Page 98 of Learning to Stay
Holt got growly with me when I told him I wanted to help again. He told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed to be so stressed out I get sick this time. I might’ve shown him exactly how I felt about his command. On my knees. With my mouth.
But he also had a point. I’m not quite as worried about everything being perfect this year. Having gone through the whole process once before, I have a good idea of what to do now. Plus, I’ve got plenty of help this time.
As Gwen pulls into the full parking lot, my eyes widen. “It’s freaking packed.”
“I’m glad I made a reservation. I almost didn’t.”
I open my door once Gwen’s parked. “I doubt we’d have gotten seated tonight.”
“I actually reserved one of the special tables tonight. I thought it would be fun since Farrah’s finally done with her semester too.”
“The special tables?” I ask as we walk to the front doors.
“Yeah, they have these private spaces you can rent for special events and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”
“I had no idea they did that.”
We get up to the hostess stand, and Gwen gives her name. She digs around in her bag for a second. “Oh, shit. I left my phone in my car. I’m going to run out to grab it.”
“Want me to wait for you?”
“No, you go ahead.”
The hostess leads me down a hallway I’ve never been in before. She opens the door to a beautifully decorated room. Fresh flowers are strategically placed around the space while the lights are dimmed just enough to make it feel intimate without being too dark. The table sits in the middle of the room, decked out with four shiny place settings.
Did Charlie change their mind and decide to come? Gwen didn’t mention it, but maybe it was last-minute. I move to place my clutch at one of the chairs when the door opens behind me. “Who else is coming tonight?”
“That would be us,” Holt’s deep voice makes me gasp. I spin around to find him standing in the doorway in a perfectly tailored navy suit. As he walks into the room, Lauren and Leah bounce in behind him. They have matching pink dresses on with full tulle skirts. All three of them look wonderful.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“We wanted to celebrate!” Leah says with an excited wiggle.
Holt comes striding over to me with the girls flankinghim. He grabs my hands in his, an intense expression on his face. “Gia, the moment you walked into my life changed me forever. I was a ghost, going through the motions of my life without realizing it. Then a rainbow of color threatened to throat punch me, and suddenly, I saw a life where happiness still existed. Fate knew we needed you in our lives, so she brought you back to me, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”
Holt looks down at his girls, who are grinning at us. “We love you with every breath in our lungs and can’t imagine what life would look like without you in it anymore.”
And then he’s kneeling on the wood floor, pulling a black velvet box out from his suit jacket pocket.
I gasp. “Are you serious right now?”
Holt smirks. “Gia, will you marry me?”
“Say yes!” Lauren shouts as Leah nods in agreement, jumping up and down.
“Yes! Yes, of course I’ll marry you,” I reply with a hoarse whisper.
The girls squeal as Holt stands up to wrap his arms around my waist and spins us around in a circle. He sets me down again to put the ring on my finger. It’s a gorgeous oval diamond set on a simple silver band. It’s exactly what I would have picked out for myself.
I sniff and wipe under my eyes, being careful of my eye makeup. “Gwen is a sneaky, sneaky woman. I’m going to kick her butt for keeping this from me.”
Holt laughs, gesturing for us to sit down at the table. “She was a great coconspirator. She and Farrah are having dinner together, so don’t worry about her. She asked me to tell you that she wants all the details tomorrow after we’re donecelebrating.” The last word is said with so much innuendo, I’m already squirming at all the dirty things Holt has planned for us.
I turn to the girls. “How did you keep this a secret from me?”
Lauren grins. “Dad only told us this afternoon.”
“Which was smart,” Leah says with a giggle. “I never coulda kept it secret.”
My ring sparkles under the glowing lights in the room and I can’t help but stare at it. If anyone told me two years ago that I’d be sitting at a table with the love of my life and his two daughters, I’d have laughed right in your face. This was never in my plan for my future. I was perfectly fine to be the crazy aunt who never got married and spoils her nieces and nephews rotten.
To be fair, I still am the crazy aunt who sends way too many packages to all the babies in our family, but the beautiful part is that I also get to be incandescently happy with a man who loves me with his whole heart.
There have been many moments in my life where I walked away to protect myself. I’ve never questioned those decisions because I knew it’s what I needed.
But this time, I’m really glad I stayed.
THE END
