Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“It’s a good thing Cornelia doesn’t know we’ve discussed teaming up for a sweepstakes for ‘one lucky support group member’…” I chuckle and wince. A wedding planned by Ebony Grace Events and hosted at my next restoration property being the prize?
I’m already dreaming of the cease-and-desist notices clogging up my inbox.
Ebony’s still catching her breath in the corner of the room, poking around at a small hanging ficus. “She’d have an entire conniption,” she says, absently.
But soon, the humor fades.
When I don’t say anything for a beat, she shoots me a sidelong glance as if it’s just occurred to her that our presence in this garden isn’t exactly accidental.
This isn’t just a garden. Really, it’s more of an overzealous potting room, with lots of garden tools, water cans, and bags of rich soil used to prepare plants for the conservatory.
The shelves are lined with an array of terracotta and ceramic pots.
There’s a long, weathered wooden table with, overwhelmingly, lots of potted flowers blooming in vibrant colors at varying stages of growth.
Mostly, I love the soft, natural moonlight streaming through the windows overhead, and the air, thick with an earthy-fresh, floral scent.
But also, it’s quiet in here.
“To answer your question…” I say, choosing the rest of my words carefully.
Ebony tosses me a glance, all the way in, as she hovers by a terracotta pot, sniffing the pink flowers spilling over. “Yeah?”
“When I said I was done thinking, I meant, of course”—I lean against the door to the conservatory, making sure I’ve got her attention—“that my heart is on the same page, Ebony. I’ve never needed time to know I want to spend my life with you.
Every minute of the last ten years we’ve spent apart felt like I was living my life on pause. ”
This gets her attention.
She straightens, turning all the way around to face me.
“I want to be with you, to share every day, every moment, writing our legend. And I’ll work like crazy to give you the dream, Ebony.”
Reaching back, I open the conservatory door for her and step aside for her to enter.
Light pierces through the glass walls and in between the lush greenery and bright, fragrant flowers spilling from every corner. Twinkling fairy lights add a little whimsy, but it’s the focal point, anchoring it all together at the center of the room, that delivers the magic.
“Linc, I can’t believe you built me a waterfall,” Ebony says, her voice thick with emotion.
I step behind her, slipping my arm around her waist, holding her close. Together, we stand mesmerized by the sparkling water tumbling down the textured stone wall, its cascade framed by a blanket of lush foliage and bright blossoms.
We’re captivated by the rhythm of the water, neither of us speaking. Her breath is steady, but I sense her curiosity growing.
“You know, I wasn’t even supposed to be tutoring history that day,” I say, my mind traveling back like I never left. “My friend had a wedding to attend out of town that week, so I said I’d cover him. It wasn’t a big deal. Just an everyday choice that felt inconsequential at the time.”
She rests her head on my shoulder, listening.
“It wasn’t until I walked into the library, and there was the new girl, that I knew that choice had changed the course of my life.” Tears singe the corners of my eyes. “Because with a single look, she stole my breath. I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you that day.”
“Oh, Linc.”
I kiss the crown of her head. “But, oh, the eldest son of Ellswood’s beloved late mayor and the Zion & Zara chapter president spotted her first. And he was tall, athletic, handsome—the quintessential small-town prince. So I waited as you held hands and wore his letterman jacket in the hall.”
She swallows, shaking her head. “I didn’t know.”
“And as he escorted you to cotillion, call me crazy, but I was still holding out hope. I even knew that your mothers had marriage designs, plotting behind the scenes. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t ignore the way I felt about you when I saw you the night we shared in college. And now, here we are.”
“Finally.”
“Like water, we found a way,” I say.
I flex my fingers, restless, still working up the nerve, my heart racing as I step back. I’m moving on autopilot, the question I’ve dreamed of asking her repeating in my head, and I’m helpless to the desperate urge to get down on one knee, to make this moment perfect.
And then she turns.
Tears glisten in her eyes when I kneel before her, holding the sparkling two-carat, precision-cut symbol of my promise, capturing the light.
“Ebony Grace,” I say, my voice steady, “if you’re at all still interested in a clean, decent-smelling, gray-eyed Spades champ—cute, consistent, and committed—I’d love nothing more in this world than if you’d be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Ebony laughs through her tears, and I rise to my feet, overjoyed, kissing her with every fiber of my being. She smiles against my lips. “You make everything feel like magic, Lincoln Bridges.”
“And you’re the reality I’ve been waiting for. I don’t want to miss a single moment of us. Not now, not—”
Outside, a loud succession of pops steal our attention.
We glance up through the glass ceiling as fireworks explode across the dark sky in brilliant bursts of red, white, and gold. They flicker against the windows, casting dazzling reflections across the room, followed by the glow of sparklers twinkling in the distance.
As I slide the ring onto Ebony’s finger and scoop her up into my arms, twirling her around, her laughter mingling with the crackle of fireworks, it’s as if the entire world is celebrating us, one magical, sparkling moment at a time.
Beneath the fireworks’ shimmering glow, our hearts are beating in unison, filled with the same magic, knowing ours is the kind of love that lasts forever.