Page 108 of Midnight Witness
“I think, so, yeah. It’ll be easy to keep them straight if we do.”
I agreed. “You could have a lot of fun with that idea too. Like a lavender room filled with actual lavender and other florals that color. Or a forest green color filled with ferns and natural wood.”
The quick look he cast at me from the corner of his eye told me he could tell I was intrigued. “You and Lana will have to sit down and hash out some ideas. I know she had some, but it’s a lot of rooms.”
Absently, I nodded. My thoughts swirled with possibilities as I wandered through the rooms on this floor and the next. The marketing for this would be so much fun. Each room would have its own personality, and we could lean into that.
“What’s your timeline for opening?” I asked as we descended the main staircase to the ground floor.
“Next summer. In time for tourist season. I was kind of hoping we could open with a bang and have a big wedding in the gardens.”
“Oh, that would be pretty,” I said, moving into the sitting room to the right of the front door. My gaze locked on the ornate fireplace on the wall to my left. “Did Lana have a couple in mind for that? Those people you mentioned, maybe?” I’d yet to see the rear yard, but I bet it was spectacular.
“No. Actually, I had someone in mind.”
Reaching out, I traced the carvings on the wooden mantle. This place was incredible. There was so much detail everywhere I looked. “Oh, yeah? Who?”
“Us.”
My fingers froze on the wood.
What?
Slowly, I turned my head. My gaze dropped to where Luke now knelt on the floor on one knee.
With wide eyes, I could only stare. “What are you doing?”
A crooked smile lifted his mouth. He reached into his jacket pocket. “Proposing.” His hand emerged, clutching a navy-blue ring box.
Lifting his free hand, he curled a finger, motioning me closer. “Come over here.”
Of their own accord, my feet shuffled closer. It was like an out-of-body experience. I was present, but I wasn’t.
He took my hand, bringing reality crashing back. Suddenly, I was right in the mix of things again.
The knowledge of what was happening sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. My knees shook like the ground during an earthquake. I sank to them in front of him before I fell.
He let go of my hand to cup the side of my face. “I know this is fast. It’s only been a few months. But I don’t want anyone else, and I never will. You’re it for me, Mina. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you marry me?” With his thumb, he flicked open the lid on the ring box, revealing an emerald-cut diamond set low in a gold band. On either side, embedded in the gold, were two smaller stones. One was an amethyst, the other a sapphire—our birthstones.
I raised my left hand, covering my mouth. “Oh, that’s beautiful,” I whispered from behind my fingers.
Luke moved his hand from the side of my head to remove the ring from its velvet bed. Reaching up, he pulled my hand away from my face, then slid the ring over the tip of my ring finger. “So, what do you say, Mina? Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
A happy laugh bubbled free, along with a few tears of joy. Would I? Only a crazy woman would say no to this man.
I blinked away the water flooding my eyes and nodded. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I managed one whispered word:
“Yes.”
