Sierra felt tears sting her eyes as she listened to the joy and pride in Joseph’s voice.
“I’ll be back,” Damien whispered before he released her and moved toward the stage.
Sierra decided not to stick around. She couldn’t bear any more that night and still have any of her heart left intact. Before she was able to make a retreat she was caged in. She looked up to find Damien’s best friend, Trinity on one side of her, and Bree on the other.
“I need to use the restroom,” Sierra told them in a desperate attempt at escape.
“It can wait,” the two women said in unison before they looked at each other and giggled.
Damien approached the stage with confidence and gave Joseph a hug before he turned to the crowd. His eyes scanned the room before settling on Sierra.
“I’ve made many mistakes in life. I don’t regret them, because they’ve shaped me into the man I am now, however, I wish I wouldn’t have been such a fool for so many years. My best friend gave me some beautiful advice, of which I took some, and ignored the rest,” he said as he sent a wink toward Trinity.
“It gets better,” Trinity whispered to Sierra who looked at her with confusion. What was she talking about?
“You see, I’ve done many foolish things in my life, held grudges that weren’t warranted, sought revenge that wasn’t called for, and the most ludicrous of all, let the woman I love escape.” Damien’s gaze connected with hers and she looked back with uncertainty and…hope.
He wouldn’t be so cruel to say those things about another woman, so maybe…” she was afraid to even think the thoughts.
The room started to stir as people shifted. Sierra was so focused on Damien she didn’t notice the men and women coming toward her. She was suddenly lifted into the air and placed in a chair which was then picked up, as the group of men carried her to Damien.
“I’ve only loved one other person my entire life, and she saved me when I was a child. I’ve only ever been in love once, and you saved me as a man. Please forgive my foolishness, my faults, and my insensitivities. I can’t live in a world where you’re not by my side – I’m just a shell of a man without you in my life.”
Sierra’s convoy placed her on the stage and she was quickly pulled into Damien’s arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked into his eyes, the truth of his words shining from him.
“Damien –”
“Wait, there’s more,” he said as he placed his finger over her mouth.
There was a collective gasp as dozens of people stepped forward, each with a bucket filled with different colored rose petals. They filled the stage with the fragrant pieces, creating a romantic bed of color.
“Take a seat,” he told her before he helped her sit, and then walked off the stage. The crowd parted and there was a stage in the center of the room with a microphone and guitar.
Sierra looked at the men standing along the back of the stage, it was all the Anderson and Titan men, dressed to the nines, looking amazing as they gazed back at her and winked.
Damien joined them, then picked up the guitar. She watched in awe as music started drifting through the room and he stepped up to the microphone and began singing, I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz.
When he sang the lyrics speaking of sunrises and never giving up on their love, tears began streaming down her face. When the men behind him joined in on the chorus, some of their voices off-key, some singing beautifully, she was sobbing.
At the end of the song, he set the guitar down and walked to her, pulling a small box from his pocket as he knelt on the bed of rose petals.
“I won’t ever give up on our love again. You are my sun, moon, and stars. You’re everything to me. I don’t want to live a life without you beside me. Please, marry me, Sierra, take away my worst regret and let me show you what you mean to me every day for the rest of our lives and beyond.”
There was no doubt what her answer would be. She’d never imagined loving someone so greatly, never thought a man would love her so much. His hands trembled in front of her as he held out the opened velvet box with a simple solitaire surrounded by beautiful diamonds on either side.
“Yes, Damien, oh yes,” she whispered, and he slipped the ring on her finger, a perfect fit.
Sierra didn’t notice the applause from the crowd, or the tears in her new family’s eyes. She noticed nothing but the love in Damien’s beautiful face…and it was all for her.
Epilogue
One Year later
“You realize this wedding killed my uncle a little bit, don’t you?” Bree said as she stood next to Sierra.