40. Dana

Chapter 40

Dana

Six Months Later

W e'd only lasted seven months before Cole got tired of us picking and choosing which house to sleep in. So instead of doing the normal, sane, non-rich person thing—selling one and staying in the other—he decided we needed a new one altogether.

And of course, keep the others. For investments, he said.

Seeing as I had no interest in being a landlord, I'd just given it to my parents instead.

At least he'd listened to me when I insisted on something small enough that we wouldn't lose our son every day. It was still big, bigger than anything I was used to, but we had land and we had a view, so I agreed.

Drew and Brody babbled happily to each other in a language I couldn't even begin to understand as they lapped at their ice cream in unison. Over time, Drew had begun to lose the intensity of the green in his eyes, and although they still shone nearly as bright as his father's as he grinned across the lawn at me, they had a hint of me in there too.

A lot had changed since Cole had entered our lives. I could see it in the faces of the people at our home, the ones he'd insisted on inviting on our first night in the new property because apparently, christening it meant something entirely different to him. My parents, my sister who was somehow still in town, all mingled by the fire pit. Grayson and his daughter, Penny, helped Cole at the grill, and to my surprise, our son seemed to listen to her orders better than he listened to mine. Lottie and Hunter, always there, chatted away in the sun loungers behind me, catching the last rays of the sun before it dipped below the mountains.

Most surprisingly, however, was the presence of Cole's parents and his two siblings, Hayden and Harley. They had made the journey out from their quick trip to New York. That relationship was easily the rockiest of them all, but he was making an effort, and so were they. It seemed almost silly to me for them to fly out here for a housewarming party, but I wasn't about to question a rich family over how they spent their money. For all I knew, it was the same as just driving to the grocery store for them.

But Cole had been truly trying with them. Even if it meant a mental breakdown once a month where I had to talk him down from throwing away his chip.

But we were learning together, working through it together. Dad had been right—that was the best choice. Life was easier by his side even though we had to fight our demons. At least we weren't succumbing to them.

The business was looking up, too. After everything that had happened, the official launch was canceled and postponed, and instead, the new line would be making its debut by summer. This get-together he'd thrown had been more than a housewarming party—Cole and Hunter had officially partnered up and would be joining teams for the full-scale push of the lineup.

Pulling my knees to my chest as I sat in the grass, I watched as everyone mingled. I couldn't help but feel how full circle we'd come, from where we'd started over three years ago in Lottie's backyard to now. My life had changed drastically in those three years, from tears and heartache to the happiest I'd ever been, even if it came with struggles.

"Mama!" Drew shouted across the lawn, grinning and showing his full set of baby teeth as he held up his clean popsicle stick from his ice cream with pride. "Ice cream!"

I chuckled as I set my chin on top of my knees. I'd never expected to love anyone as much as I did with that kid.

Warmth touched my skin as a hand wrapped around my front, pulling me backward into something warm and hard. I hadn't even heard him approach, let alone sit down behind me. I tilted my head back into his chest, looking up at him and his warped features from my perspective.

"You laughing at my son, Beechings?" Cole grinned, the edge of his lip pulling up on one side and accentuating his dimple. Even upside down, as he loomed over me, it made my chest ache.

"What's it to you, Pearson?" I giggled, reaching one hand up to poke him right in the crease of his dimple. He blocked out the sun for me, letting me take him in against the dimming blue background of the sky. Minutes from now, it would flood with pinks, oranges and reds, but if he stayed above me, I wouldn't see them. Just him.

And that was fine with me.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss against my lips, his nose brushing the bottom of my chin. "Not being very sociable, I see," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist instead and pulling me into the crook of his arm. I didn't have to crane my neck to see him, didn't have to stare upside down.

"Is it so bad to just sit on the sidelines and appreciate how insane this is?" I grinned. "Everyone's here. No one's fighting. Even Brody and Drew aren't tackling each other."

