Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Faith stepped off the front porch of her place, zipping up her cozy pink jacket against the slight nip in the air.
It was dusk, and the lights of the houses around her glowed golden in the twilight.
She shivered a little, but she didn’t know if it was from the cold or from expectation.
She was on her way to Ryan’s house for dinner, and because of his busy schedule it was the first time they’d had a date in what felt like too long.
She’d still gotten to see him, since they were essentially working together, but it had been a while since they’d sat down to a meal together or done anything romantic.
She hadn’t minded, knowing that his work was important and wanting to support him while he was dealing with the difficult transition of learning how to take over the running of the brewery.
She’d shown up to his office with snacks or coffee plenty of times, and he’d often returned the favor, sometimes having a treat waiting for her at the brewery when she arrived.
Once he’d even had a whole box of doughnuts delivered to her house, where she did most of her work.
We’re so good at supporting each other, she thought contentedly as she began to stroll along the sidewalk. I love making sure he has what he needs, and even though he’s been so incredibly busy, he’s still found the time to think of me and do sweet things for me. I appreciate that so much.
She was just lifting up her face to enjoy the feeling of the autumn wind when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, hoping it was a text from Ryan, and she grinned.
Her smile disappeared a moment later, however, and was replaced by a look of surprise.
“I’m not home,” she murmured as she read the text a second time, wanting to make sure that she got it right. “But you should go to my house anyway. There’s a note waiting for you on the front door.”
Itching with curiosity, Faith picked up the speed of her walking and hurried to Ryan’s house. She still enjoyed the evening as she went, but her heart seemed to be beating at a tempo that didn’t match the serene music of the wind whistling in the branches overhead.
I wonder what on earth he’s up to, she thought, smiling and nestling her hands deeper in her pockets as she walked.
She was glad that she’d put on sensible, low-heeled boots to go with her dress, leggings, and jacket.
He’s always been fun and goofy with me, but he’s never done anything like this before.
She reached Ryan’s house a few minutes later, and sure enough, there was a note. She tugged the yellow piece of paper off Ryan’s red front door, blinking at the words written there in confusion.
“Go to the McCormick kitchen,” she read slowly, feeling more puzzled than ever.
Was it a clue hunt? she wondered as she made her way toward the brewery. She skipped a little as she went, feeling delighted by the prospect. She hadn’t gone on a clue hunt since grade school, and she loved that Ryan had taken the time to make her one even in the middle of his busy schedule.
She reached the brewery and made her way toward the back of the building, where there was a door that opened directly into the kitchen.
She felt a little awkward about knocking on it, since she’d never been in the kitchen without Ryan before and she didn’t want to interrupt them in the middle of their busy dinner rush, but just before she reached the door, it opened.
“Hi, Faith!” Amalia, one of the chefs, grinned at her. “We’ve been expecting you. Come on in.”
“Oh. Um, thanks.” Faith smiled, deciding that Ryan must have planned a special dinner there at the brewery for them instead of cooking at his house. It made sense—he had been busy, so going out to eat would take less time than cooking, even with a clue hunt thrown into the equation.
Faith stepped into the kitchen after Amalia, delighted by how many delicious smells filled the air.
She could smell burgers and fries, certainly—the brewery’s menu was very heavy on burgers and fries, offering various fun burger varieties rather than a wider array of options, like pasta or pot pie, like The Lighthouse Grill did—but she could also smell something sweet.
She took a long sniff, assuming it was one of the milkshakes that the brewery offered.
A moment later, however, she felt sure it must be something else. The smell was richer, somehow.
“That’s for you,” Amalia said, gesturing to something that was resting in a corner of the counter.
“For me?” Faith stepped up to it curiously, and her jaw dropped when she saw that it was a gorgeous little crème br?lée. On the top, in chocolate sauce, was drawn an expertly formed outline of Rosewood Beach’s town square gazebo.
