Epilogue #3
Reaching into his pocket, Micah pulls out a small blue box. “To ask you to marry me, Ruby.”
Even though I hoped, then suspected, I still gasp at hearing it. “You want me to marry you?”
“Yes. More than anything.” Flipping the box open one-handed, he angles the ring so I can see it. It’s enormous, but he could have a little chip of diamond in there, and I wouldn’t care. All that matters is the question.
“I love you, ” he continues. “At first, I wasn’t sure how love felt. I never let myself feel it. But you showed me. You made me realize how beautiful it is. How much better my life is with it.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “Micah.”
“I wish…” He stops to take a deep breath.
“I wish I could have met your parents to tell them first. I would have asked your dad for permission to marry you. Not that I think you can’t answer for yourself.
But I would want him to know how much I love you.
How I’ll do anything for you. I’d want him to know I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you. ”
My chin wobbles. A tear trickles down my cheek. “They would have loved that.” Swallowing hard, I add, “But I think they know.”
“I thought asking you here might make you feel like they’re a part of it,” Micah says. “I don’t know if I was right, or if I messed up—”
“You didn’t.” Leaning down, I cup his jaw while I kiss him, tasting salt on my lips. “This is the perfect place.”
Micah’s gaze searches mine. I’ve never seen him look more vulnerable. “I really love you, Ruby. And I promise, if you marry me, I will spend every day doing my best to make you happy.”
“So will I.” Sniffling, I continue, “It goes both ways. If you marry me, I’ll spend my life trying to make you happy, too. Because I love you with all my heart.”
“So you’ll marry me?” Hope shines in his eyes. “You’ll be my wife?”
I nod. “Yes. Absolutely.” Dropping to my knees, I fling my arm around his neck and kiss him hard. “I will marry you, Micah Sutton. I’ve been hoping you’d ask.”
A relieved smile spreads across Micah’s face. “You have?”
“Maybe once or twice,” I admit.
He carefully takes the ring from the box and slides it onto my finger, then hugs me to him again. “I’ve thought about it a lot.” He draws back to look at me. Then he chuckles. “I think the guys were taking bets to see when I’d propose.”
I glance at the ring on my finger. My chest swells with happiness. “I wonder who got it right.”
Micah takes my hand and lifts it to his lips. He presses a soft kiss just above the ring, then looks back at me. “I don’t know. Probably Wraith. He always seems to know things before they happen.”
“True,” I agree. “Do you think your friends will be happy about it?”
Micah’s face jerks with surprise. “Happy? Are you kidding? They all think you’re great. My parents, too. My mom’s been texting me every week to ask if I have any news to report.”
“Really?”
He smiles. “Yes. My parents think you’re fantastic. Just ignore my mom if she starts bringing up babies.”
My breath catches. We’ve talked about kids in general terms, so I know Micah’s open to them. And I would definitely like to have a mini-Micah one day. “Why should I ignore her?”
He strokes my cheek. “Because it’s our business when we decide to have a baby. She can be surprised to hear about it, just like everyone else.”
“So you still want to?”
“Ruby.” Micah winds one of my curls around his finger. “I would love to have a little girl with your hair. Or a boy. Whenever you want to start trying, I’m ready.”
“Micah.” Fresh tears fill my eyes. “I really am so happy.”
Piper and Sampson squeeze in around us, tired of being ignored. Sampson nudges my hand. Piper licks my arm. “What do you think?” I ask them. “Do you want to be a part of the wedding?”
Piper’s tail thumps the sand enthusiastically. Sampson lets out a little woof.
Micah laughs. “I guess we have our answer.”
“Sampson can wear a little bowtie,” I say. “And Piper can have a bow to match my flowers.”
“Whatever you want,” Micah says. As his gaze meets mine, the love in his eyes takes my breath away. “Whatever makes you happy.”
I hug him hard. “You make me happy, Micah. Everything else is just a perk.”
As I look at the man who holds my heart, something that feels a lot like a hand comes to rest on my shoulder. A moment later, a lighter weight rests on the other. It feels so real, I actually turn both ways to look. But no one’s there.
Still, I feel them.
Two hands. Two reminders that even when I can’t see them, my parents are still with me.
“I think they’re here,” I tell Micah. “My parents. Maybe it sounds crazy…”
“It doesn’t.” He leans in to kiss me. “I feel them, too.”
I’m okay, I tell them silently. More than okay. Micah will take care of me. And I’ll take care of him. Just like you guys did for each other.
The unseen hands on my shoulders each give a gentle squeeze.
“I love you, Ruby Ashe,” Micah says. “I can’t wait to marry you.”
With more love in my heart than I ever thought possible, I reply, “I love you, Micah Sutton. And I can’t wait to marry you, either.”