Isabel burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. Her sister was a screwball at times.
“It’s now,” Edward said.
“Really?” Sophie released her and squealed, clapping her hands together. “Do it. Go ahead.”
“What’s going on here? You are acting even crazier than normal, and normal is still pretty damn crazy for you.”
Edward moved toward her, and then he went down on one knee.
Her heart started to race as she knew what a bended knee meant.
Holy crap.
“Isabel Benson, you are the only woman for me. The moment I met you, I fell in love with you, and let’s not forget lust. You are the most precious woman in the world for me, and I love you with all my heart. Will you please do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife, and then we can get started on all of those wonderful kids?”
She was speechless. The ring was small, delicate, and beautiful. Staring at the man of her dreams, she opened her mouth and closed it.
“You want to marry me?”
“Yes, I want to marry you. I told you. I’m in this for life, and that is not going to change. Will you marry me, and make me the luckiest man in Cape Falls?”
Staring into his eyes, she knew he spoke the truth. Edward believed he was the luckiest man in the world. Even with everything he knew, he still thought that way.
“Yes, but you’re wrong. I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
“Yay, she said yes. I get to be bridesmaid. No, wait, I want to be maid of honor. Can I be, please, please, please?”
“You know for a grownup woman, you act like a child at times,” Edward said.
“Please, it’s not every day that your big sister gets married, and I was part of it. Hey, what happened to your proposal idea of the big day, huh? That’s tomorrow, hello, shouldn’t you be like, waiting?” Sophie asked.
Isabel couldn’t stop laughing. Her sister was always the kind of person to say it like it is.
“You were going to propose to me on Christmas Day?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Sophie was singing Christmas carols, in between doing the wedding march.
“Yeah, I was. I wanted this to be a moment you never forget. Every time you’re preparing turkey, you will know that I love you, and that I wanted turkey to be the most romantic meal in the world.”
She couldn’t stop laughing. She was so damn happy.
“This is going to be the rest of our lives, no matter what?”
“No matter what, and I mean all of you, Isabel. Every part of you I will love, and I will cherish.” He pressed his lips against hers, and she melted, like so many times before.
Epilogue
Three and a half years later
Isabel stared down at the box in her hand. Her stomach was slightly swollen with her and Edward’s second child. Mia, their first little girl, was with Sophie out in the yard. They were having their first barbeque. Edward had spent all spring preparing it, and now they were going to feast. All of their friends from Control were there, including a couple of the locals.
Three and a half years had created a lot of growth inside Cape Falls. It wasn’t all clear, but the animosity, the old-fashioned values that was once so rife within the streets, had begaun to fade.
She no longer heard whispers, or gossip. Everyone was moving forward, and trying to build a new reputation for Cape Falls, one that was taking the town’s artisanal flair, and building toward a better future.
It had been four and a half years since she had cut herself. The last cut on her thigh had been the one that Edward had chained her up for when he had completely felt helpless. In the beginning, the desire had been so strong, and at times it had frightened her how strong that grip had been. Over the years, it had faded. When Mia came, Isabel was so scared that she had made sure her focus was on their little girl. She had started to think less and less about the pressures, and more about enjoying what she had.
She didn’t need the cutting anymore, and even though it was a long process, she was done. Staring at the tin that had held what seemed like every single key to her life, she saw it was now empty.
Placing a hand on her stomach, she found that she breathed so much easier, and if it wasn’t for Edward showing her what strength she had, she didn’t know what would have become of her.
All of her life she’d thought she was weak, and yet, she had been strong. She just hadn’t seen it yet.
Leaving the bedroom, she made her way downstairs, smiling at the guests. They were loving the food that she and Sophie had prepared.
Glancing toward her sister, she saw Sohpie had Mia on her hip as she spoke to Ryan. Those two had started to get close. She didn’t know if anything was going to come of it. Her sister was a big ball of energy.