Page 28 of His Cabin Obsession

“Because this deserves a special occasion,” Aaron says, and before I can ask him what, he goes down on one knee in front of me, his hands cradling the sudden appearance of a jewelry box. “Olivia, I know we haven’t known each other long. But I don’t need any more time to know. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I never settled down before, but that was because I just hadn’t met you yet. Will you do me the honor of joining me for the rest of my life, as my cherished, beautiful wife?”

I stare at him, my eyes and mouth both open wide. For a long moment, I can’t even think of anything to say.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Aaron

A flash of anxiety passes through me as Olivia simply stares at me in silence. For once, I can’t read her face. Does she have doubts?

Then her face clears in a rush of emotions, tears springing to her eyes, and she nods her head quickly. “Yes,” she says, gasping for breath. “Yes, I will. I love you, too!”

I grin, tears flooding to my own eyes as I fill with joy. I blink them back to open the box and take out the ring – an heirloom piece from my mother, cut with beautiful diamonds in a glittering setting. I slip it onto Olivia’s finger, feeling it fit perfectly. Last night while she was sleeping I made sure I had the right measurements.

I pull her into my arms, lifting her up from her chair and holding her tightly against me, then lower my mouth to claim hers in a deep kiss. A kiss reserved for my future wife. She’s mine now, and that’s never going to change.

Proving to her that I want a future with her was something that only came up today, but it doesn’t mean I hadn’t been planning for this. Thinking about it. I just moved the date up a little to make sure she doesn’t slip away from me when we both leave this cabin.

Leaving this cabin that brings up a thought. We’re going to have to face the real world sooner or later, as much as we both might not want to. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I lead Olivia over to the couch so that we can sit together, entwined as we lay back, digesting our opulent meal.

“Tomorrow was supposed to be my day to leave,” I say, letting the words hang in the air.

“You’re not going yet, though, are you?” Olivia asks. She clings a little tighter to my arm, wrapped around her stomach. “You’ll stay until the day after with me? We might as well both check out at the same time.”

I lower a kiss to her forehead. “I will. But it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to stay forever. Just one more day. Then we have to go back to the real world.”

Olivia sighs. “I don’t want to,” she says.

“We can make our own new world together,” I tell her. “Just because we won’t be here anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t make a new life.”

“But there’s so much to think about.” Olivia raises her hand in front of her face, looking at her glittering engagement ring. “My Dad is coming to pick me up.”

Oh. Now, that is unexpected. I thought she was planning to get a taxi back to the office where you drop off the keys.

Looks like I might be meeting her family just a little bit earlier than expected.

“Should you call him?” I ask. “Let him know about… well, everything?”

The ring catches the light from above us, sending rays of color across our faces. “I can’t,” Olivia says. “He didn’t bring me because he has a conference. I won’t be able to contact him until the morning when he comes, and then there won’t be any point he’ll be driving.”

“So, we tell him everything in person, then,” I say. It doesn’t sound like the perfect way to do it, it would be better if he had some time to digest the news, especially with it being so sudden – but it will have to be this way.

Olivia shifts a little. I’m already getting to know her well enough that I can tell she’s uneasy about something. “The thing is,” she says. “My Dad’s kind of… protective.”

“Protective?” I repeat. Why does my heart rate increase at that word? Now I can’t shake a feeling of uneasiness myself.

“Yeah. He, um. Tends to warn off boys that I’m not even anywhere near. I don’t know if he’s going to like this.”

I swallow down a bundle of nerves. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with difficult people before – it’s just that it’s usually in the boardroom. Something like this – something personal, that matters so much – might be more of a challenge. Or maybe it’s just that there’s so much more resting on the outcome.

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