When You're Back(71)

Confused, I turned and headed up the path toward the flickering lights. As I came to the first one, I saw rose petals sprinkled along the ground. Smiling, I bent down to pick one up. What was he up to?

I continued walking and saw red, white, and pink rose petals decorating the pathway. As the house came into view, I noticed a flat box sitting at the end of the path. It was wrapped in silver paper with a large iridescent pink bow on top. My name was written in bold print on the front of the attached card.

I carefully unwrapped it. Inside, I found the first book I’d ever read to Mase. It was a children’s book that I had been given by my tutor. I had struggled the first few times I’d read it, but I had gotten better as the week progressed. Mase had cheered me on and made me feel I could do anything. It was the first time in my life I had believed in myself.

Holding the book in my hand like the cherished memory it was, I continued up the walkway and toward the steps, where the candles continued to light my path. Once I got to the door, I saw another small package wrapped identically to the first one. It also had my name on it. Placing my book down on the chair beside me, I carefully opened the package. In it was a piece of broken mirror. As I stared down at it, the day I’d met Mase came back to me, when I’d fallen and broken Nan’s expensive mirror and sliced my hand open while cleaning her house. He’d been staying at her house and had taken care of me that day better than anyone had done in my entire life.

I reached up and opened the door, still holding the small box with the piece of mirror in it. Then my eyes met Mase’s. He was standing just inside our living room, which was also filled with candles. He wasn’t dusty and in his work clothes; he was all clean and dressed in a pair of his good jeans with a button-down flannel shirt.

“I kept it,” he said.

Frowning, I tried to figure out what he was talking about.

“The mirror. I kept a piece. I didn’t know why at the time. But when I cleaned it up, I kept a piece. I wanted to remember you. I didn’t expect to see you again. So I kept that piece of mirror.”

Wow. Oh, wow. I held the box tighter in my hands as I stared up at him.

“I kept the book, too,” he said. “When you conquered it, I called your tutor and had him sell me the book. I wanted to remember you reading those words to me. How you were so shy at first but with each sentence and each day, you grew stronger and more sure of yourself. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

My heart felt like it was going to explode from my chest. I even placed a hand over it to keep it from breaking free.

Mase walked toward me and held out a piece of paper. It looked like a receipt. “This isn’t something that a man normally shows a woman, but I need you to see that date and understand what it means. Because of timing and circumstances, it took three weeks to get from that moment to this one.”

I took the receipt from his hand, but before I could look down at it, Mase was lowering himself to his knee.

No. This wasn’t happening. I didn’t want this. I had told him I didn’t want this. I started shaking my head as tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want all this sweetness to become part of a bad memory.

“I need you to look at that receipt, baby. Please,” Mase said as he stared up at me.

My stomach was in knots. My throat burned, and my eyes were blurry. Had he not listened to me? I didn’t want to force him to do anything. I blinked and tried to focus on the receipt. Once again, the date was circled in red. Just like the one he’d given me a copy of. It was the same receipt. However, the item wasn’t blacked out on this one, only the price.

Pear-cut pink morganite ring with rose-gold band.

I reread the words and even said them under my breath as I let the information sink in. It was a ring he had bought three weeks ago.

“It was perfect for you. It just wasn’t your size,” he whispered.

I lifted my gaze to meet his and saw that he was now holding a ring in his right hand.

“I had to get it sized to fit your finger,” he said softly.

“Oh,” was all I could manage to choke out past the lump in my throat.

“Reese Ellis, you came into my life and lit it up. Everything that was dull became shiny. You changed me. You made my life complete. So please, give me all I want in this life and say you’ll be my wife.”

My cheeks were wet by the time he finished talking. All I knew was that this was right. This was it. This was the way it was supposed to be. And I’d never love another man the way I loved this one. “Yes,” I managed to say past the sobs that broke free.

Mase slid the ring onto my finger and stood up to claim my mouth with his.