Page 128 of Love Me Tomorrow

He drops to his knee, hisoneknee. “Eight months ago, I took a risk and showed up here in California, hoping to win your heart.” He flashes me a wry smile, one corner lifted higher than the other with boyish charm. “It didn’t go so well. The girl of my dreams crushed my heart.”

My tongue flies to the roof of my mouth, biting back a grimace. “Too soon. Way too soon.”

That grin widens, like he’s enjoying making me squirm. “I spent the next few months living in misery. Hoping she would show up and beg me to give her a second chance. Alternatively praying that she would never show her face again.”

“You arenotwarming me up with this speech.”

A deep, satisfied chuckle reverberates in his chest. “But then the girl came back, and no matter how much I tried to shake her loose, it didn’t work. She waltzed into my parlor and made me crave. She went to bat with me, a total test of the wills, and I’ll admit that though I beat her solidly on that score, she got me back by siccing her cat on me like a privately hired assassin.”

“Oh, my God,Owen.” Dammit, I don’t want to laugh but I can’t stop the flow. Pressing my palms to my cheeks, I manage out between fits, “But y’all have bonded! Give me a little credit here.”

“Speaking of binding—”

“I saidbonding, Owen, not binding.” Heat rushes to my face.

“—she loves it when I tie her up.”

My eyes squeeze shut. “I hate you.”

“No,” Owen says, humor in his voice, “you love me.”

I peer down at him, my heart in my throat. “Yes,” I whisper, the laughter dissipating when I notice the slight tremble in the hand that he has planted on one knee. Owen Harvey will always have a bit of the shy boy he used to be, and I adore him all the more for it. “I love you so much that it hurts.”

“Hurts so good,” he returns, and I jerk my head in a shaky nod. One of his inked hands dives into the front pocket of his slacks and comes out with a black velvet box that, on sight, has me trembling too. “I had a whole plan for this, you know,” he husks out, “I was gonna put Pablo in a cat tux and bring you both down to Barataria. I wanted to do it on the balcony with the sunset behind you and a piece of art I’d painted for you resting on our bed. I wanted you to see me, all of me, and know that you’re marrying a man who may see the world a little differently, but when he looks at you, there aren’t any colors that are lost to him because you bring them to life, sweetheart. For him—forme—you bring them to life.”

My lungs squeeze and I press my fist to my mouth, joy ripping through me like beams from a thousand splintered rainbows.

“So,” Owen murmurs, “it’s unfortunate for you that you got yourself a concussion because it occurred to me, while you were being shuttled into that ambulance, that this was my chance to propose when you weren’t in your right mind to say no. I went to every jeweler I could find in the last hour.”

A startled laugh shoots out of me. I hate him and I adore him and I love him too much to say anything other than, “Don’t be shy, Owen. Take what you want.”

“Oh, I am, sweetheart, I definitely am.” And then he reaches for my hand, skipping over asking for it, and slides a gold ring to the base of my fourth finger. A gold ring with a marquise-styled ruby gem—the deep red stone winks back at me. I raise a startled glance to his rugged face, only for him to offer a shy smile. His black eyes shine with raw vulnerability. “So when people ask me why I can’t see certain colors,” he says, “I can say that you’re keeping them captive right there on your finger. Turns out you made a promise to me on our wedding day that if I kiss you enough times, you’ll give them all back.”

I reach out to grip his hand, holding on tightly. “What if I never give them back because I love my husband just the way he is, shadows and all?”

His smile turns lopsided and he rises, his inked fingers cupping my face as he presses his forehead to mine. “I’d love you just the same. Today, tomorrow, and for all the tomorrows that follow.”

40

Three Months Later

US Tonight:

Breaking News! Joe “Celebrity Tea Presents”Devonsson Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Much speculation has occurred over the last few months on whether or not Joe Devonsson, formerly the head creator, director, and host of the reality showPut A Ring On It,would face time behind bars. While Devonsson’s legal team continued to try to save face by claiming that Devonsson was not the culprit behind the email hacking, yesterday he ultimately pled guilty.

In court he reportedly exclaimed, “No show has ever had higher ratings thanPut A Ring On Itin the history of television,” when the judge passed his verdict.

Already news is circulating that Devonsson is looking for television networks interested in creating a documentary on his rise from anonymous celebrity tabloid reporter to the director of the hottest reality TV show ever aired.

Commentary from the victim, Savannah Rose, has been slim. From all appearances, the former reality TV star seems to have picked up right where she left off before the show began filming a year ago. No one can find fault with that, considering the trauma she experienced at having her entire life upended.

With that said, there has been only one instance where her name has circulated online in recent months, and that has been with the creation of a new Instagram page, shared between her and her fiancé, Owen Harvey.

Harvey, who also suffered at the hands of Devonsson, was forced to come into the limelight about his color-blindness—and his lifelong work as a tattoo artist. The Instagram page, titled “Be Unapologetically You,” documents the new weekly workshops held at Harvey’s tattoo parlor, Inked on Bourbon (New Orleans, LA) that are designed to help those with disabilities learn how to tattoo. Although Harvey has never spoken to any magazines about his color-blindness, critics have reportedly been hammering on his door, hoping that he might give them a glance into the inner workings of a man who approaches life with such inspiring gusto. To date, it does not seem that he’ll ever answer to their knocking but that doesn’t mean his impact and drive hasn’t been heard or felt.

All over the world, people have taken to using the trending hashtag #BeUnapologetic when cataloging experiences that they once believed unattainable or not accessible to them, for whatever the reason.

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