Third Base (The Boys of Summer Book 1)(71)

“Um… I wasn’t exactly at a meeting.” Her face falls, as the lie sinks in. When she tries to get out of my arms I hang on tighter. “Hold on, let me explain. I had to tell you I had a meeting so you wouldn’t ask to come with me. I went to pick up a present for you.”

“Why didn’t you just say you were going shopping?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, because I’m a dumb guy?” I walk us over to the couch and set her down, kissing her nose before letting her go. “Stay here.” I walk around the half wall and grab one of the two boxes I picked up for her today. Neither are Christmas gifts, those are all under the tree, professionally wrapped by the amazing women in the department stores.

Her eyes widen when she sees how big the box is. I have a feeling she knows what this is, even though I had it wrapped.

“This is a ‘just because’ gift.” I sit down next to her and hold the box on my lap. “I think you’re amazing and love you so much. I can’t wait for you to succeed in your career and this is to help you along.”

I slide the box over to her lap, watching her eyes light up as she tears into the paper. I know for a fact that her Christmases have been so different since her grandmother passed away and with this one being her first without her grandpa, I’m trying to make it special - which is one of the reasons why my parents are coming. My mom plans to show her how the Davenports celebrate.

“Oh my god, Ethan… this is too much. I can’t.” She tries to hand me the Mac Book Air, but I push it back toward her.

“You’re going to need it when you start working and I’m tired of hearing you complain about that crappy Acer you bought.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Besides, I’ve seen how much you love mine. Now we can be twins.”

When Daisy looks at me, her eyes are full of tears. “I love you so much, Ethan.”

“I love you, too. Meeting you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She looks at me quizzically. “Really? What about being drafted?”

I take her laptop from her and put it on the floor, pulling her in to me so we’re prone on the couch. I reach for the remote, and turn down the lights before turning on some soft music. The white lights from our first Christmas tree twinkle, casting a luminous glow over the living room.

“I told you before, meeting you was kismet. I meant it then and I mean it now. We were destined to be together.”

Daisy wraps her arm around mine and presses her back into my chest. I love lying with her like this, where neither of us can move away from each other.

“Sometimes you sound like a girl.”

“I know. I can’t help it. You bring out my girly side.”

Trailing my fingers up and down her arms, I know I have to be careful or she’ll fall asleep here. It’s happened so many times, and while I don’t care, I have another present for her.

“Daisy?”

“Hmm?” she says, close to sleep. I sit up slightly and roll her over to face me. I can’t resist the small pout on her lips and lean down to kiss it away. She deepens the kiss, but I pull away, leaving both of us breathless.

My fingers ghost down the side of her face as she looks at me with her vibrant green eyes. “You’re so beautiful.” I tell her this every day. I never want her to think that I don’t find her the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I think we need to make this permanent.”

“We live together, Ethan.”

“I want to share everything with you, Daisy.” She sits up, matching my position. “I know I’m not doing this right and it’s not how I planned this out in my head, but some things are best left unplanned, right?”

She nods, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I wish I had the opportunity to ask your dad or grandfather for permission, but I think your grandpa would be okay with this question…” I roll over her legs and onto my knee. She moves so she’s facing me. I pull the ring out of my pocket that I picked up earlier. I put it in my pocket, hoping to move it to my nightstand so I could propose in the morning, but right now feels right and I don’t want to wait.

“Daisy, when I look at you I see my future. I see you as my wife, partner and cheerleader. I see you as the one who will keep me grounded and be the first to remind me that I’m being stupid. I want to be there when your career takes off and hold your hand when we find out we’re starting a family. I want you to be the first one I kiss when I finally win a batting title or the World Series. Most importantly, I just want to be with you. Daisy, will you marry me?” I hold the platinum band with a three-carat solitaire surrounded by diamonds between my fingers.

By the time I finish my speech, her mouth is covered and she’s crying and so am I. “Yes, Ethan, oh my god, yes!”

I take her hand and slip the ring on before pulling her into my arms. Our lips meet and our kiss deepens as I set her back onto the couch. I pull her shirt off and mine quickly follows, building a pile in the middle of the floor. With a flick of my thumb, her bra is off and my mouth waters at the thought of sucking on her breasts.

“You’re breathtaking,” I tell her as I stand and kick off my shoes and pants. She copies me, tossing the rest of her clothes onto the floor. My erection bounces against my stomach when I take off my boxers, causing her to laugh.