“That must be where I’m supposed to go next,” Faith said, feeling a thrill. It really was a clue hunt! She grinned, thinking to herself that she hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
“Take it with you,” Amalia said, handing her a spoon. “It’s for eating too. But take a picture of it first, please. That’s the best one I’ve made yet.”
Faith gave Amalia a hug, thanking her, and took a picture of the beautiful dessert with its fabulous chocolate decoration. She dutifully took the spoon and the little dish with her, stepping back out into the crisp dusk.
She made her way toward the town square, enjoying the delicious crème br?lée as she walked. She had a feeling that Ryan would be at the gazebo waiting for her, since many of their most important moments as a couple had been shared there together.
I can’t wait to see him, she thought. I’m going to thank him for being such a sweetheart and arranging this clue hunt for me. What a great—oh!
She froze in her tracks and stared at the town square in front of her. It was dimly lit by streetlamps, and had a hushed, almost reverent atmosphere. What drew her eye and captured her attention, however, was the gazebo, which was aglow with light.
She hurried toward it, feeling as though she was in some kind of dream. The gazebo was filled with candles, and on the floor had been spread a beautiful red and white picnic blanket. On it was a gorgeously arranged charcuterie board and a bottle of champagne along with two glasses.
“What on earth,” Faith whispered. She looked around, but she didn’t see Ryan. Was this meant for someone else? Where was Ryan?
Then she saw him walking toward her around the side of the gazebo, a huge grin on his face. Her expression lit up into one of joy the moment she saw him, and she raced forward and threw her arms around him.
“What on earth is this, sweetheart?” she asked, laughing in her excitement. “Did you do all this for me?”
“I did,” he said, kissing her tenderly. “Well, truth be told, I bought the charcuterie board already made up that way, but yes, I set up the picnic and the candles.” His eyes twinkled at her.
“I wanted to celebrate you. You’ve been so instrumental in my life, especially lately with how much you’ve been helping me out with the brewery.
It means so much to me, and I wanted you to know that. ”
Faith beamed at him. “It’s been my pleasure. Truly. I love working with you.”
“Well, I love working with you.” He nuzzled her nose. “And I feel so grateful.”
They sat down together on the picnic blanket and began to eat. The charcuterie board offered a wide variety of delicious items, and Faith nearly squealed with happiness when she saw that Ryan had gotten her favorite basil lemon cheese spread.
They had been enjoying the food and the champagne for a few minutes when Faith noticed that there was a small red box on the charcuterie board, nestled amongst the crackers and cheese.
At first, she’d thought it was some type of gourmet cheese or even a fancy dessert, but the more she stared at it the more it became clear it was a tiny box.
“Um, Ryan,” she said slowly, her heart beginning to beat wildly. “What is that?”
He cleared his throat. “Well,” he said slowly, and his expression of hesitation was so comical to Faith that she laughed out loud, “celebrating us working together so well at the brewery might not be the only reason for this special setup. You should open that box.”
“I should, huh?” Suddenly she was completely breathless. She reached for the box with trembling fingers, noticing that Ryan was staring at her as she did so. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she could feel her body ripple with a hot and cold shiver as she opened the tiny box.
Inside, nestled on a white cushion, was a diamond ring, with the diamond cut in the shape of a heart and a rose gold band.
It sparkled magnificently in the candlelight, and Faith stared at it, hardly able to believe her eyes.
She felt a tingling sensation of joy all over, but it was several heartbeats before she could lift her eyes from the ring and make eye contact with Ryan.
“Faith,” he said, standing up and lifting her gently to her feet. “I have a very important question to ask you.” He got down onto one knee, and Faith felt tears of happiness blur her vision.
“Faith,” he said, speaking slowly as if he was choosing his words carefully.
“I love you with all my heart. Once, I was sure that I would never get married, and that going through life with the same person wasn’t something that would ever happen to me.
I’d thought I wanted to stay independent.
