She said yes! I can’t believe she said yes. I have no idea where the proposal came from, but the time was right to make sure she was in my life forever. I love her more than my next breath and I need her more than the oxygen I need for that breath. I want her with me forever, to be Milly’s step-mum and my wife – for the rest of our lives. And she said yes!

Showing her how much I love her wasn’t difficult, but it took all night for me to wear her out while I showed her. I think now she appreciates what she means to me. If last night was anything to go by, I’m gonna need to keep up my strength for her. For a long time. Probably have to eat double the veggies that I do now and increase my physical stamina with more hard labour on the farm.

I can’t wait to tell Milly about this. She adores Haven and the feeling is mutual. Haven is great with her and does those girly things like paint her nails and braid her hair in a fancy way. I can barely braid it normally.

Leaving her to sleep I stride to the kitchen to be met with a grinning Sarah and Micah. Stopping in the doorway with a frown I look at them both and ask, “What?”

Breaking out into a loud giggle Sarah can barely speak as she takes a deep breath and blurts out, “The walls were a rockin’ eh Dalt?!”

I look at her and narrow my eyes. “Are we really going there? Coz I have a great memory and I can certainly name nights where you two have kept us awake.

Hiding behind his cup of coffee Micah grins and with a laugh says, “Too right and it was absolutely worth it. Every. Single. Damn. Time.” He looks at Sarah and she giggles in response.

“What are you all laughing at?” Haven says with a yawn, strolling slowly into the room and looking from one to the other.

I hook my arm around her waist and hold her close to me as I tell them, “Nothing Babe. You two – say good morning to the future Mrs. Dalton Sullivan. I asked her last night and she said yes.”

With a loud squeal, Sarah rushes over and crushes us both in a hug so tight I wonder how she managed it. She’s not very big.

I give my new fiancé a kiss as Micah slaps me on the back and shakes my hand, then kisses Haven on the cheek.

“Congratulations guys. You both deserve a lifetime of happiness now and hopefully that’s what you’ll get.”

“Oh does this mean I get to be bridesmaid?” Sarah asks with a squeal of excitement and we leave the girls to discuss dresses and hen’s nights while I sip my coffee in silence. I share a grin with Micah as we watch the girls get so involved in their conversation that they temporarily forget we’re in the room.

“Big decision bro. I hope you’ve thought about what a shit storm this will create. Haven’s still popular with the press. They’ll have a field day when they find out about this. Look what happened after the attack. They camped outside the hospital for weeks waiting for a story.”

“Yeah I know.” I say, scrubbing a hand up over my face. “We’ll just have to deal with it like we have every other time.”

“Maybe you could sell your wedding photos to one of those women’s magazines and get paid squillions for it? Or donate the money to charity – your choice.” He finishes as I raise my eyebrow at him.

“I haven’t had time to think that far ahead just yet. Still coming to grips with the fact she said yes.”

“Know what you mean. I’m getting close to asking Sarah. Just haven’t found the right time yet.”

The silence is deafening as everyone turns to look at him. Sarah stands in shock at his words, which must have filtered through while they were laughing and planning.

“You want to marry me?” She manages to force out as the colour drains from her face.

Haven grips her arm as she wobbles slightly.

“Hell yeah I do. This isn’t exactly what I planned though. I didn’t think you were listening.”

I laugh at his naivety. He has a lot to learn about women. Even I know that they can multitask so well they never miss a thing. Especially when you want them to.

“Not asking now though. When the time is right, you can bet I’ll be expecting an answer but not just yet.”

Sarah looks at him with a smirk. “What makes you think I want to marry you anyway?”

“Maybe the way you tell me I’m the best lover you’ve ever had. Or the way you scream my name when we make love. Or the way you talk about our future kids. Or even the way you’ve told everyone already that I’m it for you.” He replies smugly, taking small sips of his coffee with a grin.

“Huh. Very sure of yourself aren’t you?” she asks with a giggle, her face going a shade of bright pink.

“Does that mean you want me to take you back to bed and prove it once more? Because I can do that Darl. No problems.”

“No way. I need a shower.” She says, taking off at full speed to get to the bedroom before him. He follows with a growl as he lunges at her in the doorway of their room, slamming the door shut behind him. We can hear Sarah giggling and I turn back to Haven with a grin.

“Well, well, well. We may have to have a double wedding. Didn’t realize things were so hot and heavy with them also.” I say with a smirk.

“Oh I had an idea that was coming. It was just a matter of when.” She informs me with a smile, before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Is this a woman’s intuition thing? I’ve never understood that stuff. You realize it’s creepy right? Kelsey always knew stuff just by looking at someone. Damned creepy, I reckon.” I say, shaking my head as she looks at me with a smile. “Even if I ever wanted to keep anything from her she’d just take one look at me and instantly know. Used to freak me out. You’re going to be exactly the same aren’t you?”

“Weeelll.” She says, sauntering slowly towards me. “I suppose that depends on if you try keeping shit from me. Your face gives you away each time you try to lie. You get this little wrinkle right here.” She rubs the spot between my eyes. “It’s a dead giveaway. Always has been.”

“Bloody woman.” I say with a wide smile. “I’ll never be able to keep any secrets from you will I?”

She leans in and gives me a long drawn out kiss. “Nope” She says as she pulls away.

We tell our parents that night at dinner. Haven made a special roast pork for them all and we waited until dessert before we reveal our good news. As expected they’re all delighted. They’re old friends so they always expected us to end up together. That was until Haven left and made a name for herself. Milly is beside herself with excitement as she realizes what this means.

I’m sure between the mums and Haven and Sarah, this wedding will be organized in no time. We haven’t had time to set a date as yet, but we’d better do that soon before they do it for us.

Lying in bed with my arms around her, too worn out to think about ravishing her beautiful body, I broach the subject.

“So have you thought about any dates yet?” I ask softly as I kiss her hair.

She raises her face from my chest and looks at me, locking eyes. “No. Not really. Today’s been such a whirlwind I haven’t had time to stop and think about it.”

Reaching down to brush her long hair away from her face, I say, “How about the first of September? It was our graduation day remember?” with an evil laugh I add, “Plus it was footy grand final day too.”

She punches me softly on my shoulder with a giggle. “Trust you to remember that.” With a sigh she says, “I suppose that’s a good date if it’s a Saturday. That gives us a year or so to plan it properly.”

Drawing my brows in with a frown I reply “No Babe. This September not next year. It’s May now. I figure three months is long enough to plan a wedding, right?”

“Three months? Are you serious?? You can’t plan a wedding in three months. There are dresses and fittings, caterers, reception venues, churches to book, wedding cake – “

I cut her off with a kiss. “Three months. I’m sure between us all we can do it. You know our mum’s could organize it by Monday if they had to. I’ll do whatever I can to help, but Babe, I’m a bloke. We really don’t have much idea about any of this shit. You women are much better and I know that you’ll get what you want that way. You just tell me what you need from me and we can make it work.”

She lets out a long sigh as she looks at me seriously for a minute or two. I worry that she’s gonna argue that it’s not enough time, but instead she says softly, “Okay”

“Okay?”

“Okay” she says firmly. “We’re getting married on the first of September this year. We can do this. We can.” Not sure if she’s trying to convince me or herself, but I’m happy that she agrees.

I fall asleep listening to her soft breathing and thanking my lucky stars for her returning to me.