Page 35 of Extra Grumpy

He breaks into a grin and looks away from me. But as soon as I read the next question, I can feel his eyes on me again. This time I don’t even look at him, but I’m smiling at the silent flirty game he’s playing.

The timer goes off and I peer at my phone for the final question. I wrote these trivia questions last night, so they should be fresh in my mind, but Rock has gotten me flustered and I can’t remember anything.

“All right, last question of the night,” I say into the mic. But then I stop. Because the trivia question I wrote last night isn’t there. It’s been replaced.

FINAL QUESTION: Will you marry me, Em?

I look up from my phone, stunned into silence. Rock has come around the bar and is walking toward me. As I silently gape at him, he slips the mic from my hand and lifts it to his mouth.

“Sorry, folks. Slight change of plans,” he says, his deep voice filling the bar. “I’ll be asking the last question tonight, and it’s just for Em.”

Excitement ripples through the crowd as Rock sets the mic and my phone on the bar, takes my hand, and gets down on bended knee.

“Rock,” I choke out, already full of emotion.

“Emily,” he says, squeezing my hand. “You know how I feel about you. I tell you this all the time. But I’ll say it again: I love you more than anything in this world. You’re my best friend. You’re my better half. You’re the girl of my dreams. I want to spend the rest of my—”

He cuts himself short, sighs and shakes his head, and digs a ring box out of his pocket. He pops it open, and with a sheepish smile, he says, “Right. I meant to say all of that with this in hand.”

I throw my head back and laugh. Then look at him tenderly. Oh, Rock.

“Emily Coleman,” he says, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Happy tears are already spilling down my cheeks. “Yes! Of course I will, Rock.Yes.”

As he stands up, I wrap my arms around him, and he does the same to me, pulling me into an embrace that is full of everlasting love. Everyone in the bar is celebrating and cheering loudly, making it feel like the whole entire world knows exactly how meant to be we are.

I belong to Rock, and he belongs to me. Today and for the rest of time.

As Rock’s lips drop to mine, the smiles on both of our faces are uncontainable.