Page 54 of Big Rucking Disaster

Hell, even Yardley gave more than a few hugs.

Two hours later, our asses were parked in a line near the buffet at a local celebration hall.

I hopped from foot to foot.

Yardley pressed a hand to my hip. “You look like you have to pee.”

“I’m hungry.” That might’ve contained the hint of a whine.

Travis and Isaiah made their way, along with Isaiah’s mother, to the front of the line.

Isaiah caught my gaze.

I nodded.

He grinned and cleared his throat. “I know you’re all starving—”

A cheer went up.

“—but we have one last thing to take care of.”

General good-natured grumbles.

There, in front of my entire squad, their families, and everyone else invited—about sixty people—I dropped to one knee.

Isaiah’s mother gasped.

Becca squealed.

Yardley’s inhale was sharp.

I grasped his hand. “I know—”Remember to breathe. “—we talked about you proposing.”

A general chuckle went up.

“But I needed you to know that I’m in this too. That I want to show you how much I love you. And yeah, it’s only been two months—”

“And six days.” He added that because precision was important to him.

“And six days,” I repeated. I fumbled in my pocket for the ring. When I finally had a good grasp on it, I held it out. “Would you do me the honor—” I couldn’t. My throat closed with an emotion so strong it would’ve brought me to my knees had I not already been there.

He lowered himself so he knelt across from me. “From the moment you stepped into my gym, I thoughtthat’s a guy I could love. Not just because you’re sexy as fu—”

I grinned.

He cleared his throat. “But because you have a heart of gold. Those kids look up to you, and they’re lucky to have you in their lives.” His eyes shone.

I read the unspoken words as well—that if we ever had kids of our own, whatever that looked like, they’d be lucky too.

“You’re mine.” He grasped my chin and kissed me something fierce. His tongue invaded my mouth as I clung to him—ever mindful of the ring.

Finally, he pulled back. “The answer’s yes.”

“Oh, thank God.” Roger laughed. “Now can we eat?”

That night, as Yardley and I came together, we pledged ourselves to each other. This was a forever thing.

Out of disaster, I’d found my forever man.