Chapter 19 #3
"Of course." She nodded. "Yes."
“I know I wasn’t ready before, and I was scared to think about a future with you when I wasn’t doing very well on my own.
Or with Sarah. I figured I had to be more—sure of myself—before I could make you happy.
” He stepped closer, the clean, masculine scent of him making her want to drag in deep breaths.
“But the thing is, I would have never felt like that—restless and dissatisfied with myself—if I wasn’t full-on, one-hundred-percent crazy about you. You make me want to be better."
Her heart sang at his words. Her eyes stung with tears at the rightness of the moment. But he wasn't finished yet.
"I've thought about this a lot. And I’m going to save a little more from the shows I’m producing next year and then I’ll be ready to go back to photography, which will give me a lot more flexibility. And happiness.”
Erin still couldn’t make her mouth move or her brain function. She just dove into his chest and squeezed him tight. Tighter.
“I’ve missed you so, so much,” she finally managed to say, crying softly against his shoulder and wetting his T-shirt. “I knew we were right together and it hurt terribly when things were falling apart, but I didn’t know how to fix it.”
“I’m fixing it.” His hands stroked up and down her spine, his broad palms warming her from the outside while his words soothed her insides.
“I’m fixing me, Erin. That was the problem the whole time.
You’re incredible. And loving. And patient with me.
” He kissed the top of her head. “Beautiful, too. I like the highlights.”
Happiness filled her to overflowing. This was real. This amazing man loved her.
“I love you.” She wiped her eyes and met his gaze, knowing she wanted to look into his eyes for the rest of her life. “I knew it, even before you left, but I could tell you weren’t ready, and I was scared to admit to myself how much I’d already gotten in over my head.”
“Marry me, Erin.” His arms circled her waist, his eyes filling with love and an intensity that humbled her. “I want to spend every day of my life with you. Here, when you travel, or wherever you go. I want to be with you.”
“Oh!” A shocked gulp caught in her throat. “That really is a surprise. A huge surprise.” She realized he’d taken her breath away. “Honestly?”
“Sarah and I debated for an hour whether I should buy you a ring or wait for you to choose one. But we thought—if there was any chance you heard me out long enough to get to this part—well, we thought you might want a vintage ring we look for together.” He stroked her hair and tenderly kissed the back of each hand.
He kissed the ring finger on her left hand longest and she melted.
“Yes. Yes.” She lifted her voice to shout it. “Yes!”
Startled birds took flight as she jumped into Remy’s arms and let him spin her around.
“Yes to all of it,” she whispered in his ear, barely daring to believe her dreams were coming true. “I want to be with you forever. I’m going to make you so happy.”
He scooped her up off her feet. “Starting right now.” He grabbed the picnic basket with the other hand and marched them down the hill toward the canoe. “We’re going to have the best damn picnic ever. Right after we catch the biggest fish.”
“You mean right after you kiss me.” She arched up closer to brush her lips over his.
“That part is a before, during and after kind of thing,” he said, pausing long enough to kiss her thoroughly. Kiss her senseless. “I picture a lot more of that happening.”
She still felt as if they were spinning when he settled her onto the blanket in the canoe.
“This is the best surprise.” She stared up at him as he situated the picnic basket between them.
Sunlight limned his shoulders and his golden brown hair, reminding her what he must look like paddling his pirogue through the bayou waters. She’d found a smart, charming, thoroughly devoted man she could trust with her heart forever.
“And the good news is, it’s only just started,” he reminded her, sitting down and stretching out his long legs. “We’ve got a lot of plans to make, Erin Finley-soon-to-be-Weldon.”
Oh, she liked how that sounded.
“But you know what we need to do first, right?” She pulled her phone out of her purse and opened up her messaging screen.
Remy grinned. “I have a good idea.”
“Can we take a quick picture?” She leaned toward him and held up the camera for a romantic selfie. At the last second, he turned and planted a kiss on her cheek.
It was, quite possibly, the cutest picture ever.
Erin attached the photo to her text message to Sarah and typed out three words— I said yes.
***
That’s all for One Last Chance but if you enjoyed the story, I’d be so grateful if you took a moment to leave a review! And I really hope you’ll join me for the next story in the Take the Backroads series, The Last Love Song.
He falls first in this heartfelt read from a USA Today bestselling author...
Ready to change her life, Heather Finley sells her share of a local business and begins plotting to leave the small town where she grew up.
She’s spent too long reining in her creative impulses for the good of the family.
Now, she’s leaving Heartache for fun, adventure, and maybe even a spot on a reality television singing competition.
Or at least, she would if she could get past Heartache’s sexy mayor who always seems to be in the way.
Tech entrepreneur Zach Chance never wanted to be mayor of a small town in Tennessee, but when no one else stepped up to run things, he offered to keep Heartache in the black until they found someone else.
He’d much rather spend his free time pursuing Heather Finley, but she’d shut him down every time he got close.
Now that fate seems determined to throw them together as often as possible, can he convince her to share some of her new sense of adventure with him?