Epilogue
Lila
“So what do you think?” I set my weekender down and glanced at Dan over my shoulder. The cabin glowed with light from lamps scattered about, and tall glass doors stretched along the front wall. Tomorrow morning’s sunrise and coffee on the wide deck would be amazing.
Dan wheeled both of our suitcases to a stop next to the overstuffed leather couch. “Might be your best one yet.”
Our weekends away had been a regular thing, and I loved planning them.
I’d text him to block out a weekend, then I’d find us somewhere fun to go.
Sometimes, I packed for him and didn’t tell him where we were headed until it was time to key our destination into the GPS.
We’d gone to Apalachicola, Helen, Mobile, even stayed in a yurt at High Falls.
He was good with anything I came up with, but he loved a mountain getaway with plenty of hiking.
And plenty of privacy.
I couldn’t wait for him to discover the cabin’s outdoor shower, open to the stars but screened from prying eyes.
Our life together was good, too. We’d been together another year, so eighteen months in total. We weren’t living together, but he spent most of his nights at my place and so much of his stuff had migrated over that we might as well be.
Smiling, I swayed closer to him and looped my arms around his neck. “I wanted something special this weekend.”
His mouth curved in a lazy smile, and he settled his hands at my hips. “Yeah?”
“Um-hmm.” I toyed with the edges of his hair and trailed my nails down his nape, grinning at the shiver that moved over him. “Tomorrow is a year and a half since the first night we met.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Of course he did. I softened into him. He was everything I’d never known I wanted, and we were so good together. “I love you.”
“That’s good.” He dipped his head to kiss me. “I love you, too.”
“Well . . .” I played with his collar, a hint of nerves flitting through my belly. “If I love you and you love me, you should marry me.”
His brows twisted with mock consideration. “Really.”
“Yes.” God, what if he wasn’t teasing? What if he didn’t want to? I shoved that down. He talked about us in the future tense all the time, the same way I’d started to. I sucked in a steadying breath. “Really.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded, mouth quirked to one side just a little so I knew he was biting the tip of his tongue.
My stomach bottomed out, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe he wasn’t there yet.
Okay. Okay, this would be fine. He’d waited for me when I’d been unsure of my feelings for him. I could wait for him now.
I opened my eyes to find his gaze on my face, soft and open and waiting.
“Well, good thing I picked this up, then.” He shifted away enough to dig a hand into his pocket. He dropped to one knee, and my heart stuttered. His face set in serious lines, he held up the sparkling ring caught between his thumb and forefinger. “Lila, will you marry me?”
“Oh, my God.” Hands over my mouth, I stared at the solitaire set in a gold band to match the gold hoops I wore almost every day.
He laughed. “Are you kidding me? You basically propose to me and I get down on one knee and you’re speechless–”
“Yes!” I threw myself on him, almost overbalancing both of us. He closed his arms about me, his deep laugh rumbling over me, and he settled me on his thigh.
Lifting my left hand, he threaded the ring on my ring finger. I wiggled my fingers, watching the light spark off the diamond’s facets.
“Dan, it’s gorgeous.” I kissed him, one arm about his neck. “I love it. I love you.”
“Love you, too, baby.” He rubbed his hand down my back. “Everything about you.”
I melted. “Oh, Dan, I love everything about you, too. About us.”
And in that one shining moment, in all the shining moments with him, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
And nothing at all I wanted more than this moment, this man, this life.