Epilogue
LYDIA
Isuck in a breath, the icy mountain air filling my lungs. Despite being only twenty minutes from the ranch I grew up on, the air tastes different up here. Like I’m in an entirely different world.
Cade comes up behind me and wraps me in his arms, the warmth of his body enough to force the chill of the air away. “You’ve been out here a while, cowgirl,” he murmurs, chin resting on my shoulder. “You’re not thinking about leaving, are you?”
I choke on a small laugh as I lean into him. “Leave?” I ask, covering his hands with my own. “Now, why would I do that? Someone has to keep you on your toes.”
His lips brush the shell of my ear, making me shiver. “Not to be that needy asshole,” he says quietly, “but I don’t think I’d be able to live without you, Lydia.”
My skin prickles with a shiver I can’t hold back. “You have, though—”
Before the words can fully leave my lips, Cade pulls away, shocking me as he drops to one knee. When I turn, I catch his eye; he’s looking at me like I’m the literal sun, like his entire world revolves around me. It’s a look I truly never thought I’d get to experience—except with him.
He’s the only one who has ever looked like I could hang the stars, and every day I stay with him, I feel it more and more.
“Cade…” I whisper, hand going to my mouth. “What?”
The giant mountain man and ex-billionaire swallows hard, opening the ring box he holds. Sitting on a cushion of black velvet is an antique wedding ring. Simple, though knowing him, the diamond is real—and very expensive. It’s not too big that it’ll annoy me, but it’s also a statement.
A claiming.
“I love you,” he says, like it won’t be the last time he declares it.
“You brought me out of a darkness I had no idea I was trapped in. You showed me what a new life could mean, and you showed me that I could be worthy of someone as gentle and kind as you. I love you more and more every day, Lydia. I’ve never been sure of anything more. ”
Sunlight glints off the gold band of the ring, refracting through the diamond. Under the snowy gaze of the mountain, it looks magical. Simple, yet beautiful.
My heart lodges in my throat, breath catching. “I love you, too,” I murmur, meeting his stare again. “You gave me something I never thought I would get.”
“What’s that?” he asks quietly, rising, pulling the ring from the box.
I hold his stare as he takes my left hand. “Love,” I tell him. “Unquestionable love.”
A smile unfurls across his lips as he slips the ring on my finger. Somehow, it fits perfectly—though I shouldn’t question it, not when Cade has his ways.
Holding my hand between us, he cups my cheek and drops his forehead to mine. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I choke out, tears burning my eyes. “Of course.”
Maybe I didn’t set out to find love, but I’m thankful it came from Cade, that he showed me I could have everything my family did—and more.