Page 111 of Until We Weren't

Faith held out one hand and raised her eyebrows. “May I have your hand?”

Destiny nodded. She was so surprised she couldn’t speak. Slowly, she lowered one of her hands and felt Faith grasp it between both of hers. One day when she looked back on this moment, Destiny would remember the silence. It was just the two of them in a love-filled haze.

“Des, you have saved me over and over,” Faith said. “You showed me what trust and love not only look like, but how it feels. You saved me from ferocious dogs.” She paused and grinned. “And you saved me by giving us another chance. It’s my turn to save you.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “You think you’ve got it all, but you need me to spice things up, to keep you guessing, and to keep things interesting.”

“You have no idea,” Destiny murmured.

“I’ve always loved you, but I commit to never letting anything come between us ever again. No secrets, unless it’s a good surprise for you. If doubts ever creep in, I will tell you. If I’m afraid, I will tell you. But most of all, I’ll tell you, show you, and share with you how much I love you every day.”

“Oh, Faith,” Destiny said, tears falling down her cheeks.

“You are my destiny,” Faith said. “Will you marry me?”

Destiny sank to the ground in front of Faith and cradled her face between her hands. “Yes,” she said through her tears. Then she pressed their lips together in a kiss of promise, new beginnings, and love.

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Faith didn’t know her heart could be this full. Her lips were pressed to Destiny’s and she never wanted this kiss to end. She could feel Destiny’s love, forgiveness, and relief that they were truly going to spend their lives together.

A noise in the distance brought Faith back to the realization they were kneeling in the rock garden at the site. She’d asked Mark to sneak to the rock garden and spell out Marry Me right before they started their final walk-through of the project. He, along with Monica, Amy, and most of their workers were in the parking lot waving, clapping, and hollering with happiness.

Destiny pulled away and widened her eyes. She looked over her shoulder and could see the commotion in the parking lot. “Is that?—”

“Yep.” Faith chuckled. “Here.” She slid an engagement ring onto Destiny’s finger. “If you don’t like it we can get something else.”

Destiny held her hand out and gazed at the diamond that sparkled in the fading sunlight. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”

“Oh, good.”

Destiny stood up and pulled Faith up with her. “I can’t believe this! I made this special design for you.”

“Let me see,” Faith said, looking at the rock formation. “Oh, babe. That’s so cool! It’s our love. From now on, it’s an unbroken circle.”

“You haven’t seen it?”

“No,” Faith said. “I had Mark come up here and place the rocks for me. I knew you’d done something special as a surprise and I wanted to see it with you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised as when I turned around and you were on one knee,” Destiny said.

“I’ve told you, but I wanted to show you that I trust you. I trust us,” Faith said. “What better way than getting married and committing to one another for life.”

“We don’t have to get married to do that,” Destiny said.

Faith tilted her head. “You don’t want to get married?”

“No, no,” Destiny said. “I do! I don’t want you to do this just for me.”

“I want to marry you, Des.”

Destiny giggled. “I want to marry you, too, babe.”

They could hear horns honking in the parking lot and Faith laughed. “They’re waiting on us. We’re having a party at our karaoke bar to celebrate us and the project. Wait.” Faith stopped. “We have to get a picture for Mrs. Baker. Smile!”

After the picture they hurried to the parking lot and received hugs from their friends and coworkers. Then they all piled into their vehicles and took off for the bar.

“We’ve got to call Mrs. Baker,” Faith said, getting into the truck and pulling out her phone.

When the call connected, Faith exclaimed, “She said yes!”

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