You changed all that. As soon as I met you, I felt drawn to you in a way I’d never experienced before.
You are the brightest light in my life, and I love you with everything in me.
I know for sure that nothing would make me happier than spending my life with you, and growing old with you.
We’re a great team, and I want us to be a team forever.
” He took a deep breath, holding eye contact with her and grinning. “Will you marry me?”
Faith’s mind was reeling. She couldn’t believe he’d had the time to do all this—to plan his proposal, to set up their picnic, to find this perfect, gorgeous ring –
All at once she realized what his “errand” on the edge of town had been. There was a family-owned jewelry store there, which often made custom jewelry. The tears in her eyes welled up again when she thought of him spending all that time making sure she had the perfect ring.
“YES!” she said, so emphatically it was almost a shout. She bent down and kissed him, getting streaks of her tears on his face. “Of course I’ll marry you. I want to grow old with you too.”
He stood up and took her into his arms, rocking her back and forth in a jubilant embrace. Then he gently took the ring box from Faith and took the ring out of it. He slipped it onto her finger, and it fit like a glove.
“Alexis stole a couple of your rings so I’d know your ring size,” he said with a grin. “And by steal I mean borrowed.”
Faith laughed, shaking her head. “I’d thought she was acting kind of suspicious when she came over to borrow a book from me.
She kept insisting it was on the bookshelf in my bedroom, and she came over when I was working so I just let her rummage around in there.
Turns out she must have come over while I was working on purpose. ”
Ryan looked gleeful. “Oh yeah. And Noelle, Hazel, Julia, and Alexis all helped me decide on the ring design. Or, I guess I should say, they gave their approval. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just being short-sighted. I wanted to make sure you’d actually really like it.”
“I actually really love it,” she whispered, and lifted her face up to his for another kiss.
“I actually really love you.”
“Wow, I really love you too.”
“You’d better, you’re going to marry me.”
“I am?”
“Yup. You just agreed to it. Set in stone.” He pointed to her ring.
She wiggled her fingers. “Quite the stone.”
Laughing and teasing each other, they sat back down and continued to eat the delicious charcuterie board and sip their champagne.
Faith felt as though she was dreaming, her head completely in a daze.
Happiness filled her like pink soap bubbles, shimmering and sparkling in the light like the new ring on her hand.
She closed her eyes and imagined being married to Ryan, getting to wake up next to him every morning and getting to share a home with him in the evenings. She couldn’t help letting out a chuckle, and Ryan said, “What?”
“I was imagining us being married.”
“You were picturing me as an old man with a pot belly, huh? Are you sure you want to be married to me when all this hair is gone?”
She laughed, flopping down on the picnic blanket and smiling up at him. “Yes. I can’t wait to be married to little old Ryan, even if he has a pot belly and no hair.”
“Hey, let’s not rush that part.” He bent over and kissed her nose. “There will be plenty of things to enjoy before I lose my hair.”
“True.” She closed her eyes again, sighing with happiness.
Life would continue on the way it always had, one day at a time.
But now she knew that she would have the man she loved by her side for all of those days, and she couldn’t have been more overjoyed.
“I don’t want to rush anything. I just want to savor every moment of tonight, and every moment that’s going to come afterward. ”
“The hectic fuss of planning a wedding, facing the fact that my family members are going to be your in-laws, realizing that a goofy guy like me totally doesn’t deserve a smart, beautiful goddess like you –”
She snorted and swatted his arm. “You mean getting to plan one of the happiest days of our lives and having a blast doing it, getting a whole new family when I want one so much and I love yours, and feeling more and more every day that I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.
” He smiled down at her, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Truce, we deserve each other. I’m going to do my best to make you happy, Faith. ”
“I’m going to do my best to make you happy,” she said softly.
“You already do,” he said, and they shared another kiss. Faith closed her eyes, fingering the new circlet of gold on her finger and feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.