Page 167 of Until I Own You

I wanted to meet her at the end of the runway, but I’m not fast enough so I stop in my tracks and drop to my knee.

The room gasps.

And Bridget turns.

Her beaming smile falters when she sees me. “Seth, what’s…”

I can tell she’s having trouble computing, the way her eyes flick away like someone else might have an explanation.

She didn’t expect it.

“Bridget.” I hold my hand out to her. “Come here.”

Bridget takes a few steps toward me, absolutely dumbfounded.

And though we are surrounded by not just our loved ones but her fans, her public, cameras, and crew, it’s just us.

It has always been just us.

“What are you doing?” A laugh burbles from the back of her throat.

“Take my hand,” I say.

As always, Bridget follows my instructions, but her hand is shaking in mine.

Not great considering my body feels moments away from the shakes as well. But I will remain composed. Always. For her.

“You know how much I love you, don’t you?”

‘Bridget nods.

“From the moment I saw you,” I go on. “Even though you were supposed to be…” I glance over at our parents in the audience. Our biggest champions since it all came to light.

They normalized it so quickly that anyone who had any qualms with it couldn’t say a damn thing because the only people who mattered didn’t care.

That’s real love there.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is make you happy. Even if I had a crappy way of showing it,” I say.

She giggles. A few tears slide down her cheeks. She catches a fat one underneath her palm.

“I’m so proud of you. And honored that you have chosen me to be the person you lean on. It is and will always be my greatest honor.”

Her smile grows.

“And what I’d like more than anything…” I hold up the ring box in my free hand, flick it open with my thumb as I practiced because I was nervous I might drop it one-handed. “Is if you’d do me the honor of allowing me to be there for you always and forever.”

Bridget’s smile is so big, pretty lips bathed in a pretty petal pink, I think it might break her face.

There are so many more things I’d like to say. But the adrenaline is pumping, the energy around us is thrumming, an audience waiting on the edge of their seat to know if I’ve just made a fool out of myself. I need to know her answer.

“Will you marry me?”

She nods, head bobbing. Takes her a second to get the word out. “Yes, yes, of course.”

I try to maintain my composure as I slide the ring onto her finger, but it’s hard when everyone has just seen her nodding her head and is celebrating in kind. However, the second my ring is on her finger, I shoot up to my feet, pull her into my arms and give her a long, unflinching kiss.

We bask in the glow. Under the eyes of so many. To think our love was borne from a place of secrecy. Something to be kept behind closed doors.

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