Page 105 of Forever Mine
I take his hand and instantly feel the familiar warmth and strength that has always been my anchor.
Elijah turns a curious look my way, and the world spins one dizzying revolution before righting itself.
Do not pass out and embarrass the shit out of yourself, dumbass.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now, and I can’t think of a better place than here.”
I thought about all the possible places I could propose to Elijah—over a romantic dinner, at the beach under the stars, at Christmas surrounded by our families—but this quiet grassy hilltop filled with wildflowers is our special place. Our sunrise hilltop that belongs to us.
“What is it?”
The words I had rehearsed so many times suddenly feel monumentally inadequate.
“I… will you…”
You are an idiot. Drop down on your knee and ask your soulmate to marry you.
“Will I what?” he asks when all I do is stare at him with wide, unblinking eyes.
I begin to fidget under the pressure to get it right.
“I am utterly and completely in love with you,” I blurt.
Elijah’s smile widens. “I’m utterly and completely in love with you, too.”
I’m fucking this up so badly. Screw it. I’m just going to have to wing it.
With my heart thrashing about inside my chest, I face the man I love more than anything and speak my truth.
“You are the most amazing and extraordinary person I have ever known. You bring light and happiness into every second of every minute of my life, and I thank God every day that you’re with me. From the moment we met, I knew with every fiber of my being that you were destined to be mine. But it was deeper than that—my very soul recognized you as my forever, the missing piece I had been searching for all along. I could feel it in every beat of my heart and with every breath I took.”
I reach into my pocket, my fingers brushing against the cool metal of the ring I’d been carrying for weeks—the platinum trio band with alternating rows of white and black diamonds. The one I saw and immediately knew it belonged on his finger.Slowly taking it out, soft blades of grass bend under me when I go down on one knee.
“Julien,” he breathes more than says, his voice thick with emotion. Tears fall from his eyes and trace thin rivulets down each cheek. “Yes!Yesyesyes!”
“Patience. I have things to say first.”
Sniffling, he nods emphatically. “Please continue.”
I take his left hand and kiss each finger before pressing a kiss to the center of his palm.
“You are my everything. My best friend, my confidant, my lover, and my partner in every adventure. You’ve brought so much joy into my life, more than I ever thought possible. Every moment with you feels like a dream, one that I never want to wake up from. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me. A life together where I get to love you for eternity. Elijah Michael Barnes, will you marry me?”
Elijah drops down and takes my face in his hands, kissing me with an unrestrained passion that curls my damn toes.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
My eyes flare in astonishment when he reaches under his shirt collar and pulls out his necklace. An almost identical ring to the one I’m holding hangs from the gold chain. He unhooks the clasp and slides the ring off.
“Julien, you are my heart, my soul, and my home. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, and I can’t imagine a future without you by my side. Will you marry me, too?”
I start laughing, the sound full of pure, unbridled happiness. “I asked you first.”
His smile is so damn big. “On the count of three. One. Two…”
“Yes!” we say at the same time as we slip our rings onto each other’s fingers.
So freaking happy that I can’t contain it, I lean back and shout to the world, “He said yes!”
