Page 133 of One Small Spark

Ugh. The happiness in his voice is the best sound ever.

“It’s really your fault, you know.”

He rumbles an agreement. “Most things are.”

“You keep getting me to do things.”

His smirk softens. “Are you okay with that?”

Why is my throat getting tight, like my heart jumped up in there? This is so ridiculous.

“Yes,” I say softly, as if it’s some big deal. “I want to do all the things with you.”

Shepherd’s smile ignites something comforting and warm beneath my ribs. “You had to go and give me the perfect opening, didn’t you?”

“For what?”

He pulls something out of the pocket of his board shorts, takes a step back from the surf, and drops onto one knee. He opens the little velvet box in his hand, gazing up at me as the setting sun paints him with golden highlights.

“Wren Kitten Goddess Krause,” he starts.

I snort, wrecking the moment. He’s undeterred.

“You are my favorite person in this world. I love every part of you, the good and the bad, the sweet and the salty. I might especially love the salty.”

I laugh again. He really does love it when I’m crabby. My perfect other half.

“I want to spend every day with you, from your grumpy ‘Good mornings’ to your sleepy ‘Good nights.’ It will take a lifetime to learn everything I want to know about you. I am never going to finish falling in love with you, Wren. Will you marry me?”

I drop to my knees in front of him. “All the yeses.”

We kiss in celebration, with just enough push and pull to remind us what we love about each other. I’m barely thinking when he pulls the ring from its cushion in the box. It’s a square-cut solitaire, which I only know is called a princess cut from hanging out with Lila so much.

And maybe the occasional peek at jewelry websites. I’ve been secretly hoping, what can I say?

“I thought classic elegance suited you,” he says, watching me admire the ring. “But it’s got a secret…”

He tilts it toward me so I can see the inscription inside the band.

Krause + Callahan

“You are such a cheeseball,” I whisper. He knows it’s my highest compliment.

“You love me,” he says as he slides the beautiful ring onto my finger.

He kisses me again, a sweet, soft precursor of vows to come. I hold his face in my hands, look into his eyes, and admit the truth.

“I’m obsessed.”