Once in a Lifetime

He shook his head. “I mentioned I was an ass, right? I never should’ve blamed you for that—”

“But I—”

“Yeah, you did,” he said. “And then I went on to make the most of those two years. It’s over and done, Aubrey,” he promised. “And anyway, I’m hoping if I play my cards right, you’re going to give me a lifetime.”

This cause a huge gasp from the crowd, and Aubrey matched it with one of her own. “What?” she whispered, certain she’d heard wrong.

He dropped to a knee.

“Oh, my God.” She put her hands to her mouth and stared down at him.

“You’re everything I need,” he said. “Everything I’ll ever need. And I’ve needed you, Aubrey, for a long time. Every single second since you threw that drink in my face.”

She choked out a half laugh, half sob. “You never said—”

“I should have. Another mistake,” he said, his expression serious. “The good news is that I learn from my mistakes, always. Marry me, Aubrey. Marry me and give me forever.”

She felt her eyes go wide. Felt her heart kick hard. From her peripheral vision she was aware that the entire crowd had surged forward to peek over the counter in order to get a look at Ben McDaniel on one knee.

“Are you going to reject me in front of at least one hundred of our closest friends and family?” he asked lightly.

She looked into his eyes and realized he wasn’t nearly as calm, cool, and unruffled as he was pretending to be, and it squeezed her heart. “No,” she said.

His expression grew very serious, and there was absolute silence in the room. “No,” he repeated, clearly trying to figure out what exactly she was saying no to—the proposal or rejecting him.

Letting out a laugh, Aubrey dropped to her knees in front of him, eyes burning as she met his gaze. “I mean yes.”

“So…yes you’ll marry me, or yes you’re rejecting me?”

“Yeah, honey,” Lucille piped up, leaning over the counter. “There’s a pretty big difference there.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” Leaning into him, Aubrey wrapped her arms around Ben’s neck as their audience broke out in applause.

“Shh!” Lucille snapped above them. “I can’t hear; I want to hear!”

“There’s nothing more to hear,” Aubrey said, eyes on Ben. “It’s all been said.”

Ben’s eyes smiled first, and then the smile spread to his mouth. And then he lowered that smiling mouth and kissed hers.

“You’ve given me so much,” she said against him. “What do you get?”

His eyes soaked her up, as though maybe he’d never get enough of her. “You.”