"Marry me."
He blinked. "What did you just say?"
"I asked you to marry me," she said, stepping closer. "I'm done waiting. I love our family. I love you. I don't ever want to be left on the outside again. So marry me. Let's spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out how to make all the wrong decisions together."
He shook his head and her heart fluttered.
"Unless you don't want that," she said, stepping back. "Did I just blurt all over you? I can take it back if you want me to."
"No, it's not that." With a rueful smile, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black box.
"Oh," she breathed.
"For once in my life I was going to do something the traditional way, and then you went and stole my thunder."
"Well, like everything else in your life, at least our engagement will be unconventional."
He leaned forward with a smile, brushing his lips over hers. "Did we just get engaged before I even asked my question?"
"Looks like," she agreed. "Want me to take it all back? I refuse to marry you even if you were the last man on earth."
"Nope, I don't like that any better."
"Then maybe you should ask the question we both know the answer to, and we can move on to the making out part."
"Screw rings, let's skip to the end." Grabbing her hand, he tugged her toward the bedroom.
"Walker." She laughed in protest.
"All right." Taking her hands in his, he came back to her, the look in his gaze infinitely tender. "Maybe I don't want to skip this part after all."
Meeting her eyes, he dropped to one knee.
"Clara, you've been my best friend for years, but you were always more than that. You're my family. My rock. I need you in my life for me to have any chance at ever being happy. For a long time, I thought all I needed was your friendship, but I was wrong." He squeezed her hands. "I'm in love with you. Completely. Utterly. I see what an incredible mom you are to Hunter and what an amazing friend you are to Diane and Emily, and I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that you are the most wonderful woman in the world. Please be mine. After all these years of missing each other, let's finally live our lives together."
He looked up at her without any hesitation on his face. "Marry me," he said, using her simple words.
"Yes," she said. There was no other answer. No need to think about her decision. She'd never been sure of anything the way she was sure about Walker.
Dropping to her knees, she kissed her fiancé.
"I love you," she whispered in his ear. "Always."
"And I you." Drawing back, he took her left hand in his and slid a beautiful, shiny diamond onto her finger. "I'll love you till there's nothing left of me."
"Then we'll have a wonderful son to remember us."
"And maybe more?" he asked, running his lips along her jaw.
"You'd want more?"
"Not right away. But yes, I want a daughter with your wild hair. And another son with your brown eyes."
She smiled. "I think we can come to some arrangement."
"Good," he murmured. "Because I want to experience everything the world has to offer with you."
"I know one thing we can experience right now all by ourselves."
"Oh?" he asked. "Cooking a meal? Organizing that horrific closet of yours?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of activities one usually does in the bedroom."
"Changing the sheets?" he teased. "Folding the clothes?"
"Well, now that you mention it, there are some towels in there we could-"
He tackled her to the ground, rolling over her as she laughed up at him. "Is that a no to chores, then?"
"I'll fold whatever you want later. Right now, I'm more interested in seeing my fiancée naked and writhing under me."
"Mmm, your fiancée has no problem with that proposal either."
"Didn't think so." Smiling, he leaned down to catch her lips with his.
Clara wrapped her arms around him, uncaring that they lay on the hardwood floor. All she needed was the man in her arms. Whenever, wherever she could have him.
As his lips touched hers she couldn't help but smile. After all her years of standing outside the window, she'd finally found her home.
And wrapped in his arms was the one place she never wanted to leave.
Epilogue
"Did you find Sophie's teddy bear? I swear that thing walks on its own. It's never where I put it."
Walker's head poked around the doorway. "I've got Mr. Huggles and she's all strapped in to the stroller ready to go. Where's Hunter?"
Right on cue, the sounds of feet pounding on the stairs rang out. Grabbing her bag, Clara strode into the hall just in time to see a flash of blonde hair followed by an exhausted looking Emily.
"Hunter, come back here," Clara called.
Her son screeched to a halt, obediently retracing his steps until he stood in front of her.
"Did you get dressed like a big boy for Emily?" she asked.
"Yes, Mama."
"That's my angel. Go give Sophie a kiss. We're almost ready to leave."
The five-year-old raced to his little sister, looking down at her with mixed emotions before he dutifully dropped a kiss gently on the baby's head.
Walker ruffled the light curls before Emily appeared behind him with Hunter's shoes in hand.
"Come here, little man," she said. "Let's get you ready."
"Still think it was a good idea to take the kids on a picnic?" Walker asked when she moved to his side.
"Veronica was insistent. She just got back from a photoshoot in Paris and missed the kids."
"Maybe she'll take them both for a few days."
She whacked him with her hand.
"Just a couple," he whispered in her ear. "Think of what we could do with a few child-free days."
A shiver ran down her spine. Oh, the things we could do …
"Mama, let's go!" Hunter exclaimed impatiently, standing by the stroller with his shoes on.
"Yes, darling. We're coming."
She started for the door before realizing she'd forgotten the emergency snacks. "Just a second, I need to grab the food."
"Emily, could you take the kids down to the lobby, and we'll meet you in five minutes?" Walker asked.
"No problem. Come on, guys. Out we go," she said, pushing the stroller after an excited Hunter.
Grateful for the silence, Clara raced into the kitchen and tossed the bag of waiting snacks into her purse. "Okay, I'm all set. Let's go."
"Wait." Walker caught her hand and pulled her back into the kitchen.
"What?"
"I just won us five uninterrupted minutes of silence."
With a happy sigh, she stopped resisting. "That's not very fair to Emily."
"We'll make it up in her Christmas bonus."
"You say that every week."
"Just think how large it's getting then."
Rolling her eyes, she stepped into his arms. "Five minutes, huh?"
"A tiny bit of peace."
"Away from our own children."
"Tiny monsters, I like to call them."
"Only if you want to sleep on the couch."
A salacious gleam lit his eyes. "Oh, definitely not."
"Good," she said, raising her hand to cup his jaw. "I don't sleep well when you're not beside me."
The sparkle of her diamond ring caught her eye as her grin widened. Even after all these years the sight of the ring on her left hand still gave her butterflies.
"What if we really planned a little getaway? Veronica had her chance in Europe. We could take a week. Go somewhere far, far away."
"Somewhere children, ex-lovers, bosses, deadlines, and boards of directors can't find us?" she asked.
"I hear Antarctica is lovely this time of year."
With a laugh, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm in. I'm sure you have a corporate jet we could grab without anyone being the wiser."
"One of the perks of being married to a billionaire."
"Oh good. I was wondering when those would start showing up. Here I was thinking I'd picked the wrong tech genius."
A growl rumbled from his throat before his lips claimed hers. Smiling, Clara rose to her tiptoes and gave herself over to his touch. It'd been years since he'd first kissed her, and yet there was no denying the desire that unfurled inside her every time he got close. Maybe someday the heat between them would temper, but for now, she reveled in it.
Wrapping her arms around him, she couldn't help the joy flooding through her. It was hard to remember a time before Walker had come into her life. Her days were filled with the laughter of children, and her nights were filled with the love of her life. Everything was …
Perfect.
"What?" he murmured, drawing back just enough to drop a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose.
"You make me happy," she whispered to him. "More than I ever thought possible."
A tenderness entered his expression that she would never grow tired of seeing. "That's my line."