Boy, she couldn’t believe she was in something like this, a Vera Wang dress. Or that she was going to a gala fund-raiser…for the Roxbury Community Health Initiative. It was going to be an amazing night. The governor, Jack Walker, was going to speak and the money raised would go to the Anne W. O’Banyon endowment for the center.
Sean came around in front of her. “So you think the skirt’s too long?”
He eased down on one knee and tugged lightly at the dress. As he did, he had a little half smile on his face, a secret grin that she’d learned he only gave to her.
Over the past two months, they’d seen each other every weekend, either because he flew up or she flew down. They talked on the phone constantly, usually way into the night, and it was safe to say that things were way better than good.
He’d kept his promise and started to see a therapist, even though she knew bringing up the past was hard on him. When he’d call her afterward and talk to her about the sessions, she could hear the emotion in his voice, but he’d made a commitment and he didn’t stop going. No matter how difficult it was.
Because her man was like that. Strong.
“I think the length is perfect,” he said.
“Still, maybe being in heels is better.” She glanced over her shoulder at a shoe box that was next to the sink. Then turned back. “Could you pass me—”
Lizzie’s mouth dropped open and her heart stopped beating.
Sean had taken a small leather box out of somewhere and was holding it up to her with the lid closed.
“What is that?” she whispered.
“Like I said, I thought you were missing something.” His eyes were warm and grave as he opened the thing.
A diamond the size of a thumb glinted out of a black velvet base.
“Oh…my God…”
“Lizzie, I know it’s early, but I love you and I want you to be my wife. And I can’t hold on to this ring anymore. It’s been burning a hole in my pocket since I bought the damn thing.”
He loved her? He loved her?
He’d never said that before, though she’d suspected it. What he felt for her had been in his eyes and his voice and his body. But she’d figured he might never actually speak the words just because self-expression was hard for him.
Yeah, well, not only had he let the Big Three fly, he’d backed it up with a serious piece of geology and a proposal.
Sean flushed. “Lizzie, I didn’t mean to spring this on you. I just can’t not ask. I go for what I want. It’s my nature. And I want you—”
She fell to her knees in a rush of chiffon and threw her arms around him, crushing the ring between them. “Yes…yes…I’ll be your wife…. I love you, too.”
As his big body trembled a little, she got the impression he might have been a bit nervous.
“You know what, Lizzie?” He pulled back, slipped the ring onto her finger and held the diamond in place. “With you in my life, I’ll always be out in the sun on a summer day beside the river. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’ll always be happy.”
She smiled through her tears. “It’s the same for me.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Good.” He smiled and his South Boston accent came out in full force. “Because I love you there, Lizzie. Got it wicked bad for you.”
She laughed and held on to him again. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
***