Page 94 of Choosing Us

“I will … consider it. But seriously, I thought something was legitimately wrong, Ryan Callahan! You scared me.” She playfully hits my chest, but I take the opportunity to grab her left hand. I guide it down, and with my other hand, I slide the engagement ring where it belongs for the rest of our days.

She leans into me with a gasp as she stares at her hand. “It’s so pretty, Ryan. Like, it’s a perfect fit. How did you know my ring size?”

I lean over and kiss her forehead before I meet her gaze with a grin and tilt my head toward the house, making Harlow look back to my porch where my family is pressed up against the windows. I throw my head back in laughter before sliding my arm around Harlow while I wave them out with my other hand.

“Did it fit? Did she say yes? Is it happening?” Eloise yells as she runs across the backyard to us. “I helped!”

“You had children help, huh?” Harlow asks with a smug grin.

“I had children play dress up with you, so we could know what size of ring fit, to be exact.”

She drops her mouth in shock. “I didn’t even guess! Eloise was so sweet when she wanted to play princesses at their house last month!”

“I did good, huh, Uncle Ryan?” Eloise asks as I reach up to give her a high five.

“You did awesome, kiddo.”

Eloise beams with delight as the rest of my family descends on us, and we officially kick off our engagement party on the monstrosity basketball court in my backyard.

“See? You needed this more than you know,” Jack jokes and pulls me in for a congratulatory half hug as I won’t let go of Harlow.

“Oh, you had this all planned when you snuck this in here, did you?”

“Not this specifically, but I knew good things would come.” He looks wistfully over at Tinsley, who is gushing over Harlow’s ring.

“I think we could use more good things, right?” I ask.

“Absolutely, brother. And this? You two? It’s a very good thing.”

I couldn’t agree more.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Me

Hey, I thought your flight would have landed by now but maybe you got stuck on the runway again in Chicago? I’m headed into a meeting right now so if I miss your call, I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Me

It might be a late night for me. Do you want to just go to my apartment from the airport instead of driving back to Forrest Falls? Let me know. Love you!

I wait another moment to see if the texts says delivered or read, but it just sits there. He must not have connected to Wi-Fi on the flight or something, although he was into that new thriller he started on this trip. Am I surprised I’m engaged to a reader? No, not at all. We have completely different tastes in genres, but we both love spending time together while reading independently. Plus, he really does have the most comfortable couch in his den.

Christine knocks on my door as she walks by, letting me know the team is gathering. “Coming!” I call out as I gather my blue and black notebooks, and the iced vanilla almond latte she recently delivered to my desk.

If Christine ever threatens to leave us for another job, I will do whatever I can to keep her on our team. She’s such an asset and is so attentive. Which is helpful when I’ve been known to skip meals altogether when I’m in the zone, but that’s been less frequent since Ryan likes to ensure I eat, which could sound strange, but I think it’s sweet.

He not only sees me, but he doesn’t judge, and he just meets me where I am.

I’m so lucky. I still can’t believe this is my life.

I hip check the conference room door as I enter and can tell by Mason’s face that this is not just a routine update meeting.

Walker returned from paternity leave yesterday. I’m proud of how well he’s handling being away from Vivian and their babies—although I’m sure knowing that his parents are there this week to help with the transition eases his mind.

We wait until Kelly arrives, followed by Christine who closes the door once we are all corralled into our places.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get started. Mason is going to walk us through a case that came to us this morning from Quantico. Mason?” Walker nods to the youngest member of our team who has his computer ready to go.