Page 97 of Second Chances

Switching it off, Henry plucked the centerpiece from the wheel. “Charlotte, my love for you has been filled with firsts: the first time I saw you, across the street from the shop, the first time the breeze caught your hair when you were going up in the Ferris wheel, the first moment you stepped into my garage. And then our first date, when you were the most spellbinding woman I had ever seen. You take my breath away every single time I look at you, and I’ve spent every moment falling more in love with you.” Her brown eyes held the promise of an eternity together, something that he never thought he’d have with anyone, let alone someone like Charlotte. Her grace, her loving spirit, and her passion humbled him. “It seems impossible that I could love you more than I do at this moment, but if you’d give me the chance, I want to try.” He dropped his eyes to her trembling hand, held in his, the ring poised at the tip, the ruby in the center signifying his burning love for her. “Will you do me the honor of making me the luckiest man alive? Charlotte, will you marry me?”

Bursting into tears, she said, “This is the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve never had a proposal⁠—”

“Is that a yes?” Henry clarified through the mist in his eyes.

“It’s a yes,” she confirmed, and he slid the perfectly sized ring onto her finger. “Yes, you amazing, brilliant, talented man! I love you.” Her breathing became shallower as his hand caressed a path from her waist over to her hip. “And I want you,” she unsnapped his shirt, “as I have every day since the first time I saw you.”

“Goddamn, you better,” he groaned into her open mouth, luxuriating in the fullness of her hips. He clasped them until she was flush with him. Backing up to the bed, watching their reflection in the mirror, he lowered himself down, bringing her with him, where she straddled him. Running his hands from her hips up to her breasts, he counted his lucky stars that she was his, he was hers. He deserved sainthood for ignoring the deep V of her neckline as long as he had, and he lifted his head to taste her.

“Henry…” Charlotte whimpered, mindless as his fingers stroked the insides of her thighs. Misty foreheads pressed together, Henry gazed into eyes reflecting his own affection and devotion. Brushing glossy brown waves from her shoulders, he marveled that she was the one, all along: the one he’d been waiting for. Capturing her cries with his mouth, he shuddered under her just as she collapsed on top of him.

“Forever, Henry. Me and you.”

“Forever,” Henry responded, “me and you.” His hand was caressing her back but stilled when a voice called up the stairs.

“Dad? Are you still home?” Josh. What was his son doing here, Henry wondered, interrupting the private celebration he was enjoying with his fiancée? “I thought we were all meeting over at La Hacienda? We saw your car in the driveway. Sophie’s here, too, by the way.”

“Babe, I told you we shouldn’t just let ourselves into his house anymore, now that Charlotte lives here, too. You know, you have to stop playing your only child card, ‘cause you’re not anymore,” Effie could be heard chastising her husband.

“I don’t think anyone is here,” Sophie countered. “It’s really quiet.”

“What are they doing downstairs?” Henry grumbled. “I told them to meet us at the restaurant…”

“Henry, what are you talking about? You didn’t tell me the kids were meeting us for dinner.”

“Hey, what are you guys doing here? I thought we were all meeting at the restaurant?” Her daughter’s voice floated up to them.

“Isobel?” Charlotte turned to Henry. “What’s she doing here? She knows we’re going away tomorrow.”

“Well, if they had waited and actually followed my instructions, I planned an engagement party for us tonight⁠—”

“Oh, Henry.” With his precious face in her hands, Charlotte feathered kisses across his cheeks, forehead, and nose.

“But we have too many damn kids. How long are we away? Do you think we can extend our trip?” Henry mumbled into Charlotte’s throat as she giggled, reminding Henry that he had everything he’d ever wanted.