I couldn’t see her, not really, because my heart was beating in my throat, and I was nervous as hell. So it took me a full minute before she came back into focus, before I stepped out of my own way long enough to see her soft, wondrous smile.
“Yes,” she whispered, her smile beaming back at me. Sienna shifted on the bed, arching her back and straining so she could kiss me.
It took me another few seconds to comprehend that she’d accepted. And when I did, I finally exhaled.
“Yes?” I couldn’t believe it.
I held her smiling gaze as she nodded, grinning wildly.
“Holy shit,” I cursed, beyond happy, beyond joy and elation. I was equal parts euphoric and stunned.
Wrapping her in my arms, bringing her body flush with mine, I kissed her. And then I made love to her again, taking special care of my woman.
Because I’d just won the lottery of life. Sienna Diaz was going to be my wife. The least I could do was show my betrothed how much she was loved.
I fished the ring out of my pants pocket while she slept—after we’d made love for a second time and as the sun rose. I slipped it on her finger where it belonged. She stirred just as I fixed it into place.
Her lashes fluttered. She saw me and reached for me. I grabbed her hand, pressed our palms together, and brought her wrist to my lips. She gave me a sleepy smile. But then she blinked, her eyes snagging on her third finger, her gaze sharpening, and her mouth opening.
I grinned. She looked like a cartoon character—exaggerated wide eyes, gaping mouth, disbelieving wrinkle between her eyebrows—I loved how expressive she was.
“Holy shit.” Her gaze moved back to mine and she repeated breathlessly, “Holy shit.”
I grinned wider. “It’s platinum, a two-carat, old mine cut diamond, passed down on the Oliver side of the family for three generations, from father to oldest son. Each giving it to their betrothed. After my grandmother passed, my momma—who was an only child—kept it in a safety deposit box my daddy didn’t know about.”
Before meeting Sienna, I’d tried to give the ring to Drew for Ashley. He’d turned me down, saying, “Your momma wanted you to have it, for your woman. She liked to talk about you as a father, raising your own babies. She thought you’d make a great dad someday.”
Even I appreciated the epic nature of this ring. An heirloom, impressive, irreplaceable, important beyond its monetary value. Priceless. It caught and captivated the light. Glittering like a thousand stars. The ring looked important. And that was good, because it communicated to her and to the world how I saw her. She was important, impressive, and irreplaceable to me.
“This is my ring?” Her words caught, her voice cracking.
I nodded, happy she was happy. Her happiness was all that mattered to me. “This is your ring.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she moved them to mine. “This is my ring. And you’re going to be my husband.”
I laughed, though my throat was also tight with some emotion I couldn’t quite pin down. It was more than contentment. More than relief. More than joy. It was all of those things and more.
I decided it was love, because nothing else had ever come close to feeling this good.
CHAPTER 32
“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”
― Socrates
~Jethro~
We didn’t announce our engagement to my family. I hated lying, yet I would in order to protect Sienna. But I wasn’t about to ask my family to tell falsehoods. So we said nothing during the few days that followed our engagement, neither confirmed nor denied the truth. Luckily, no one asked. They just eyeballed the ring and arrived at their own conclusions.
Though Cletus was huffing more than usual since he caught sight of it.
She wore the ring on her right hand most of the time when she was on set or when we were at my house. But when we were together, just the two of us, she’d slip it onto her left and stare as though she expected it to disappear.
Like now.
We were in her trailer, five days after my proposal, the sun just rising in the sky. Though we hadn’t planned to, we’d spent the night. I’d stopped by with takeout from The Front Porch, expecting to take her home after. One kiss turned into several kisses, then kisses all over, then urgent lovemaking on the kitchen table.
Neither of us wanted to leave after that. She was off to London in the morning and this was our last stretch of time together before she left.
So Sienna had made coffee and we’d talked until late, sharing one bunk. The twin bed should have been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. The small space meant I held her tight all through the night and that suited me just fine.