Give Us a Chance (37 page)

He chuckles. "I'm not. I was just hoping you could give me another gift right now."

"But I...I don't have one." She sounds so sad. "I'm sorry, Nash. I should've got you another one to open here. I'll go to the store right now."

He takes her hand, pulling her up from her chair. "You don't need to. The gift I want from you isn't a gift you can buy in a store."

"Then what is it?" she asks, confused.

He takes a deep breath and looks in her eyes. "Last summer when I went to fix up the house I inherited, I had no idea what I'd find. I ended up finding a houseful of junk and enough old newspapers to cover the planet at least twice."

Callie laughs. "That's for sure."

"I also found something else. But it wasn't in the house. It was right next door. I found someone to talk to, a person who quickly became a friend. Someone who I grew to love. Someone who became my girlfriend. And now..." He gets down on one knee. "Someone who I hope will become my wife."

Callie's shaking, tears running down her face, and then she lets out a laugh. "You got Cat involved in this?"

"He's my good luck charm. And he's a good helper."

We all stand up and see Cat sitting next to Nash, wearing a red bow tie collar. Hanging off the collar is a black velvet ring box. Nash opens the box and takes out the diamond ring.

He holds Callie's hand. "I love you, Callie. And the gift I'm asking you to give me today is the gift of being my wife. Callie, will you marry me?"

"Yes." She's still crying and smiling as he slides the ring on her finger. "I love you, Nash."

"I love you too." He picks her up off the ground as he hugs her.

"Do we sing Happy Birthday now?" Austin asks.

We all laugh.

"Idiot," Bryce says.

"What? It's better than standing here staring at them."

My dad just shakes his head.

"Congratulations!" Jen and Ivy say as they run up to Callie and hug her.

"I'll go get the champagne," my dad says.

"You have champagne?" Nash asks. He sounds surprised because we usually only have beer in the house.

"I got it a few weeks ago," he says. "I knew this would be happening soon. I just wasn't sure when. But I thought I'd better keep a bottle on hand." He glances at me. "Looks like now I'll have to go get another one."

What the hell's he looking at
me
for? I'm not getting married, at least not anytime soon.

My panic must show in my expression because Austin's pointing at me, laughing. "Look at his face."

"You're such an idiot," I mutter, reinforcing Bryce's earlier statement. But Bryce is laughing too. "You're both idiots," I say.

Ivy comes back around the table, sliding her hand down my arm and giving me a kiss. "I'm going to go help your dad with the glasses."

"Okay." I kiss her back.

As she walks off, Austin says, "You are SO going to be next." And then he laughs.

I look over and see Nash smiling at me. "Might as well join the club."

"Yeah, I'm not quite ready for that."

But when I
am
ready to get married, I have no doubt it will be to Ivy. The hot, sexy, talented carpenter who captured my attention from the moment I saw her. The first and only girl to turn me down when I asked her out. The girl I couldn't help but fall in love with. And the only woman I can imagine myself being with both now and in the future.

"What are you thinking about?" Ivy asks, handing me a glass of champagne.

I kiss her. "I was thinking about joining a club."

"Oh, yeah? What club?"

"Just some club Nash was talking about. But I'm not joining right away. Maybe in a couple years."

"Do I get to join this club?"

"Yeah." I chuckle. "If you agree to join, then yeah, you'll be a member."

"What? I don't get it."

I kiss her. "Don't worry about it."

"To Nash and Callie," my dad says, holding his glass up.

We all clink glasses and say our congratulations and drink our champagne. Then Nash and Callie kiss, and Austin, Bryce, and my dad start taking the dishes to the kitchen.

"I'll be there in a minute," I tell them. I take Ivy into the living room, away from the newly-engaged, kissing couple. "So when we're done here, you want to go home?"

"Yeah, I should probably clean my apartment. It really needs it."

"By 'home' I was talking about my loft. What do you think about moving in with me?"

She smiles. "Are you serious?"

"Totally serious. So what do you think?"

"Doing this will strip you of your title of Chicago's most eligible bachelor. You sure you want to give that up?"

"I lost that title a long time ago, and I never want it back."

"Then yes." She hugs me. "I'll move in with you."

It's a big step, especially since we haven't dated that long. But I'm done worrying and second-guessing and being fearful of what may or may not happen. There are always two possible outcomes, a good and a bad. And when it comes to Ivy and me, I have no doubt the outcome will be good.

###

From the Author

Want to read more about the Wheeler boys? Bryce's story is coming soon! And if you liked Jake and Ivy's story, please tell a friend or leave a review.

For news about upcoming books, as well as sneak peeks and bonus scenes, go to
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Books by Allie Everhart

The Jade Series

(New Adult Romance/Suspense)

Choosing You

Knowing You

Loving You
 

Promising You

Forever You

Finding Us

Becoming Us

Always Us

Garret: A Jade Series Companion Novel

The Kensingtons

(Romantic Suspense)

Needing Her

Keeping Her

Protecting Her

Only Her

Contemporary Romance

Next to Me
 

Give Us a Chance