Page 71 of Hogging the Hunk
Milo chuckled, though I detected a note of nervousness. If he was hoping for me to be giddy and shrieking with delight, my performance was subpar. “It’s for you.”
My whole body started shaking as the brain fog of disbelief was burned off by the tidal wave of joy rushing over me. “You’re proposing?”
Shifting from his seated position, Milo moved to one knee. Clasping my hands in his, his amber eyes burned with love. For me. “Yes. Trying to, at least. I seem to have forgotten everything I was going to say. Line, Ellie?”
“Tell her you’ve loved her since the day you met her,” Ellie whispered.
Chuckling, Milo gave credit where it was due. “Right, thanks. You know, you’re not wrong that she planned almost this whole thing?”
“You did?” I asked.
Ellie smiled so I could see all her teeth. “If I would have left it to my dad, he would probably have tossed a cheap gold ring in your lap and asked if you wanted to wear it for a while.”
That made me roar with laughter. “That sounds like something he’d do. Too nervous to remember he’s actually very romantic.”
“That’s why I took it upon myself to help him make this a memorable occasion,” Ellie said proudly. “Trixie and Maren went ring shopping with us, so they could give us all the pros and cons of different rings. I learned a lot with Hudson and Remi. They got me hooked on a couple of older romantic movies where all this funny stuff happened, but in the end, it was all really sweet.”
“My friends turned your movie viewing preferences to the dark side, huh?” I asked, not surprised at all that Ellie would succumb to the romance genre in time.
“I’ll still watch thrillers with you, but yeah,” Ellie beamed, “there are going to be some romcoms thrown into movie night.”
Milo feigned a groan. “I’ll be out-voted for the rest of my life.”
“You’ve been outvoted since the day Ellie was born,” I said sagely. “Everyone knows daughters wrap their daddies around their fingers without even trying.”
“True.” Milo winked at Ellie. “Before we get sidetracked discussing the merits of various movie genres, I should probably make this proposal official. I’ve forgotten again, Ellie. Remind me what my next line was?”
Cupping her hand to her mouth, Ellie hissed, “That you know you haven’t been dating for very long, but you—”
“Right. I remember now.” Squeezing my hands, I could feel Milo quiver with nerves. It was so adorable to see him so shaken up by all this. He had to know there wasn’t a chance I’d turn him down. “Beckett, I know this may seem sudden. We’ve only been officially dating each other for a month, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s barely scratching the surface of the eternity I hope to spend with you.”
The world was going blurry and my throat tightened. Was this real? Or was I dreaming something beautiful but impossible? Engaged in a month? Where had that been in my life plans?
Milo looked misty-eyed, too. “Time with you has been fickle and unpredictable. Waiting for you to open your heart and let me love you might as well have been centuries. I died a thousand deaths watching and waiting for you to choose me over any other man.”
“A little corny, Dad.” Ellie sputtered a laugh behind her hand. “But carry on. Don’t mind me.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at his daughter, and a glistening tear spilled out. I wiped it away with my thumb. Something about a strong man crying made my insides all gooey. “You were saying?”
“The wait was torturously long, but the second you chose me, it was like it all happened in the blink of an eye. I’m not lying when I say I loved you from the first moment I met you. We both might have resisted it for a long time, but it doesn’t change the fact that when the heart wants something, it’ll do everything in its power to get it.”
“Sorry it took me so long to quit being bullheaded,” I said, sniffling back my own happy tears.
“It’s alright.” Milo’s mouth quirked into a grin. The happy flutters in my stomach when he smiled at me would never get old. “I’m a veterinarian. I’m used to dealing with all sorts of stubborn creatures.”
Ellie giggled as I playfully smacked his arm. “You’d better watch it, mister, or maybe I’ll turn you down just to make you sweat.”
“My apologies.” Milo kissed my knuckles and groveling never looked so sexy. “All joking aside, I have so much to thank you for. My relationship with Ellie is better than ever. My belief in love is unbreakable. The grace and forgiveness I’ve learned to extend to myself has removed so much weight off my shoulders. Joy is now woven through the fabric of life. All because of you.”
“And don’t forget about Truffle.” Ellie scratched Truffle’s snout and tossed her a cucumber slice.
I searched my memory, but came up blank. “How was I involved with you getting Truffle?”
“It’s a long, amusing story involving Ronald Calhoot and the day I took out the trash.” With his eyes glinting with good humor, Milo shrugged. “I’ll tell you about it some other time.”
“Not right now?”
Milo shook his head. “If I told you, you’d probably storm off to find Ronald, so you could tell him a few choice words. Right now, I’d rather you not be angry.”