Adaline shook her head as she glanced around the car. “I guess so.”

Five minutes later I was pulling into the driveway of my mother’s house as she stood on the porch waiting for us.

“Hold on, let me get your door,” I said as I jumped out of the car and jogged around to open Adaline’s door.

I helped her out only to have my mother scream Adaline’s name and slam into her as she gave her a giant bear hug.

“Oh, Adaline! I’ve missed you so much my sweet girl.”

Adaline looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’ve missed you so much too, Candace.”

My mother pushed Adaline out at arm’s length and looked her over. “My goodness, you’ve become such a beautiful young woman. The flush on your cheeks is adorable. Adaline, your eyes look so happy, sweetheart.”

A beautiful rose color moved across Adaline’s face as she peeked over to me and then back at my mother. “I guess being in love will have that effect on you.”

My mother quickly glanced over to me and smiled bigger. “Let’s go inside; I’ve made your favorite.”

Adaline gasped. “Chicken tacos?”

“You’d better believe chicken tacos.”

I’d never seen Adaline’s eyes fill with excitement over food before. “Oh my gosh, I’ve missed your chicken tacos!”

I watched as my mother and Adaline walked arm and arm into the house. I knew in my heart what I was about to do was the right thing.

Time wasn’t stealing anything else from me ever again.

CANDACE AND I TALKED NON-STOP for two hours as Emmit sat by quietly and listened. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed her really until I saw her.

After a quick tour of her house, we went to sit on the back porch with a glass of wine.

“So, Adaline, what do you think about this new job?”

“It’s a blessing I feel like I don’t deserve.”

Candace laughed as she brushed me off. “Non-sense. Mr. Elliot has been talking about bringing on his own medical team for the last two years.”

Peeking over at Emmit, I noticed he was staring out over the lake. He seemed nervous and I wasn’t really sure why.

I turned back to Candace and grinned. “"It’s funny how you go off looking for what you thought was your dream . . . only to find out your dream was right in front of you the entire time."

I glanced down at my hands and let out a soft chuckle as I glanced back up. Emmit was piercing me with his gray eyes as I felt my heart sink to my stomach. “Turns out my dream was racing a hundred and ninety miles an hour around a race track.”

Emmit’s lips parted slightly as I watched his eyes begin to water. He quickly made his way over to me and lifted me up. Emmit pressed his lips to mine and kissed me amorously. I was so moved by the kiss I could feel his love rushing into my body.

When we finally broke our kiss and Emmit set me back down, he gazed into my eyes as he asked, “Will you marry me, Addie?”

A sob escaped my lips as I heard Candace gasp. I didn’t even need time to think about my answer. I knew what it would be since the first time Emmit kissed me.

I quickly wiped my tears away. “Yes! Oh God, Emmit. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Emmit smiled the most stunning smile I’d ever seen. He hooted and hollered as he reached for me and spun me around. Candace began jumping and clapping her hands while tears rolled down her face. “Let me get some champagne!”

Emmit looked back at his mother and said, “Sounds good, Mom.”

As Candace took off back into the house, Emmit took my hand in his and led me down the dock toward the water. My heart was beating a mile a minute as I tried to wrap my thoughts around the fact that I just got engaged. Emmit came to a stop at the end of the dock and faced me. Taking both of my hands, he flashed that dimple at me and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“You just made me the happiest man in the world, Addie.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Emmit, you just made me the happiest woman in the world. I don’t even know what to say right now.”

Emmit dropped my hands and reached into his pocket. He went down on one knee as I covered my mouth and began crying as Emmit opened the box in his hand. A beautiful princess-cut diamond sat in the blue velvet box as I started crying harder.

“I’ve been holding onto this ring for three and a half years, Addie. I can’t wait to slip it onto your finger.”

Reaching my left hand out, I started giggling when I saw how bad I was shaking. Emmit slipped the ring on my finger and then kissed the back of my hand. It fit perfectly.

The moment Emmit stood up, I launched myself into his arms, causing him to stumble back. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was about to go right into the lake. Grabbing onto me, Emmit pulled me into the lake with him as we both started laughing.

I wrapped my arms around Emmit’s neck as I bit down gently on his lower lip. “God, I’ve never in my life felt so happy before.”

Emmit’s gray eyes went dark as he searched my face. “I swear if we weren’t at my mother’s place right now, I’d take you right here and now.”

Butterflies danced in my stomach as I lifted my eyebrows. “Sex in the lake. I like the sound of that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Emmit asked as his eyes danced with excitement. “I think I can arrange that.”

Laughing, I pressed my lips to Emmit’s and poured as much love into the kiss as possible.

“What in the world are you two doing in the lake?” Candace asked as Emmit and I both glanced up at her.

“Addie wanted to go for a quick swim.”

Splashing Emmit, I swam back over to the dock. The second I got out of the water and stood up, Candace grabbed my left hand and screamed. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Emmit’s mother looked lovingly at her son as she said, “Oh, Emmit. Darling, it’s beautiful.”

As I looked back down at the ring, I was so thankful Emmit had bought it before he really started making money. The last thing I would want is a two and half carat diamond on my finger. “It’s perfect,” I said as I stared at the ring on my finger.

“Come on, you two. Let’s get you inside and dried off,” Candace said as she motioned for Emmit and I to head back to the house.

We walked hand in hand as water dripped off us both, I couldn’t think of a better way for Emmit to ask me to marry him. It felt as if I was walking on cloud nine.

I never wanted this feeling to end.

I let out a contented sigh as I got lost in the story I was reading. I had made Emmit a list of things we needed from the store for dinner tonight, and he insisted I stay behind and relax while he ran in to the store.

I placed my Kindle in my lap as I stopped and listened. Was that a doorbell I just heard?

I had been so lost in my story; I thought I heard someone at the door. With a shrug of my shoulders, I went back to reading.

Then I heard someone walking across the kitchen floor in heels. As I jumped up, my Kindle fell to the hardwood floor.

“Emmit? Sweetie, are you here?”

Sweetie?

I reached down for my Kindle and grabbed it as I quickly made my way into the kitchen. Stephanie was standing there unpacking bags of food.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. Stephanie jumped and let out a scream. I hadn’t meant to sound like a bitch, but I had to admit, her calling Emmit sweetie took me by surprise.

Stephanie’s hand went over her chest as she dragged in a few breaths. “Holy fucking shit, you scared the living piss out of me, Adaline.”

Nice mouth.

Giving her a slight smile, I said, “Sorry, I could say the same but I won’t.”

Her face turned red as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Oh . . . um . . . well I knew Emmit would be back home with no race this week. I usually bring him some food. I wasn’t able to get over here until now.”