Cole leaned into me, pushing his nose into the crook of my neck and pressing a kiss just below my ear. "It's only a problem when you don't include me on the sidelines."

I chuckled. "You were busy with your fancy new grill."

He rolled his eyes as he pulled away from my neck. "Gray is more than capable of grilling for me," he said. He looked out at the group, at the calmness of it. His eyes lingered on Drew as he found a stick to play with, and neither of us said a word when he started poking Brody in the side with it. "Can I run something by you?"

I glanced up at him, but he was far too lost in Drew's antics. "Sure."

"I was thinking we could go away this summer," he said, slowly dragging his gaze back to mine. He sat fully forward, motioning for me to do the same, and I watched him carefully as I angled myself in his direction. He lifted his head a little higher to block the blinding rays of the harsh angled sun before it could blind me. "After the launch, I mean."

Abso-fucking-lutely. "Costa Rica," I blurted, not wasting a single second on hesitation or consideration. "I want to go back to Costa Rica."

He flashed a grin at me that told me that was exactly what he had in mind. "Yeah. Costa Rica. We could go for a few weeks, or really however long you want. Invite whoever you want," he grinned.

"Wait, you want me to invite people?" I asked, my brows knitting as I considered that. Why the hell would I want anyone other than Drew to join us when we'd already had time there with other people?

"Well…" He laughed, the grin on his face so fucking wide it was suspicious. He glanced to the sky, one hand reaching across to grasp mine. "I probably shouldn't have said that part yet."

He leaned toward me, cupping my cheek with his free hand, and pressed the softest kiss against my lips, and then my nose, and then my cheek as he dropped his hand away.

"I was thinking we could do something else while we're there," he said, and puzzle pieces started falling into place.

I met his gaze, narrowing my brows as I studied him. "Cole," I pressed, but before I could question him further, something hard and wooden pressed into my open palm. My stomach twisted, but it wasn't like all those times before when it made nausea bubble up in my gut or made acid accumulate in the back of my throat. This was butterflies, excited but anxious nerves that almost tickled.

I knew I needed to look down, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew what I'd find, knew the moment would progress, but I wanted to remember this. I wanted to remember the way he looked, the dimple that stood out like a fucking beacon, the light in his eyes that had finally returned, the nervous little grin he wore. I wanted to take a photo of it in my mind, wanted to burn it into my memory and erase every bad one with that.

But I did look down. And I couldn't breathe.

Just between us, out of sight of the others, he popped the little box open. Sitting on a little white cushion, a silver ring with two bright green gemstones shone in the flickering sun.

"Sapphires," he said.

Oh, my god.

A knot formed at the back of my throat, tears filling my eyes as I gently lifted the ring from its pillow. "Cole," I whispered.

"Marry me," he breathed, shutting the empty box and placing it behind him. "I want this. I want you , I want Drew. I want this life we've made. We can do it in Costa Rica with whoever or no one. We can make it our place."

He pressed a kiss to my shaking lips. I frantically wiped the tears away before anyone could catch wind of what was happening. It was only minutes until they would, but I wanted to savor this. Wanted to live in this little bubble we'd made forever. I stared down at the two green sapphires, each inlaid in a circle of diamonds.

"You can say no, obviously," he added, tense green eyes meeting mine. "But I'd prefer you didn't."

"In what fucking world would I say no?" I laughed, sniffling past the tears as I slipped it onto my ring finger. Of course, it was a perfect fit.

He smiled in that stupid, annoying way that made my chest ache in the best way possible, and I pressed my lips to his, taking in the last seconds before the sun fell behind the peak of the mountains, before the world knew, before Drew inevitably came running over with sticky hands and ice cream on his face, before we had to announce it to everyone else in attendance and I had to explain the two rocks on my finger or what it meant.

"So it's a yes?" Cole asked through a laugh, his arms dragging me into his lap. It felt like home.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course it's a yes, Pearson."

THE END