Page 62 of All's Fair in Love and Pizza
I grinned, sparing my man a sideways glance. “Oh?”
“Yep. I’ll ask you this summer to make it official, or you’ll ask me. No, you know what we should do? Flip a coin.”
I barked a laugh. “That’s so unromantic.”
“Heads you ask, tails I ask,” he continued undeterred. “I’ll make it totally romantic, though. Don’t worry about that. Sunset at the beach, down on one knee… ‘Baby, I love you, will you marry me?’ ”
I veered right onto Highway 1, noting nature’s impossibly beautiful display of oranges, reds, and pinks painted across the evening sky.
“Just like that?”
“Well…yeah. If you hate that idea, we can go somewhere. Maybe Hawaii. I haven’t been there in a while. Or San Francisco, or Tahoe, or?—”
“No, I think I’d prefer to be home.”
“Me too.”
I pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, stepped out of the SUV, and met Mateo on the passenger side. “Look at that.”
He turned to gaze at the horizon and slipped a finger through my belt loop. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“We’re early. Let’s check it out from the cliff.”
It was more of a grassy knoll from a lookout point with spectacular views of the Pacific than a true cliff, but it was better than standing in a parking lot.
“The sky is on fire. I can order this up the day I pop the question, and you can—what are you doing?”
I dropped to one knee and reached for Mateo’s hand. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m asking you to marry me.”
His mouth fell open. “For real?”
“For real. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Mateo Cavaretti. What do you say?”
“Well…” Mateo blinked, shoved his hands into his pockets, took them out again, then crossed and uncrossed his arms. “I think I-I mean…you stole my idea.”
“What are you gonna do? Start a war?”
His grin was wide and unfettered. Mateo sank to his knees and sealed his lips to mine. “I might.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. It’s a fucking yes.”
We slowly stood but didn’t let go of each other for a long time.
Mateo finally pushed away, his hand still in mine. “Sometimes I can’t believe this is real. Everything we are, everything we’ve done, everything we’re going to do. I really fucking love you.”
I crushed him to my chest, holding him close. “I love you too.”
He squeezed our fingers and smiled. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late and Vanni and Amber will?—”
“We’re not meeting them, Teo. It’s just us tonight.”
Mateo squinted suspiciously. “You tricked me?”
“Yeah. I mean…I do have a reservation—table for two. I didn’t feel like sharing this news yet. It’s ours tonight.”
“So…you planned this?”
