There’d been some big changes in his life in the last few months, the greatest being how thoroughly and deeply he’d fallen in love with Annie. Once she found out Brody Robinson was helping him with his trust and impulse issues, she had full confidence that he would be fine and jumped in with both feet. All doubts removed and all secrets revealed, their relationship progressed rapidly.
He talked her out of house hunting and in to moving in with him. She’d objected, saying they were moving too fast, but he eventually won that argument. Just as he had with the situation with her grandfather. He understood Pops didn’t want a free ride and therefore accepted the monthly payments he offered. The payments didn’t come anywhere near the total cost, but Sam quietly paid the difference and persuaded Pops stay at Home Away from Home.
Annie later admitted that Pops was as happy as she’d ever seen him and loved the new place. He’d even met a “friend.” She was his age and loved the same things he did. They spent a lot of time together, playing cards and working in the community garden. Annie was able to visit him at least once a week, which pleased them both.
Having someone to come home to, or in his case, with, since they carpooled to work, was everything he thought it would be. They cooked dinner together and did the dishes together. And when he went out, she was always by his side. Going to sleep with her and waking up to her was also an amazing change to his life. They took care of each other, and he loved being with someone he considered a partner. A partner he happened to be madly in love with.
Time to make it permanent.
He walked to the microphone that was set up in the middle of the stage. Clearing his throat into it had the room settling down in an instant. While waiting for everyone to quiet down, he noticed Phil and Tracey standing together in the front row, holding hands. He gave them a thumbs-up.
“Hey, everyone, thanks for coming out tonight. You all know why we’re here. Denali has launched beyond our wildest expectations. We’ve worked so hard for so long, and now it’s time to reap the rewards. I’m sure there will be a few things that need to be ironed out, but, hey, we did it! Here’s to you all.” He raised his glass to the audience, and everyone cheered.
“I know everyone wants to party down, so I’m not going to burden you with a long, boring speech. I just wanted to say thank you and maybe have you be a part of one other project I’ve got going.”
Heads perked up, wondering what project he could be talking about. “Since we’re already drinking champagne, I thought I’d throw out another reason to celebrate. Annie, could you come join me for a second?”
Annie was standing in the front with a proud smile plastered on her face. When he called her up, the smile dropped, and her eyes got wide. He could see those around her pushing her forward. Finally, she made it to his side.
“What is this?” she whispered.
“Do you trust me?” He held the microphone behind his back so no one could hear. She smiled and nodded.
“As much as we tried to keep it a secret, most of you know Annie and I have been seeing each other. Like, on a personal level.” The crowd clapped, and a couple of the men hooted and whistled. Sam laughed and motioned for quiet again.
“I wanted to take this opportunity, in front of God and all of you to ask her to marry me.” Turning to Annie, he pulled out the little blue box that had been burning a hole in his pocket for the last two weeks and bent to one knee. He opened it to reveal a three-carat, classic cut diamond, mounted in white gold, and nestled in a mound of black velvet.
The crowd gasped and then went silent. It was so quiet he was sure everyone could hear his heart thumping. Annie was standing with a hand on each cheek, her mouth wide open and tears streaming down her face.
“Annabelle O’Neill. I love you. More and more every day. And I trust you…implicitly. With my money, my secrets, but most importantly, with my heart. Will you be my wife?”
She paused, and he panicked. Oh, God. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she might say no. What if she turned him down in front of all these people?
Finally, she put him out of his misery and started nodding wordlessly before shouting, “Yes, of course, I will marry you. I love you.”
He dropped the mic, stood, and put the ring on her finger. Then he picked her up in a giant hug and began twirling her around. The crowd cheered, and he heard more champagne corks popping. He didn’t care that it was cliché as hell, and he might as well be in the ending of a romcom. He’d never been so happy.
When he finally set her down, he bent and whispered in her ear, “I’m not having a prenup drawn up either.” He leaned back and smiled.
Her smile fell, and an incredulous look took over.
“If you don’t, I will,” she said.
“Oh no you won’t,” he said.
“Oh yes I will.” Her mouth was set in a straight line.
“Oh no you won’t,” he repeated but smiled, knowing full well where this was going.
“Oh yeah,” she said with a wink. “Watch me.”
The End
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