, but I’m glad I am. Because I want you to know I’m serious too.”

Shit, now my eyes are starting to sting. “Is that a yes?”

“You shouldn’t even need to ask, baby. I’m yours. In every single way. And I can’t wait to be your husband.”

The tears come, and I don’t try to hold them back as I slip the ring onto his finger and kiss him. Benny is everything I never knew I needed, and after ten years together, I still fall for him more every day.