Overcome with emotion, Grady held her close. After a few moments, he said, "You probably won't ever hear me ask this again."
"What?"
"Put your clothes on."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and then meet me downstairs in a few minutes in the living room."
"Can't we snuggle for a little bit? Take a little naked nap?"
Grady kissed the top of her head. "No."
"So it's your turn to be bossy pants?"
"No, that title belongs to you. Please, just join me?"
"Okay," she said, but in a tiny bit of a grumpy tone.
"Give me five minutes."
"I hope this is about you fixing me a sandwich."
Grady laughed and then tugged his boxers and jeans on. "It's cold in this house."
"Welcome to the Midwest, Florida boy."
Grady hurried down the steps and over to the sofa. He removed the cushions and found the little blue box. Just seeing it made his heart pound and his hand shake. He swallowed hard and then shouted, "You can come down now."
"Are we playing hide-and-seek?"
"I already did that and found you here," he said, and heard her footsteps on the stairs. As soon as she walked into the room he dropped down on one knee and extended the box.
"Oh my gosh." Arabella's eyes widened and she put her hands to her cheeks.
"Arabella?"
She nodded silently.
"Will you marry me?" He opened the blue Tiffany box to reveal a heart-shaped diamond in a four-pronged classic setting.
"Yes," she whispered, looked at him, and then shouted, "Yes!"
Grady laughed and then slipped the ring on her finger. She looked at the ring and burst into tears.
"You don't like it?"
"No, I . . . I l-love it! A heart? P-perfect." She held her hand up and danced around the room. "I can't stop looking at it. I'm going to run into things because I'll be looking at it all the time."
Grady laughed. "Give me your hand. I want to see it too."
Arabella extended her trembling fingers, and when he saw the diamond heart sparkle he felt moisture gather behind his eyes. "You're right, it's perfect."
"Oh, I'm really going to be bossy pants after I'm your wife. You just wait."
Grady laughed but then pulled her close and kissed her. "I can't wait," he said, and then picked her up and spun her around.
"Can I call my mom?"
Grady grinned.
"She knows?"
"Yeah, and I asked your dad for permission."
"Oh, that's so sweet. Do your brothers know?"
"I had all kinds of advice on how to propose. They are waiting to know if you said yes and they've been blowing up my phone. I would have asked sooner, but I lost the ring in the cushions of the sofa."
"No . . . that's hilarious. Wait, that's when you found the remote?"
Grady nodded. "I had it in my pocket and I was afraid you'd see the outline of the box and ruin the surprise. I've been a nervous wreck since I got here."
"And here I thought I was just boring you."
"You will never bore me, Arabella. I would be bored without you in my life. And cranky. Just ask my brothers." He tugged her over to sit beside him on the sofa. "Time for a selfie and to let them know you said yes."
"Did you really think there was any way I wouldn't?"
Grady shrugged. "I hoped not." He lifted her hand and looked at the ring. "I knew it was the one I wanted as soon as I saw it. Hold it up for the picture," he said, and took several pictures with his cell phone. After he sent his brothers one of the pictures, his phone wouldn't stop pinging, making them both laugh. "I don't want to wait a long time before getting married, if that's okay with you?"
"Oh, I get the feeling my mother is going to be totally on top of planning a wedding."
Grady had to laugh. "She was so excited that I was sure she was going to somehow give it away."
"Looking back, she almost did, but I was oblivious."
"Well, good, it made it more fun."
///
"And so did losing the ring in the sofa. Makes for a better story." She giggled but then grabbed his hand. "Grady?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"I don't want to hold you back from doing anything you want to do with Heartbeat. I think it's important for us both to be able to be a team but to also have the freedom to pursue our own ambitions and dreams. Promise me you'll do that."
"I thought you didn't like promises."