Leo strides over with the cake in hand, and Emmie coos at the sight of it.
The two of them head back to the table, and I’m about to wrap my arms around Jasper when Hux strides over.
“I’m going in,” he whispers as he walks boldly over to the tree where Mackenzie stands alone as if priming herself for this moment, and I have no doubt she is.
“A double proposal.” Jasper hugs me from behind as we enjoy a bird’s-eye view of both happy couples. Across from us, Mom, Dad, Gwyneth, Jordy, Macy, Georgie, Juni, in addition to Eve, Elsie, and Arthur are at attention.
Emmie takes the first bite of that luscious layer chocolate cake, and I’m ready to drool for a bite myself.
Jasper tucks his mouth to my ear. “Where did you plant the ring?”
“About halfway in,” I whisper.
Hux’s voice hikes a notch from the tree, and I can see Mackenzie’s cheeks pique with color.
“What are you talking about?” she practically shrieks. “Are you saying you’re thinking of breaking up with me? Here? On Christmas Eve?”
“Yes,” he belts it out. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.”
Georgie breaks out into spontaneous applause, and Mom nudges for her to stop.
“Ha!” Mackenzie laughs in my brother’s face. “You wish you could break up with me. I was just about to break things off with you—only I had the class to wait until the new year. You are cold-blooded, Huxley Baker. And that’s exactly why you’ll spend the rest of your life in and out of dead-end marriages. You don’t care about people. The only thing you care about is the chase. Well, guess what? I only care about the chase myself. And I’m all done chasing you.” Her voice hikes to the ceiling, and the entire lot of us gasps.
Emmie bucks and garners my attention as her hand slips to her throat.
“Oh, here they go,” I whisper with excitement as I pull Jasper around me tightly. “It’s happening.”
He nods. I’m not entirely sure if it’s going as planned for Hux, but Emmie looks surprised, and Leo looks as if he might pass out.
Emmie bolts up from her seat just as Hux shouts, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, sweetie.”
“Oh, I was never your sweetie,” Mackenzie fires back. “I was playing you from the beginning. You don’t get to tell me to leave. This is my town. Every last inch of it belongs to me. You get the hell out, Huxley Baker, and don’t you ever let me see your rotten soul again!”
Emmie’s hand clutches her throat as she looks to me with sheer panic in her eyes. She knocks over the chair behind her and starts to flail around the room while her eyes enlarge to dangerous heights.
Can’t breathe!
“She’s choking!” I shout.
And soon, both Leo and Jasper are fighting to wrap their arms around her from behind.
“You’re too close to her emotionally,” Japer bellows. “I might need to crack a rib,” he says as he attempts to give her the Heimlich.
“The hell you’re going to crack a rib,” Leo roars back as he shoves Jasper off.
All four dogs begin to bark at once as Fish zips over to me.
Don’t just stand there, she yowls as Emmie does an odd little dance, her face quickly turning purple. Save your best friend, Bizzy! You can’t let her die on Christmas Eve!
Leo and Jasper continue to battle for her, and I waste no time in wrapping my arms around my bestie from behind and giving her three solid squeezes that are, yes, effective enough to crack a soul, let alone a rib. And on the third try, she regurgitates every last bite of that cake in a projectile stream that pins Leo in its wake.
A horrible groan circles the room as Emmie gasps for every breath she can get.
Without hesitating, I yank a bunch of linen napkins off the table and quickly clean the two of them up as Leo quickly sits Emmie back down and gives her some water.
“What the heck happened?” Emmie looks blindsided as her hand continues to pat her throat. “I baked that cake myself. Something must have fallen into the batter.”
Leo takes a breath as he holds up a chocolate-covered mess in his hand before quickly rinsing it out in a glass of water on the table.
“This fell into the batter.” He sighs as he looks lovingly into Emmie’s eyes and drops to one knee.
The room stills around them—with the exception of Hux and Mackenzie who have stooped to slinging expletives at one another, but no one seems to be paying them or their salty language any mind at the moment.
Both Cinnamon and Gatsby come in close and sit by Emmie’s feet.
“Elizabeth Lynn Crosby”—tears gloss Leo’s eyes as he begins—“I fell in love with you hard and fast. And once that happened, I didn’t want to waste a moment. I wanted to make you mine in every single way. You have felt like family to me from the beginning. And today I want to ask you to be my family until the very end—and straight through eternity.” He holds up the diamond sparkler. “Will you marry me, Emmie? Will you be my wife?”
Her cheeks pique with color as her lips part. Then, in a moment, she falls on top of him with a hearty embrace.
“Yes!” she beams, and both Cinnamon and Gatsby bark with approval. “I can’t believe this.” She laughs as he slips the ring onto her finger. “This thing almost killed me.”
The room breaks out with cheers and laughter, but the sound of Hux and Mack going at it only seems to escalate.
“Oh hush, all of you,” Mackenzie snips, and the room falls quiet once again as she turns her fury back to Hux. “And to think I was actually going to propose to you tonight!”
“What?” he riots the word out. “You were going to propose to me?” A river of words dam up in his throat.
