99. Sarah #3
He laced our fingers together. “Now, back to my counting. I think we are up to number four. Yes, four. Off we go.” He tugged me along so that we nearly jogged, laughing like children as we barreled out my front door, through the shrubbery, into his house, up the stairs, and down the hall to the upstairs couch—where another peony waited.
We tumbled onto the cushions in a breathless heap, laughter dissolving into hush.
“You’re making my pulse race.” My chest heaved as I fought to catch my breath.
“Bet I can keep it pounding.” In a single smooth motion, he shifted, and I found myself reclining beneath him, his body warm and solid as he curved over me. Everything inside me went quiet.
I slid my hand to the back of his neck. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” I drew him down into a breathless kiss.
His fingertips traced over my jaw, my cheek, my hair. Then he broke the kiss and tucked his cheek against mine. “This,” he murmured, voice rough, “is the dream.”
A shiver ran through me. “Shh. Don’t wake me.”
“If you insist.” His lips brushed my throat, then lingered, pressing molten kisses in a slow, deliberate line down my neck to the angle of my shoulder.
“Number four is a dream.” He eased us upright, gathering me in his arms.
“When we held each other on this couch”—he pressed his lips to the top of my head—“during those terrible days when everything was falling apart, you gave me the strength to keep going.” His arms tightened around me. “I’ll never take what we have for granted.”
“Me either.”
“Five is next. Five and a favor. This is going well. Right?” he asked. “Are you having a good adventure?”
“I think most adventures have far less kissing.”
His chuckle rumbled softly against me. “Would you like to lodge a complaint with management?”
“Never.” I laughed. “More like a glowing review. I love you, and I love our adventure.”
He guided me downstairs and into his parlor, where another pink bloom sat atop a small envelope. I raised a brow. “This looks suspiciously familiar.” Inside was an RSVP card for the holiday banquet. George had crossed out the date and replaced it with forever.
“It’s an official invitation,” he said, grinning. “For this year and next year and on to forever. You know I am terribly forgetful about these things. But I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. What do you say?”
“Anywhere, anytime, as long as I’m with you.”
“Oops. Missed an important step…” He leaned in for another kiss. Then he gestured around us. “I picked this room for number five because it’s where we first teamed up.”
“Operation Oafless,” I said. “An absolute triumph.”
“Best team ever.” He tapped the tip of my nose with each word, then kissed the spot. “And that is what led me to ask you for a favor. Thank goodness you agreed to help me with the banquet.”
“Thank goodness we redirected Higgles.”
He drew me back outside. “We’re almost there. Two more stops on this adventure. And number six requires a smile.”
He positioned me near my back steps. “All right. Don’t move.
Be right back.” He retrieved the blanket from the bench.
“Let’s see if I remember the technique…” He wrapped the blanket around my shoulders.
Then his hands found my waist. A heartbeat later, the ground slipped away as he spun me through the sunlight.
My toes touched down, but my heart continued to spin. Gentle hands cradled my jaw. In the bright light, every lash along his half-closed lids, every variation in his emerald irises, every crinkle at the corner of his eyes etched itself into memory.
“Kaleidoscopes,” he said, holding my gaze. “Your eyes are gilded treasures. The same colors but in a new pattern with each turn.” His goofy smile appeared. “Maybe I should spin you again and see what happens.”
I smiled with every part of me, so hard it almost hurt. “So that’s why you insist on always spinning me about?”
“Ah, yes, there it is, your lovely smile. Success.” His warm lips found mine, perfect as fresh-fallen snow on a moonlit night. He hugged me close. “Come, my love. One last stop. Lucky number seven. The most important number. Clarity. Can you guess where we’re going?”
I turned in a slow circle, found no flash of pink peony anywhere in view, and shook my head.
“Back to where it all began.”
“But… we’ve already done the steps.”
He guided me toward his back yard. I held tightly to his arm as we made our way toward the wisteria arbor. My legs trembled beneath my skirt. Oh, Pemberley.
George moved with a bounce in his step. He stopped under the arbor and settled his hands on my shoulders.
“All those years ago, as children, we experienced a moment of clarity in this exact spot. A hint, a premonition, a promise of our future together.” His palms slid down my arms until he clasped my hands.
The world sharpened—bright, wonderful, inevitable. And he was my world.
Then he dropped to one knee.
I blinked until I could see him clearly, my George, steady and shining.
“Sarah,” he said, voice thick, “life with you is an adventure better than anything wise old Jane could dream up. Share it with me. Always. Please. Will you marry me?”
Without hesitation, I sang out, “Yes.”
Then, under the wisteria arbor, his lips found mine once more, sealing the moment with a tender, dreamy kiss. The future unfolded before us—an unwritten page, bright with promise. And I didn’t say a single word for a long, blissful, breathless while.