Ethan took a step back and smiled at Amy. “You really are beautiful when you’re mad. I was going to tell you. I had it all planned, and then you found out. I decided there was only one way for me to prove to you that it wasn’t about the money or the deal or anything.”
“By leaving?”
“By finishing our deal and giving you the option of walking away.”
“If you love me, why would you do that?”
“So I can do this and do it right.” Ethan dropped down on his knee and pulled a small ring out of his pocket. “Amy, will you marry me, again?” He held the ring up. “This ring belonged to my grandmother. When she died, she left it to me. It isn’t as shiny or expensive as the ring I bought you before, but it means the world to me. And I want you to have it.”
Amy stared at the ring. The small blue center stone was chipped on one side, and the platinum band had a dull patina. Amy could tell that this ring had been worn for many years. This ring had been loved. This ring had passed through generations. Amy thought of Ethan carrying this ring every day for years. It had an emotional value that no money could buy. It was the perfect symbol of his love. This ring was Ethan, the true Ethan, the man who had spent years loving her from a distance, the man who had made a vow to win her at any cost, the man who knelt before her now, asking for her love in return. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, it’s perfect, but I have conditions first.”
“Anything,” Ethan said.
Amy tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t help but cry as Ethan slid the ring onto her finger. As soon as it was on, Ethan stood up and wiped a tear from Amy’s cheek. This was what she had wanted from him. “No more putting me on a pedestal. No more making major life decisions without asking me first. I want to be with you, but only if you’re willing to do things differently this time.”
“I want that too. I just wanted to badly to make everything perfect for you that I forgot what worked best about our relationship.”
“And what’s that?”
“I could talk to you for hours and hours and never get bored. I think I could talk to you for the rest of my life and never get bored. I could lie on the couch and watch movies with you for all I care. I could do almost anything and be happy, as long as you’re there. I’ve never felt that way about anyone else. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Amy said. She stared down at the ring in disbelief. She was engaged to Ethan Cole, for real. She wondered how she would explain this to everyone. “How do we do this?” She asked.
“I thought maybe we could be engaged for longer than a few hours, maybe a few months instead? We could start maybe by spending some quality time together. I rented this place out from Hank for the week, and I know a few great restaurants in town. I’m sure we could also find a few places that would let us order in. What do you say? I was thinking a traditional engagement. We could get married next summer.”
“That sounds good to me. It will give me time to plan a wedding. One thing’s for sure: I don’t want to go back to the courthouse. That means we’ll have to find someone to marry us.”
“I know just the person.”
“Who?”
“Vi.”
“Vi?”
“Yeah. Like I already told you, she’s an ordained minister, and she recently registered as a marriage officiant in DC.”
“Wait, was she in on this?”
“I’ll leave that one between the two of you. I think she’d be great.” Ethan gestured toward the French doors that opened to the back patio. “Let’s enjoy the sunset while we think about what to do next.
As they walked outside, Amy felt the cool ocean air wash over her. She listened to the waves crashing on the beach below. “I hope we can find somewhere as beautiful as this for the wedding.”
Ethan grinned. “I know the perfect place.”
“You know what would be perfect?” Amy said. She had a playful spark in her eye. “Telling me first.”
Chapter 26
Amy stared out the window of her office, trying to retrace the events that had led her to this moment. She watched the rush of afternoon commuters below, a sea of men and women streaming down the sidewalks toward the nearest train stations, the young staffers half running towards happy hour, the bosses heading home to their families, and she wondered how she had envied all of them for so long.
She watched the afternoon sun dip below the buildings across K Street, casting shadows onto her window. The view from the roof of her own building would be breathtaking, a late summer sunset she’d remember for the rest of her life. She caught a glimpse of her reflection. She looked at her carefully arranged hair and down at the neckline of her dress. She looked at the glint of the reflection of the thin gold necklace and locket Violet had given to her as her something borrowed and something old. The locket had belonged to Amy’s grandmother, and Amy’s mother had worn it on her wedding day. Amy had spent months wondering what she would look like at this moment, and now she knew.