His Ransom 6(23)

“What? Steph!”

“I’ll tell you later, okay? It’s seriously weird. But right now, you should enjoy your proposal and Paris and… and not even think about me!”

Her cheeks were flushed pink, and Steph wasn’t the type to blush easily, so I let it go. I would pry into her and Lucas some other time. She was right. I should be enjoying myself in this moment.

As Jake and I walked out from under the Eiffel Tower to see the stars, I sighed with happiness. He was going to be a part of my family.

And despite the craziness of the past week, I was excited to be a part of his family, too.

The Eiffel Tower lit up with twinkling lights, and a group of street musicians began to play a song, a classical waltz.

Jake turned to me and bowed. I took his offered hand, and he pulled me into his arms. He began to waltz majestically, turning me in circles. I laughed and stepped along, letting him lift me off the ground through the turns.

I was getting a bit dizzy, and I saw my dad dancing with my mom off to the side. Lucas held a hand out to Steph. And Connor and Tim were galloping around us all in a parody of a polka.

Jake twirled me, lifting me up into the air, and my gown fluttered in the wind. He brought me back down into a dip and then kissed me.

“My future wife,” he whispered, his lips grazing mine.

“My future husband,” I whispered back.

Jake gathered me into his arms and we danced slowly. The lights around us twinkled in a blurry night fog. It was like we were dancing in the middle of a painting.

And this was a painting I wanted to keep working on… forever.