“Damn, I love living here,” he drawled, the satisfaction in his tone undeniable.
Not long after we started dating, my best friend moved out to take a job a few hours away, and since Brody always told me I was his home, he moved in.
“I love you,” I told him.
His sigh was content when he lifted my boneless body off his chest so he could look into my face with his espresso stare. “I love you, Taylor.” His voice was husky from our heated sex.
I was never going to get tired of hearing him say that. I collapsed once more against his bare chest and sighed.
“I was thinking,” he said. “We should get out of town for a bit, just me and you.”
I sat up and stared down at him, the red waves of my hair falling between us. “Is it work? Has someone made a threat against you?”
“No, Tay.” He tucked the hair behind my ear. “Nothing like that. There hasn’t been one hint of a threat or retaliation since that night Snake came to your dad’s.”
I blew out a breath. It seemed his past with the organization was definitely behind us and wasn’t going to be a risk toward our future. “Then why do you want to leave town?”
He smiled. “There’s this thing called vacation…”
I smiled. “Oooh, I like the sound of that.”
“I’m thinking Hawaii. The sand, the water, you… me…” He gave me a suggestive look, reaching up to cover my breast with his palm.
“I like the way you’re talking.”
“I was also thinking maybe while we’re there… you might marry me.”
The world stopped. It was as if we were a movie and someone hit pause. Long, incredible seconds stretched by. And then I took a breath.
“You want to get married?” I whispered.
“I want to tie myself to you in every possible way.” From somewhere, despite his naked body, he produced a small velvet box.
I took it and carefully lifted the lid.
Nestled in the velvet pillow was a ring I knew very well. A sob ripped from my throat.
“How did you—” my voice broke as I reached down to finger the gorgeous antique ring. It was my mother’s wedding ring. My mother’s mother wore it before she passed it on to my father to give it to her.
As a child, I used to sit and admire it, thinking how beautiful it was and how much my father must have loved her to give her something so sentimental. It was something I always would associate with my mother because she never took it off. In fact, she loved it so dearly I thought she was buried with it when she died.
“When I went to ask your father for his blessing, he gave it to me.”
My eyes filled with tears. “You asked my father?”
Brody nodded. “I respect him. He loves you.”
A tear escaped and rained down across my cheek. I couldn’t stop staring at the ring. It was more stunning than even I recalled.
“I didn’t realize he had this,” I said, fingering the delicate gold band.
“He told me right before she died, your mother took it off and gave it to him. She made him promise that when the time was right, he would make sure you had it and that you knew how much she loved you.”
A sob caught in my throat as even more tears flooded my face.
I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe when he took the box from my hands and removed the ring. I continued to cry and make a mess of myself as he positioned the ring to slide it over my finger.
“What’s your answer, Tay?”
“Yes,” I said, the word barely even comprehensible through my sobs.
It slid over my knuckle with ease, fitting into place like my finger was exactly where it belonged. I stared down at the unconventional ring, my chest expanding with joy. It wasn’t a diamond, but instead, the large square center stone was a blue-green tourmaline that reminded me of the ocean waves. On each side of the stone was a cluster of three seed pearls. It was all set in a delicate eighteen-carat gold band that lovingly held tight to the stones.
“Oh my God, Brody, you have no idea what this means to me.”
He smiled and reached up to stroke my cheek, wiping away some of the tears. “I’m going to love you forever,” he vowed.
And he did.
THE END