Succeeding Love

Surprise

Vin

Eight months later….

“She’s coming!” Jessie giggled, hiding with Kate and her family inside the shop on Main Street.

“Go,” Preston pushed me out the door. “She’s going to get lost looking for us if you don’t hurry.”

“You got this, Mr. Anaconda!” Kate whispered loudly.

“Quit calling him that!” Wes groaned at his wife.

Kate’s been calling me Mr. Anaconda this entire family Christmas trip to Disney World. She called Lynn Miss Mole Rat, which I found hysterical after Lynn shamelessly explained it to me.

After the Disney trip last summer for Jessie’s dance competition, we planned another when Kate’s kids heard about how much fun we had. Having Kate here was also perfect, because she was the one that helped me organize this whole thing.

I nervously patted my pocket, feeling for the box I had stashed away for this very moment. Emma and Kate helped me pick it out, but I was still worried the one it was for wouldn’t like it.

Lynn was walking through the crowded street, approaching the Walt and Mickey statue, where a cast member was smiling and waiting to record the entire thing. She had two cups filled with Dole Whip, one already with a bunch of tiny bite marks taken from the top. Her personalized Minnie ears were slightly askew, and she was wearing her new Disney shirt after spilling ketchup on the one she wore into the park.

So fucking adorable.

“Where are they?” I heard her mumble, spinning around while taking another nibble of the treat.

“Lynn!” I waved my hands, trying not to laugh when she came to an abrupt stop as she saw me. She almost fell, but caught herself at the last moment, her full hands lifted in the air like she was more scared of losing her snack than falling on her cute little ass.

“There you are!” she said with a mouth full of yellow sugar. “Where are the others?”

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “I hid them.”

“You hid them?” She gave me one of those looks where her nose wrinkled, and her eyes lit up with amusement. “Hid them where? Where’s Kate? I got her stinking Dole Whip. It’s going to melt.”

Placing my hands gently on her waist, I took a breath to steady my nerves, then said, “I kidnapped them.”

“Kidnapped them?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “At Magic Kingdom? This is the happiest place on earth!”

“Hmm,” I squeezed her hips briefly as I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I still kidnapped them, so what are you going to do, Lynn? What are you willing to give me to get them back?”

A mischievous smile lifted her face. “They can stay gone. They’re with Kate. I’m sure they’re fine. They’re probably learning how to haggle for pins right now. We should get in line for the Dumbo ride! The kids won’t ever ride it with me.”

I rolled my eyes. Lynn hadn’t caught on yet. She was in her Disney high, as she had been all day.

Straightening her ear, I said again, “You don’t want to pay the ransom to get your kids and sister back?”

She thought about it for a second, taking another small bite of Dole Whip. I could almost see the lightbulb in her head click on as she finally got it.

“Oh!” She looked around us, like she was suddenly scandalized by what I said. She leaned in a hissed, “Here?! It’s Disney!”

“The happiest place on earth,” I repeated her words.

She giggled, then asked, “Okay, Mr. Villain. What do you want as a ransom?”

“Well,” I took a step back, pulling the box from my pocket.

Lynn looked confused for a second, then when her eyes landed on the box, they grew wide. She gasped, dropping both Dole Whips as she brought her hands to her gaping mouth. As I dropped on one knee and opened the lid, she began bouncing on her feet.

“Lynn, baby. Take a breath and let me say this before you-”

“Yes!!” she screamed, throwing herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a vice grip.

I held her around the waist, laughing as I kept us both from falling to the ground. People were cheering and clapping all around, but I barely heard them. Suddenly, it was like we were in our own little bubble; her clinging to my neck with a ring box between us.

I kissed her cheek, then said, “Feighlynn, baby. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You and your dog came into my life like a whirlwind, clearing out all my loneliness. You fill my every day with so much happiness already. I’d be a starved man without your smile and your endless giggles. You’re my home.” I reached for her beautiful face, pressing my thumb over her teary cheek. “Marry me, Lynn.”

“Yes,” she grabbed hold of my face, kissing me deeply. When she came up for air, she was smiling. It was the sweetest, purest smile I had ever seen on her breathtaking face. “So many times, yes.”

My smile was so wide it hurt. I was choking on my own tears as I finally slipped that ring on her finger. When she saw it, she threw herself at me again, wailing loudly at how beautiful it was. Thank fuck.

Her sister, Wes, their kids, and Jessie and Preston came through the crowd, clapping louder than anyone else.

Everyone congratulated us, and Lynn went to everyone at least ten times to show them her ring. She was so fucking cute, and now she was more than just my girlfriend. She was my fiance and would soon be my wife.

“Your turn!” Kate shoved a gift shop bag at her sister. “I found what we talked about. It’s in there, ready for you.”

Jessie and Preston gave their aunt an odd look, then Preston’s eyes went big. He looked between Lynn and me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of his expression.

Lynn was blushing, staring into the bag with a shy grin. When she pulled out a onesie with “Baby’s first trip to Disney” written on it, I was as confused as everyone else. Then Kate mumbled to her husband, “Seems they’ve been putting that anaconda and naked mole rat to good use.”

Lynn placed the onesie on her chest, then brought one of her hands down to her belly.

“I had a surprise of my own. You’ll have to pay your ransom over the next seven months.”

“You’re pregnant?” I whispered, wrapping my head around the fact that I was going to be a dad. I impregnated this amazon woman, and she was going to give birth to my child.

“I’m going to have a sister?!” Jessie squealed eagerly.

“Please be a boy,” Preston muttered, crossing his fingers.

“I’m going to be a dad?” I placed my hand over hers on her belly. “Really?”

She nodded, her glimmering eyes swimming with fresh tears. “Are you happy?”

“Baby,” I pulled her in, burying my face in her hair as my own tears broke free. “So fucking happy. You’re having my baby.”

“And marrying you,” she added in an airy whisper.

Fuck. I couldn’t be any happier than I was right at this moment.

“Happiest place in the world,” I said once again.

She giggled. “The happiest.”