Some days are best spent at the park with good company. The warm glow of the sun on your cheeks, the cool breeze tousling through your hair, and the squeals of a well-amused toddler and an occupied boyfriend. It's perfect for lounging against a tree and burying your nose in a romance novel.

The silence is quickly disturbed by my child torpedoing toward me and crushing my insides. He pokes his head above the book and smiles.

"Hi, Mummy." He grins.

"Are you having fun?" I ask.

"Yes," he shouts. "Daniel pushed me on the swing."

I place the bookmark between the pages of my book and settle it beside me. Daniel rests his head on my stomach and sighs. I rustle my fingers through his hair and smile.

Daniel joins us on the picnic blanket and Noah leaps onto his lap and giggles.

"Drink some water, Noah, you've got red cheeks!" Daniel comments.

He takes their drink bottles from the backpack and has a drink.

"Are you two hungry?" I ask.

"For ice cream." Noah's eyes light up.

"Always for ice cream." I chuckle. "It's almost like you're deprived of ice cream with your obsession with it."

"Ice cream would be nice, it's a bit warm out here."

"Maybe we can have ice cream on the way home then."

"Okay." Noah pouts.

"Don't frown, let's see what delicious snacks are in here."

Noah peeks in the backpack and gasps. Daniel passes the containers to Noah and he inspects what's inside each one before placing them on the picnic rug. When Daniel reaches the bottom of the bag, he scrounges around.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm looking for something," he mutters. "I think something is missing."

I search through the containers and all the food I packed is there.

"It's all here unless you packed something else?" I frown.

"Wait, I found it." He pulls out a small black velvet box and my mouth drops.

Daniel moves to his knee and opens the box. There lay a beautiful diamond ring that sparkles under the rays of the sun. I look up to Daniel and his nervous smile is adorable.

"Falling for you was the best leap of faith I've ever taken. In the course of our relationship, you've helped open my heart back up to my family and the possibility of building a life with someone. I love you and what we're building. So I'm asking, Miss Ellie Rhodes, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I scream.

"Yay." Noah cheers.

Noah leaps into my arms and I kiss the top of his head before standing up. Noah clings to my side as Daniel engulfs me in a hug. He pecks my lips before finding my hand, which is a little shaky. He takes the ring out of the box and slips it onto my finger. He kisses my hand and rubs my finger.

"I love you."

"I want to see," Noah says.

Noah holds my hand and gasps.

"It's so sparkly."

"How about we grab ice cream on the way home to celebrate?" I chuckle.

"Let's eat first! It's still beautiful weather out here," Daniel says.

Once we're filled with snacks, we lay on the picnic rug together and watch the clouds floating through the sky. The sun is beginning to set which has shattered the blue sky into hues of pink and orange.

Daniel's phone buzzes and he sighs. He checks the phone before sliding it into his pocket.

"It's getting late, we should probably head off."

"I suppose we should." I sigh.

It would be nice to lay in this bubble for a little longer, but you can't escape reality for long.

"Let's go then."

* * * * *

By the time we arrive home, the sun is long gone and the stars are out. A cheeky Noah is tossed over Daniel's shoulder which makes him wiggle and squirm with laughter.

"I'm thinking, dinner, bath, and bed."

Noah pouts.

"What should we have for dinner? I'm thinking celebratory pizza." I grin.

I unlock the door and flip the light on.

"Surprise," everyone shouts.

"Um, what's happening?" I turn to Daniel and he's beaming with happiness.

"Surprise, it's our engagement party." He chuckles.

"So, this explains why you didn't want to stop for ice cream."

"Clara had a strict timeline I had to follow so everything went perfectly."

"I can't believe you planned all of this." I gasp.

"Our family helped every step of the way." We look at the crowd of people and my eyes well up with tears. Wow, that's amazing how they've all turned up to be here and celebrate this with us.

"There's a dress in the bedroom for you. I figured you'd want to wear something different for our engagement party."

"Thanks for organising this."

Daniel kisses my cheek while I sneak into the bedroom to change. I fix my hair and spray perfume before rejoining the party. It's not my most glamorous look, but the ring will surely steal the spotlight anyway.

There's champagne, hugs, and people demanding to see the beautiful ring. I manage to circle through the room before making it back to the kitchen to take a breather. I glance up and lock eyes with Craig. He slides a glass of champagne towards me.

"Congratulations on the engagement."

"Thanks!" I take the glass and have a sip. "I'm surprised you're here. Is Noah spending the night with you?"

"I can take Noah for the night if you need."

"Thanks for the offer."

"I was surprised when Daniel asked for my permission, even more surprised when I received an invite. I assumed it was from you but I can see this is all a surprise."

I glance over my shoulder and smile at Daniel.

"I genuinely had no idea any of this was happening. Did he actually ask for your permission to marry me?"

"Yes, and I believe your mother's. I believe he wanted to make sure I was okay with him being Noah's stepfather. I appreciate the fact he spoke to me and I'm glad you are happy, Ellie. Daniel's a good bloke. Noah's lucky to have him in his life as well."

"Thanks, Craig."

"Let's sit down sometime soon and chat about things."

"I'd love that."

Daniel appears by my side and wraps his arm around my waist.

"Thanks for coming Craig." Daniel smiles.

"Thanks for the invite."

Craig nods and wanders back to circulating the room.

"We should thank our guests for coming and roll out dessert. Noah's hanging for some ice cream."

"Of course he is."

Daniel grips my waist and leads me back to the lounge room. He raises his glass and the music is turned off and people's attention wanders to us.

"I'd just like to thank you all for coming to celebrate our engagement, we're happy to have everyone here to celebrate with us. I can't believe I'm standing in here, in this house, with this beautiful woman, willing to share and spend the rest of her life with me. I love you."

"I love you."

Daniel raises his glass and takes a drink.

"Please continue to enjoy the rest of the evening. I hear pizza and ice cream are on their way." Daniel looks at Noah and he smiles.

* * * * *

"What are you doing out here?" Daniel asks as he crosses the yard.

"It's the only way I could get Noah to fall asleep. He will party until he collapses and I'm not keen on a grumpy toddler waiting for that to happen." I chuckle.

He takes a seat beside me and places his arm across my shoulder. We gaze down at Noah who's fast asleep in my arms, softly snoring.

"I can wrap up the party so we can put Noah to bed," he says.

"Let's sit and enjoy this a little longer."

I rest my head against his and watch the mingling people through the window. There's a soft hum of music and light chatter floating towards us.

"I love you," I murmur.

"I promised I'd catch you." He chuckles.

"Ah, that's right, you did."

"Our first date feels forever ago. It honestly feels like I've known you my whole life."

"Thank you for being persistent and patient with me. It's the scariest but best leap of faith I've taken and the closest I've felt to home in a long time," I admit.

"Here's to the biggest leap of faith."

He kisses me and completely knocks the breath from my body.

Falling in love is never easy, but sometimes there comes a person and the fall, however it may end, is worth falling for. 

* * * * *

Thanks for spending your time reading this story and I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did! I appreciate all of your comments and support throughout the year encouraging and reminding me to continue updating this book. I can't believe one year later, it's done and dusted!