Tears were flowing from Mandy’s eyes again, this time for an entirely different reason.
“Will you marry me?”
Mandy opened her mouth to answer, but no sound would come out.
James shifted, his knee uncomfortable against the ragged cement of the driveway. “You need to give me an answer, baby. I’m starting to get a complex.”
Mandy dropped to her knees next to him, the emotions running through her too much to fathom. “Yes.”
James pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers so he could kiss her senseless. When they came up for air, James pulled the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. It was a perfect fit.
“How did you know?”
“Ally does give sage advice sometimes,” James said. “She’s also a fountain of information.”
“Did you really buy this house for me?”
“No,” James said. “I bought this house for us. We both have a lot of dreams, and we can share them here.”
“This is what you want, right? You’re not just proposing because of all the crap we’ve been through over the past month, are you? Because that would be a total bummer if you changed your mind.”
James smiled, kissing her more sweetly this time. “I’ve had the ring for three months.”
Mandy’s mouth dropped open. “Three months?”
“I’ve known you were my forever for a really long time,” James said. “I was just waiting for the perfect moment.”
“And me crying on the couch was your perfect moment?”
“Baby, you’re my perfect everything.”
James claimed her mouth again, wrapping his arms around her back – not worrying about hurting her for the first time in as long as he could remember. For him – and for her – happily ever after officially started today.