Page 23 of Mr. Right Now

Ryan pulled out his phone. “I’m going to send a reminder text to the chaperones to make their way over here.”

“Sounds good,” Dante said, hauling coolers from under the bus’s storage area. The groups drifted over and assisted with the transport of food and drinks. Once everyone settled down, they stuffed themselves on an assortment of sandwiches, chips, fruit and homemade cookies prepared by one of the parents. He synced his phone to the large Bluetooth speaker he’d brought, selected a playlist of popular songs and cranked up the music.

They laughed at the students engaging in a dance contest.

“I wish I would try some of those moves,” one parent said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how these children bend their bodies like that. You’d have to carry me out of here on a stretcher. I’ve gone far beyond dropping it like it’s hot. I can’t even let it down like it’s warm anymore. I’m at the stage where I’m easing it down like it’s room temperature.”

Dante almost choked on a cookie laughing so hard.

She pointed a finger his way. “Keep living, Dante. One day you’re going to wake up with aches and pains in places you didn’t even know ached.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m getting close.” He used to be able to get up at least three feet off the ground when he played basketball. Now, he was lucky if he got eighteen inches.

The laughter continued and dancing continued, then it was time to clean up. “Jayana, can you come to the bus and help me get the special treat I have?” Dante asked, standing.

“Of course.” She accepted his help up and they trudged through the sand once more. “My thighs are getting a good workout walking back and forth in this sand.”

“I’ll be more than happy to give you a good massage.”

Jayana grinned up at him. “You ain’t said nothing but a word.”

Chuckling, he slung an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. In the bus, he retrieved the three dozen cupcakes decorated in blue and purple frosting and they carried them back.

“They’re decorated so pretty, and you know these are my favorite colors.” Her steps slowed when the neared the group. “What is—?”

Erika and Ryan rushed over to relieve them of the dessert.

Dante took Jayana’s hand and walked her over to a heart-shaped design done with red rose petals and stood in the middle. He dropped to one knee.

“I can’t believe you’re gonna have me out here doing the ugly cry in front of all these people, but go ahead.” Chuckles sounded in the group.

He loved this woman. “Jayana, from the first day we met, I knew you were special, even if I couldn’t see how you’d fit into my life. But my eyes are wide open now and there will never be another woman for me. You are the only one I will ever love and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes!” she cried, bouncing up and down. “I love you.”

He removed the diamond solitaire from the black velvet box and slid it onto her finger. Before he could stand, she launched herself at him, knocking them both onto the blanket. “I love you, too, sweetheart.” She was his right now, his forever, his everything.

EPILOGUE

One year later.

“I’m never letting you touch me again, Dante Powell. Why didn’t somebody tell me labor hurt like this? Neither of our mothers said one word.”

“If they had, would you have wanted children?” Dante asked, rubbing her back. Both grandmothers had been ecstatic about having their first grandchild. And now with Erika and Ryan’s recent marriage, his mother was already campaigning for a second one.

“Hell, no!”

He smiled. “The doctor said it shouldn’t be too much longer.” She was eight centimeters dilated. “You could always do the epidural.” The glare she shot his way would have made a lesser man run out the door. But he was unfazed. She’d been adamant about natural childbirth. He loved his wife to distraction and he now truly understood what his mother meant about real love. However, he didn’t know if the crushing grip she had on his hand at the moment could be filed under the same category. He winced, but didn’t let go and continued to rub her back. “Breathe, baby. You’re almost there.”

She let out a loud groan. “I don’t know if we have the same definition of almost there. I’m thinking sometime in the next two minutes would be good.”

Dante chuckled inwardly. At least she still had her humor.

The nurse came in. “Looks like they’re coming a couple of minutes apart now. I’ll let the doctor know. Hang in there, Mrs. Powell.”

“Mmm hmm, I’m hanging…by a thread.”

“I love you, Jayana,” he said, shaking his head. The doctor returned and examined her. From that moment, everything seemed to happen in a blur, and forty-five minutes later, their baby girl made her entrance into the world, yelling at the top of her little lungs.

They cleaned her up, weighed and measured her, then wrapped her in a blanket and handed her to Dante. She stopped crying and stared up at him curiously. The sight of his beautiful baby girl put a sheen of tears in his eyes and the immediate love he felt for her nearly overwhelmed him. “Welcome to the world, Carmen Leilani Powell.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Let’s go meet your mama.” Dante transferred the precious bundle to Jayana and brushed a kiss across his wife’s parched lips. “You did good, sweetheart.”

“She’s so beautiful.” Jayana lifted her hand and Dante placed a kiss on the back. “Okay, I forgive you. I might let you touch me again.”

It was never a dull moment with his woman. She was his heart and he’d love her until the end of time.