Let me help you clean up,” Sophie told Mia.
“No way.” Mia smiled at her very pregnant friend. “This was your baby shower. You’re not doing any of the cleaning.” Mia had hosted the party at her apartment, and all the guests had scattered except for the guest of honor and Kate. The past eight months had flown by, and Mia was over the moon for her best friend, who was due in just a few weeks.
“I should be congratulating you too.” Sophie hugged her. “All this baby talk, and we haven’t even touched on your big success.”
Kate grinned at Mia. “Yeah, Ms. Win a Huge Verdict.”
Mia had just won her first major case as a plaintiff’s lawyer. It had taken her this long to fully adjust to life on the other side of the fence, but it suited her. “Thank you both. I finally feel like I’m doing what I need to be doing with my career. It’s an amazing feeling to help people.”
“Speaking of helping people, I think the guys just arrived. They told me they were coming to help us clean up,” Kate said. “I think we’ll accept the reinforcements.”
“Good.” Mia laughed. “I also think they’re hoping for the leftovers.” She heard deep male voices waft through her apartment.
“There you guys are.” Kate laughed as the three men walked into the room.
Landon and Cooper immediately made a beeline for the food still set out on the table. But Noah made eye contact with Mia and walked her way.
“Hey, you have a minute?” he asked.
Mia looked up at him. “You want to help me clean? This place is a mess.”
“Sure, but can we talk for a minute first?”
It seemed like something was bothering him, so of course she said yes. She took him by the hand and led him into the kitchen, away from the others.
“Noah, what’s going on? Is something wrong?”
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Nothing’s wrong at all. I’m just nervous.”
His strange behavior was confusing her, and she hoped nothing had happened. It had been such a wonderful day so far. “Nervous about what?”
He took her hand. “About this.” He dropped to one knee.
She sucked in a breath but didn’t say anything.
He pulled a ring out of his shirt pocket and held it up. The diamond glistened under the kitchen lights. “Mia, I love you more than I could have ever imagined. I don’t have the words to describe how much I love you. All I can say is that I would lay down my life for you. I will protect you and love you until my dying breath.” He paused, and she felt tears form in her eyes. “Mia, will you marry me?”
She knew her answer without reservation. “Of course I will.”
Noah stood and slid the ring on her finger as her hand shook with excitement. He wrapped his strong arms around her and spun her around the kitchen before giving her a big kiss.
He set her back down. “I love you.”
“I can’t believe this. Do the others know?” she asked.
He laughed. “Yeah. They were all in on it. I’ve been a nervous wreck all day, but I had some great accomplices. Since I’m the last one to do this, believe me, they gave me a lot of advice. But I was still so worried.”
“Why? You knew I would say yes.”
“Because I love you so much, and I didn’t want to mess up this special moment.”
“It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
She heard voices behind her and knew her friends were coming to congratulate them, but she couldn’t let this moment pass without stealing another kiss from the man she loved.