Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
T om stood outside Ella’s apartment, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. The storm brewing on the horizon matched the tempest raging inside him, all swirling thoughts and churning emotions threatening to pull him under.
He raised his hand to knock, then hesitated. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if she blamed him for Gareth’s meddling, for the secrets that had torn apart the fragile trust they’d built?
Worst of all, what if she left?
The thought hit him like a physical blow, stealing his breath. Ella, gone from Harmony Falls. Gone from his life. The possibility yawned before him like a chasm, dark and terrifying.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Gathering his courage, he knocked. Once, twice, the sound too loud in the heavy evening air. When she didn’t answer, panic clawed at his throat.
“Ella, please,” he called, not caring if the whole town heard him. “I need to talk to you.”
Silence. Then, finally, the click of a lock. The door opened, revealing Ella’s face, guarded and wary. Her hazel eyes, usually so warm, were shuttered against him.
The sight cracked something deep in his chest.
“I know Gareth’s meddling hurt you,” he blurted out, the words tumbling over each other. “I swear I didn’t know. But if you leave because of this, I...”
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to meet her gaze. “I can’t imagine this town without you, Ella. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
She stared at him, confusion warring with the hurt in her expression. “Tom, what...?”
But he was already reaching into his pocket, fingers closing around the object he’d carried with him every day for the last decade. His Navy SEAL ring, the symbol of his service, his loyalty, his heart.
He held it out to her, the silver gleaming in the porch light.
“I know this isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” he rasped, his voice raw with emotion. “And I know it’s too soon. But I don’t want to lose you, Ella. Marry me. Or... let’s just call it something. Engaged to be engaged. Anything to keep you here.”
Her eyes widened, shock and something else, something brighter, flickering in their depths.
“I never thought I’d find someone like you,” he continued, the words pouring out of him now, unstoppable. “Someone who makes me feel like I can be more than my past. Someone who sees me, really sees me, and still chooses to stay.”
His voice broke on the last word, the fear and hope tangling together in his throat. “And I don’t want to mess this up. I don’t want to lose this. Lose you.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance, the storm moving closer. But Tom barely noticed. His entire world had narrowed to Ella, to the way she was looking at him, surprise and wonder and a tentative, blooming joy illuminating her face.
“Tom...” She reached for him, her fingers brushing his as she took the ring. “You’re not going to lose me.”
Relief crashed through him, so intense it left him dizzy. Or maybe that was the way she was smiling at him, soft and bright and full of promise.
She glanced down at the ring, then back at him. “Engaged to be engaged, huh?”
“I panicked,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just... I need you to stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly, closing her fingers around the ring. Around his heart. “Harmony Falls is my home now. You’re my home.”
He kissed her then, pouring everything he couldn’t quite say into the press of his lips against hers. The fear, the desperation, the love.
Because that’s what this was, he realized as she melted into him. Love. Bone-deep, soul-shaking, once-in-a-lifetime love. The kind he’d never thought he’d find, never thought he deserved.
But here, with Ella in his arms, her whispered words of promise brushing against his skin, he started to believe that maybe, just maybe, he did deserve this.
Deserve her.
The storm broke overhead, rain beginning to fall in silver sheets. But Tom barely felt it. He was too busy marveling at the woman in his arms, at the miracle of her choosing him, choosing them.
Engaged to be engaged. It was ridiculous, impulsive, completely unlike him.
But it was also right. Because he knew, with a certainty that settled deep in his bones, that he would spend the rest of his life loving this woman.
Even if he had to weather a few storms to do it.
Ella stared at Tom, the man she’d never expected to find, as he held out his Navy SEAL ring to her. His eyes held a heartbreaking mix of hope and fear, his usual steadiness replaced by a raw vulnerability that took her breath away.
In that moment, she saw it—the depth of his love for her, shining through every line of his face. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Her mind flashed back to her first marriage, to Jacob. It had been a whirlwind—passionate, intense, but over before she’d really had a chance to savor it. She’d loved him, deeply and truly, but their time together had been so brief, cut short by tragedy.
With Tom, she realized, she wanted something different. Something slower, steadier. Something real.
Because this, right here? His heart laid bare before her, his love offered freely and without reservation? This was as real as it got.
Ella reached out, her fingers brushing Tom’s as she took the ring from his palm. Tears welled in her eyes, but she was smiling as she looked up at him.
“Tom,” she said softly, her voice wavering with emotion, “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t need a ring to stay.”
She paused, taking in his expression—the tentative hope, the lingering fear. Her heart swelled with tenderness, with the desire to soothe those fears away.
“But,” she added, a slight laugh bubbling up in her throat, “I like the idea of being engaged to be engaged. Let’s take our time. Get to know each other. Have fun. This doesn’t have to be rushed.”
The change in Tom was immediate. His shoulders relaxed, the tension draining out of him as he exhaled deeply. His hands came up to cup her face, his thumbs brushing away the tears that had spilled onto her cheeks.
“You’re incredible, Ella,” he murmured, wonder and adoration suffusing his voice. “I don’t know how I got this lucky.”
She leaned into his touch, into the solidness of him. Outside, rain began to patter against the windows, the storm breaking overhead. But inside, wrapped in the warmth of Tom’s love, Ella had never felt more at peace.
When he kissed her, it was tender and unhurried, a promise of forever whispered against her lips. In that moment, Ella knew they had found something rare and precious—a love worth fighting for, worth weathering any storm.
As they drew apart, Ella held up the ring, admiring the way it caught the light. “You know,” she teased, her eyes sparkling, “you’re going to have to propose properly next time.”
Tom’s grin was brighter than the sun peeking through the clouds. “I’ll make it unforgettable,” he promised. “Just you wait.”
She laughed, joy bubbling up inside her like champagne. “I’ll hold you to that, Tom Dalton.”
He pulled her close again, his forehead resting against hers. “I’m counting on it.”
And there, in the circle of his arms, with the rain singing a gentle symphony outside, Ella knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Home.