Page 28 of Rough Love

A few months had gone by and things between Sage and Mia were better than ever. They had managed to find a new house, one that was close to the beach so they could watch the sunset every day. It was the one time of the day they would always make available for each other, no matter what. It had made them closer as the days passed and they were both extremely happy about it. Their relationship had taken all sorts of hits and they seemed to come out stronger every time.

Sage had learned that Mia was possibly the strongest woman he had ever met and to him, that was one of her greatest features. He learned that she could be strong no matter what and he loved that about her. He knew it had been extremely hard on her when the fire happened, especially when they lost their home but she showed how strong she was when they went looking for something new. She didn't complain much about their loss but took it in her stride.

Everything had gone back to normal. The business was rebuilt but excluding the drugs. Fiona and Grier agreed that it would be better for everyone if they just focused on running a clean business. No one wanted to get caught up with any other bad people who could potentially ruin their lives. It had been too much already for all of them. Fiona and Grier came to Florida soon after the fire and had promised to make things better for the future. Everyone could see that the relationship between Sage and Mia was different which Fiona was happy about. Of course, she had seen the connection between the two of them before they had and she was glad they had finally gotten together. It would make the business work better because they were stronger than ever.

Everyone celebrated the fact that the Omens wouldn’t be around anymore. It was a great time for the Screaming Demons. When the Omens had been involved, they always had to worry about things going wrong. They all knew it had to do with their line of work as well, but they had been doing it for so long that there was no point in changing that until it became too dangerous.

Sage knew that it was the right time for him to settle down. He had realized through everything that Mia was the one for him. It was a scary thought to have after all the pain he had gone through previously but he knew he could trust her. He trusted her with his life and he would trust her with his heart. It had taken him so long to finally admit to himself how he truly felt about her and he had to make sure she understood that he was in it until the very end. He wanted to grow old with Mia, raise children with her and then die by her side. He could not picture his life without her in it and that was something he had never thought would happen.

He had watched Mia build a new life for them after their house had been burnt down and he could see how hard she tried to make it the best home possible. He loved the fact that she had chosen a place that was near the beach; he knew the significance. It meant the world to him that she hadn’t given up on their relationship when he had spoken to her about staying with the Screaming Demons. She had been so understanding about his needs that he loved her even more.

He knew the next step for them was to get married. He wanted to do everything the right way when it came to Mia, he wanted to give her the life she deserved. She had never spoken to him about marriage and he knew it was because she was too scared to bring up the topic due to his past but he could picture himself with her forever so there was no point in prolonging it. He was grateful that she had been so patient with him. He knew it must’ve been hard and sometimes he couldn’t understand why she had stuck around for so long when there had never been a proper talk about the future.

It was a bright and sunny afternoon when he decided to go look for a ring that suited Mia and her personality; he wanted it to be perfect. It wasn’t just about the moment but he wanted to prove to her that he knew her inside out. Getting the right ring just meant that the whole moment would be perfect.

“I’m just going out for a while, maybe we can meet up later at the bar?” Sage asked Mia while she sat on the patio that looked out onto the beach. She looked at peace as she watched the waves hit the shore. It was beautiful. Sage loved the fact that they lived so close to the beach because the smell of the ocean helped calm him a bit.

“Okay, that sounds like an idea. I’ll meet you there in a few hours?” she asked.

“That sounds great, I’ll see you there,” Sage replied. He knew she had no idea what he had planned for them later. He had kept his feelings about marriage to himself.

He left her at the house and made his way to a jewelry store that he had heard of. He had a picture in his mind of what kind of ring he wanted for Mia. He knew it had to be simple and he had researched pictures online so he would have an idea of what to look for. He decided that he liked the idea of a Princess cut, with a 1-carat stone set in a silver band. It was just elegant enough but also not too over the top since Mia didn’t wear jewelry.

Once he arrived at the store, he made his way over to the assistant behind the counter.

“Good day, sir. How may I help you?” he asked.

“Hi, I’m looking for something like this,” Sage said as he pulled out his phone to show him the picture he had on his phone.

“Oh, an excellent choice. Follow me,” he replied as he walked Sage over to a counter that had a glass case to display the ring selection. He glanced over the rings and within an instant saw the ring he wanted.

“I’ll take that one, please,” he said. It was very similar to the picture he had on his phone and he knew it was the right one. He didn’t really worry about the price of it, he never really worried about money while working for Fiona and Grier.

“Perfect, sir. Let me cash it up and you can be on your way,” the assistant said.

Sage watched as the assistant placed the ring in a very beautiful maroon box and tied it up with a ribbon. He paid and left the store.

He spent a bit of time walking around the shops before he made his way to the bar. He wanted to rehearse what he was going to say because he wanted to make sure it was perfect. There was a part of him that wished they were in Pine Hill for the proposal. He felt that because they had met in the bar there it would’ve been the perfect place to propose as if it were a complete circle of their relationship. He didn’t mind so much that he couldn’t do it there though. He just wanted the moment to be perfect. He hadn’t planned anything really special but he had invited Fiona and Grier to join for drinks so they could be there. After all, it was thanks to Fiona that Sage had been put with Mia in the first place.

He made his way to the club and decided to stop for some flowers on his way, just so he wasn’t completely empty-handed. When he got to the club, he walked straight over to the bar to order a drink.

“Hey, Adam. Please can I get-” he started.

“A whiskey on the rocks?” Adam finished. He already knew exactly what Sage drank.

“You know me too well,” Sage said with a laugh. Adam and Sage had gotten much closer after the fire. They both knew the importance of getting rid of the Omens and they had bonded over it making their friendship bloom.

“Of course. So how are you feeling?” Adam asked. Sage had told him about his plan to propose to Mia. He was the only person who actually knew it was going to happen.

“You know, I’m not feeling too bad. A little nervous but other than that rather confident that she’ll say yes,” he replied. He wasn’t 100 percent sure that she would say yes but he hoped that he had read the signs correctly. He knew Mia loved him and he felt as if she was ready to take their relationship to the next level.

He had noticed a change in her behavior and it seemed that she was ready for more. She hadn’t said it in words but he hoped he had picked up the right signals. It wasn’t that she spoke about marriage around him but she seemed to be into the very romantic side of things, cooking them wonderful meals in candlelight that just seemed to be oddly romantic for their usual dinners. He thought she was ready since they had already been through so much together and they had gotten tattoos to symbolize their relationship before they had even said the words ‘I love you’ to each other.

He sat at the bar and waited for her to arrive. His nerves grew as the time ticked by. They hadn’t discussed a time so she could show up at any point. After what felt like years of waiting, Mia showed up at the bar. Sage watched as she walked over to him with a huge smile on her face. She was wearing a light summer dress that was loose and flowy. It was printed with different colored flowers and her skin glowed.

God, she’s beautiful, he thought to himself.

“Hey you,” she said as she took a seat next to him. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.