Page 86 of Broken Butterfly
God, this man and his words. They get me. Every. Fucking. Time. “It’s the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen. I love you, you wonderful, perfect man.”
Ryder stands up and pulls me into his arms. “I love you more,” he grins.
“We’re getting married,” I gush, switching my gaze between Ryder and my ring.
“We’re so absolutely getting married,” Ryder replies as we sway back and forth to music that only our hearts can hear.
“Grab your coat and gloves. I want to take you somewhere,” he tells me.
I was wanting to consummate our engagement with the filthiest, loudest sex possible. Ryder sees my pout and laughs. “Most definitely later,” he promises with another kiss and then reaches for my hand to pull me out of the bedroom.
Even though it’s the middle of the night, I don’t ask why or where we’re going. I would follow my man to the ends of the earth if he asked.
About a half hour later, we park up on the hill he took me to after our first date. His quiet place, he once told me. The place where we danced under the stars. The midnight air is cold and crisp and smells damp. The trees that once sheltered buzzing cicadas are barren, but the view below of the town, campus, and roads is still breathtaking in its lit-up beauty. I can see many houses and businesses that already have their Christmas lights up and turned on.
Ryder pulls a thick blanket out of the back seat and wraps it around us as we sit on the warm hood of the car. The sky is completely clouded over so there are no stars to view tonight, but that’s okay. My eyes are already filled with thousands of them as I tip my head back to look at Ryder who has his arms and the blanket bundled around me from behind.
“It just hit me,” I say.
“What did, baby?”
“I get to spend my first Christmas with my fiancé,” I reply, but then I turn pensive. “I wish Mom and Dad and Hailey were here. I won’t have Dad to walk me down the aisle. Hailey won’t be my maid of honor.”
Ryder turns me in his arms and caresses my arms and back. “Oh, sweetheart. They are here. They are watching us right now. Your Dad will be with you every step of the way down the aisle where I will be waiting to pledge my life to you in front of them, because your family will always be with you,” he tells me, placing his hand over my heart to show me where they are and where they always will be.
And to make sure that I know they are here with me, Mom, Dad, and Hailey send down a fluttering of delicate snow flurries. Ryder and I look up at the sky and I smile as each tiny snowflake kisses my face letting me know that my family is sharing this monumental moment in my life with me. Dad loved Ryder like his own son. Mom and Dad would be overjoyed that Ryder and I are engaged. They’re telling me so right now.
“How are we going to tell Jayson and Julien?” I ask Ryder as the flurries come down faster.
“However you want to tell them. But I know it’s Jayson you’re more worried about, isn’t it?”
“I just want to hold on to this feeling a little while longer. Our announcement is going to hurt him, and I don’t know how he’s going to react.”
I feel the blanket shift as Ryder takes out his phone and pulls up some music. Of course he plays “Helium” by Sia. This night wouldn’t be perfect without us dancing to our song. He secures the blanket around us once more as we dance under the falling snow.
“You mind if we at tell my parents?”
I nod yes. “And Fallon,” I add. “Can I tell Tatiána too?” I also want to add Julien and Elijah to that list, but I’m afraid word might get back to Jayson.
“Baby, I will shout it from the rooftops if you want me to. I want the whole world to know that the woman of my dreams said ‘yes.’”
“Technically, the man of my dreams said yes first.”
“Phone call or visit?” Ryder asks me how we should tell his family. A large wet snowflake lands on my face and he kisses it off my cheek. My body heats under that one small touch.
“We can do a video call with a promise to visit after we get back from Seattle. Finals are coming up and then I want to focus on the trip and visiting Elizabeth Ann’s grave, which I know is going to be very emotional for everyone, especially Jayson. I also want to see Daniel and Drew. It’s past time I stop avoiding them and get an explanation on why they did what they did. Deep down I know it’s because they were protecting me, but I still need to hear it from them.”
“Sounds fair. We can stop by my parents’ on our way back.”
“I told Fallon I want to buy my house. I want to fix it up and make it a proper home again. It was a great place to grow up in. I want that for another family.”
I nuzzle my cold nose against Ryder’s warm chest as we continue our slow dance. “That sounds like a great idea, Elizabeth. I’d like to help if you’d let me.”
“I do. And thank you. I need you to make sure that Fallon doesn’t buy it for me.”
“He said he was going to buy it?”
“Not in exact words, but I have a feeling that he’s going to try and sneak it past me.”
