Page 59 of Due South

“Luce, could you…could you say something? So I know whether to ask for more champagne or something harder?”

Like a mallet to knock myself unconscious so I don’t have to suffer through this embarrassment?

“Chanoch…” She doesn’t call me that often, but she likes to every once in a while. Usually when we’ve been particularly intimate. She’s still shy about it, wanting to get it right, and her heartfelt effort is charming. Her mouth curls around the letters of my name, and it sounds so nice. Like a verbal hug. Because she’s so soft and so sweet, and I want to hear someone say my name that way for the rest of my life. “Yes. Of course. Of course I’ll marry you.”

The cabin erupts in cheers and whistles, and it takes a minute for the words to sink in through the ruckus. She said yes. She’s going to be my wife. And I… Oh, crap, the ring is still in the box. Would a hint of smoothness in this moment have been too much to ask? When I crack the box and show it to her, she looks happier. But she doesn’t move to grab it, slip it on her finger.

No, she leans forward and takes my face between her hands and holds me there. Holds me there to kiss. On my mouth. On my cheeks. One might land on my eye.

“Yes, Evans, yes!” She’s shouting now, and I like it. I like that the first time I’ve ever heard Lucy raise her voice outside of the bedroom is here when she’s agreeing to be mine, and she’s so excited she can’t be quiet.

I let her bury me in kisses, kissing her back when I can and laughing when I can’t. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. A woman like Lucy loves me and trusts me and wants to spend the rest of her life with me. When she finally stops, she leans back, and her face is bright, her mouth kiss-swollen. Now I’d really like to drag her to the lavatory and have my way with her, but we’re going to have to wait.

“I love you, Lucy. I love you so much it hurts and you just made me the happiest man in the world.”

She’s already kissed me a hundred times, but it doesn’t feel like quite enough, so I lean into her, thread a hand through her hair and kiss her again. I’m going to make sure Lucy gets her happily ever after, which is the least she deserves. Or, okay, maybe what we both deserve.