Page 118 of Last Night Was Fun

“Meh, it’s decent.”

She held up her glass for him to fill with a smile. “It’ll do for the night.”

“I think it will. Cheers,” he said, and clinked her glass after he’d filled his own.

“Cheers.” She stood from her chair to sip and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders. She kissed him properly and let it burn all the way to her toes. “Hi. This is really beautiful. Thank you for putting it together.”

“Of course. You should go feel the water. I’ll bring dinner out.” He pressed his lips to hers again.

She lazily swiveled from him with a happy grin, already feeling the boozy bubbles lighten her head. “Mmmm, that sounds nice. Is it warm?”

“It’s perfect,” he said with a smile and another peck on her lips.

“Okay,” she said, and released him. She kicked off her sandals and gathered her skirt. The powdery sand had cooled in the night. It felt like a soothing balm on her feet. More flickering candles dotted the sand on either side of her as she walked the short distance down to the water. Indeed, it was warm. If they weren’t about to have dinner, she might have stripped down and gotten all the way in. Surely there was no one around to see her skinny-dipping. A devilish smile bent her lips at the thought of what they might get up to later.

Emmy stood in the gentle waves and let them lap at her ankles. The tide rolled in and fizzed against the sand. The trees above rustled. She tilted her head back and gazed up at a band of stars painting a silver streak across the velvet sky. A feeling of contentment bloomed out into her every limb. She felt light and buoyant. She turned around with a smile, wanting to indulge in the feeling with Gabe.

It was then, slightly downhill from the house, that she realized the candles in the sand were not a random pattern. The dancing flames spelled out two words.

Marry me?

Her breath caught in her throat when she looked up to the house to see Gabe on the deck, hands in his pockets, softly smiling at her like he was in on a very good stunt.

She managed to smile back despite positively spinning. She started making her way back up the beach while he made his way down. They met amid the candles.

“This is impressive, Axe Murderer. Your best text to date. And I have to say, this looks pretty official what with the remote location, candles, and grand gesture.”

He gave her a crooked grin, knowing she was calling back to what she’d said the day of their big reveal in Balboa Park. “It is official. And what do you want from me? You grand-gestured in front of an entire baseball stadium. I had to go big here.”

She shook her head with a laugh. “Always have to one-up me.”

Gabe hooked his fingers under her chin and looked deep into her eyes. “Something I look forward to doing for the rest of our lives.”

Emmy almost melted at the look on his face. It was forever, staring back at her. She went weightless again. She would have floated away if he wasn’t anchoring her to the earth.

He pulled a ring from his pocket. The round diamond twinkled like he’d plucked a star from the sky. “So, will you?” Gabe asked. “Marry me?”

It was the easiest question she’d ever been asked in her life.

“Absolutely,” Emmy said, and she kissed him once more.