Chapter 36 #2
“On all of the boards, you never put your dream ring on it, so I needed backup.” He flips open the ring box, and inside is a simple gold ring, one larger diamond with two smaller triangles on either side, and a hand flies to my mouth, a choked sob escaping my lips—his tip up in a soft smile.
“I thought I’d wait to do this, give you time to settle.
Give us time to ease into things so I don’t scare you, but I think you need this as much as I do. ”
“Jesse,” I whisper, watching as he removes the delicate ring and holds it up to me.
“I want you forever. I want to take care of you and keep you safe, to catch you well before you fall. I love you, Hallie. I might not be everything you deserve, but I love you enough to work every day to be what you need. I know your favorite color is blue and that you hate ketchup touching your fries. I know that your eyes are green and that you made friends with a deer because she made you feel seen. I know that you love the Mary-Kate and Ashley movies because they were what you binge-watched when you were sad when your mom left. I know I’ll never have to worry about you fitting in with my family because you’re already family.
I know that you’ll do anything to put a smile on my daughter’s face.
I still know that you have a freckle on your hip that drives me wild.
” I let out a tear-filled laugh when he winks at me.
“But most of all, I know you are meant to be mine, forever.”
He reaches out, grabbing my hand, and when I notice his is shaking, the first tear falls.
“Jesse.” The word aches as it moves through the tears building in my throat.
“Marry me,” he whispers, his own eyes shimmering.
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted,” I reply, a confession and an answer all in one, because it’s the truth. All I’ve ever wanted was to be someone’s, but most of all, Jesse’s. Those fears have melted away, fading to nothing in the bright sunshine of his love.
With my words, he grins wide and slides the ring, a perfect fit, over my finger before leaning down to press a kiss to the three stones that somehow, I already know are symbolic of the three of us becoming one family, a reminder and a tie to them both to carry with me always.
When he stands, he cups my jaw and pulls me in hard and fast for a kiss.
My arms move around his neck, and tears fall as I melt into him.
In this moment, I know I have it all. Everything I never thought I could have in my arms, and that void in my chest is filled once and for all.
He kisses me and kisses me, then peppers more, softer, sweeter kisses over my face.
My chin, my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, as if he doesn’t want a single part of me not to feel wholly and completely loved.
Finally, he pulls back and rests his forehead against mine as I grin up at him.
“We’re getting married,” I whisper as it sinks in.
He nods, then worries his lips before speaking.
“I’ll wait. A month, a year, ten, but I want you walking down an aisle toward me sometime in the future. There’s no rush, Hallie. I just needed to give you that ring, to take that step now. But I’m a patient man. I can wait until you’re totally ready.”
I shake my head against his. “I don’t think there’s any reason to wait. I don’t want to wait to marry you. I don’t need time anymore,” I say, my eyes watering again.
“Well, good, because Wren’s looking at a fall wedding,” he says with a smirk. I let out a laugh and shake my head, the tears finally falling freely. “Are you happy?”
“Are you blind?” I ask.
He shakes his head and swipes a thumb over my cheek. “Hallie, baby, you’re crying. I think I should probably ask if you’re happy when you’re crying like this.”
“Yes, I’m happy, you big idiot. Though the next time you have some grand gesture, would a couple of texts that are longer than a single word hurt?”
“What?”
“I spent the entire day thinking you were trying to figure out how to let me down easy and break up with me.” His face goes soft, and he continues to wipe at my cheeks. The tears haven’t stopped, and I don’t think they will anytime soon.
“I knew if I texted you, I’d spill everything.
I was too excited. I was trying to preserve the surprise.
” I glare at him, and he laughs, pulling me into him and kissing me again like he can’t help it before sighing with regret.
“I hate to say this, but we have to head downstairs soon, or else they’re all going to barge in on us. ”
As he finishes his sentence, there’s a gentle knock on the door, and Mrs. King’s voice sifts in, soft and cautious. “Everything okay in there?”
I beam up at my fiancé.
Another woman might find his family barging in on a private moment annoying, but not me. I’ve waited my entire life for a noisy, intrusive family, and just like everything else, Jesse just gave that to me.
“Let’s go,” I say with a whisper, pressing my lips to his one last time before moving for the door.
When we step out of Jesse’s childhood room, everyone is standing in the hall, and I laugh, realizing that he really was planning this all day. I even spot Nat and Colt, who were definitely not here for a family dinner an hour ago.
“SISTERS!” Wren shouts, lifting her hands into the air and running toward me, pushing her brother away.
We hug, and when we pull back, I look at my best friend for a beat before we both squeal, jumping up and down.
Jesse laughs from beside me, and then there’s a soft hand on my shoulder as a teary-eyed Mrs. King pulls me away from Wren and into her arms.
“Now you really have to call me Mom,” she murmurs into my hair, and I start to cry in earnest. She holds me for a moment before passing me off to Colt, who wraps me up tighter than anyone else.
“Happy for you, Hallie.”
I look back at my big brother, the only real family member who has ever mattered, and I have to swallow back even more tears. “I love you, Colt.”
His eyes soften a bit before he presses a kiss to the top of my head and steps back. Jesse is wrapped in a back-slapping embrace from Madden, and I smile as my attention turns to Emma, who is standing there patiently, a knowing smirk on her lips.
“You’re good with this?” I ask. She looks at me like I’m a moron, all pre-teen attitude.
“Hallie, who do you think I was texting all day? Someone had to check your ring size,” she says with an eye roll, and I remember her playing around with my jewelry box in our room while I did my hair, not thinking a thing about it.
“Oh, you’re so sneaky,” I say with a laugh, then pull her into me for a hug. But when she hugs me tight and looks up at me, the attitude and sass are gone, and a contented look settles over her face. I put a hand to her cheek and blink back more tears.
“I love you, Emma.”
Her eyes shine the same way I know mine do, and somewhere to the side of us, I hear sniffling that is definitely Wren and probably Mrs. King.
Or Mom, I suppose.
“I love you,” she whispers.
I look over her head to her dad, who is watching us with warm eyes, his own glassy from tears.
“My girls,” he mouths.
“Forever,” I promise.