Page 91 of My Heart Before You

“I have something for you.”

Colin leaned forward and pulled a letter from his back pocket. She glanced at the plain white envelope for a breath before flitting her eyes back to his. His gaze held such focused sincerity that her heart hammered in her chest.

Her hand trembled slightly as she took the envelope from him and turned it over. The front had no writing on it, and as she gently broke the seal, she saw the lined, college-ruled paper inside. Unfolding it slowly, she instantaneously recognized the scrawling handwriting as the same she’d seen in his box of letters.

A fluttering flash swung through her belly. “Is this a letter from your mother?”

“It is.” His voice was deep with emotion.

“Shouldn’t you be reading it?” She was slightly confused now since she’d broken the seal to the envelope.

He nodded to the letter. “It’s addressed to you.”

To the woman who holds my son’s heart,

She glanced up at Colin with tears beginning to brim in her eyes. His steady gaze contained such concentrated affection that her already ragged breath caught while she struggled to swallow.

I am so incredibly grateful for you. You are someone who I will never meet, but who will be such a vital part of my Colin’s life. I love my son more than you can ever know, or rather I hope with my entire heart that you love him as much as I do. I wish that I could meet you. To hug you and hold your face in my hands with the appreciation I feel for being there for him when I cannot be. I ask that you not only take care of him, but give him the love he deserves because if you are reading this letter, then he has already given his heart to you. I love you, even though I don’t and will never know you, I love you and so does he.

My whole heart,

Helen

A tear trickled down Emilie’s cheek as her subtly shaking hands held the letter. She was so overcome by his mother’s words that she hadn’t noticed Colin slip from beside her. As she lowered the letter to her lap, she found him kneeling with an open ring box in his hands. A surprised inhale filled her lungs.

His eyes were as moist as hers. “Emilie, I love you more than anything in life. All I want is to spend the rest of my days loving you. Please let me love you forever. Will you be my wife?”

“Yes, Colin. Yes.” She reached for him as she squinted hot tears from her eyelids.

The look of relief and happiness on his face as he rushed to her lit up her chest as their lips met. He took her face in both of his hands, and she felt as if he was pouring his soul into her body, making silent promises to her.

When they separated, she said what vibrated in every cell in her body. “I love you.”

He looked deep into her eyes. “I love you.”

Taking her left hand, he gently slipped the stunning diamond ring on her finger. The large center diamond was surrounded by a halo of tiny ones.

“Colin, it’s too much.” Her voice was raspy.

“Nothing is too much for you.” He kissed her hand. “Whatever you want, you can have. I want you to have everything your heart desires.”

She set down the letter to push her fingers over his temple. “All I want is you.”

The joy behind his eyes made her whole body effervescent. “You have me. I’m yours.”

A question brewed in her mind. “The envelope wasn’t addressed. How did you know it was for me?”

He pulled a second envelope from his pocket and turned it over in front of her.When you meet the woman you want to marrywas written on the outside. He opened the envelope to show her a yellow post-it note inside. It read simply,I am so incredibly happy for you, Colin. Have your love read this letter from me. Congratulations on your life together.

“Your letter was inside this envelope with this note.”

A sob caught in Emilie’s throat when she thought of his mother writing this letter for her thirteen-year-old son during her last days on earth. How much she must have loved the younger version of the man still kneeling before her. Emilie hoped that somehow his mother knew how much she loved her son, and how she intended on spending the rest of her life cherishing him.

Carefully folding the letter back on its creases, she handed it back to him. With all the stripped honesty that had passed between them in the last few moments, she was amazed when a laugh bubbled up in her throat.

“Analie and my parents are going to be so surprised.”

He glimpsed at her from the corner of his eye. “No, they won’t.”

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