Page 54 of The Fall

He’s more excited than he was about Christmas gifts when he went to bed last night. I meet Rowan’s eyes and give him a grateful smile.

I tear into the package and find a pair of purple gloves with a soft fur lining.

“Oh, they’re beautiful. I love them. Thank you, Sam.”

He pushes his glasses up on his nose. “It’s your favorite color.”

“Yes, it is. It was so thoughtful of you to remember that.” I hug him.

“Open mine!” Tate is just as excited as Sam when he hands his gift over.

I’m surprised to see he did a good job wrapping it. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. I tear into it and find bubble bath and lotion.

“Oh, this is great! You know how much I love bubble baths. Thank you, Tate.”

He looks at Rowan. I give Rowan a puzzled look, because we agreed the beautiful houseful of furniture was my gift from him.

He clears his throat and walks over to me, taking my hand. Sam and Tate stand on either side of me, looking up at me with excited smiles.

“Cam, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. There aren’t even words to convey how much you and the boys mean to me. You gave me a second chance and now I want to ask if you’ll officially be my girlfriend.”

“Yes, I will.”

It was perfect. I was afraid for a second that he was about to propose. And we aren’t there yet. I hope we will be eventually. But since we’re both coming into this relationship wounded, I want to take things slow, so we’re both completely sure it’s right.

“She said yes!” Tate high-fives Sam, and then they both high-five Rowan.

“So I have something for you.”

Rowan reaches into his pocket and takes out a tiny pale-blue box. My heart pounds with excitement. I’ve never gotten jewelry as a gift.

He flips open the box and reveals a beautiful platinum band with three sparking round stones set in a row: an emerald, a dark brown diamond and an intense yellow diamond.

My eyes fly to his; I’m in shock. I may not own any expensive jewelry, but I still know a lot about it. That ring cost an absolute fortune. Far more than the furniture.

“Rowan...”

He gives me a nervous look. “These are the colors in your eyes. There are three stones to represent the two most important men in your life, Sam and Tate, and one for me because I hope to become an important man in your life, too.”

I can’t hold back my tears as I say, “Stop it, you already are.”

He smiles and takes the ring from the box, sliding it onto my left hand.

“This isn’t an engagement ring, but it’s to hold the place of one until the time comes.”

I look down at it, floored. I’ve never worn anything so beautiful.

“It’s stunning. I don’t even know what else to say, just...wow. Thank you.”

He leans forward to kiss me and I cup his cheek, loving the feel of the ring on my finger.

“Ew,” Tate says. “Can we open the other presents now?”

“Yes.”

I hold my hand out and admire the ring, Rowan sliding an arm around my waist.

The boys tear through their stockings and gifts, both of them going crazy over the new iPads I bought them. Rowan got Tate new hockey skates and he got Sam some camping gear for their trip. I appreciated that he didn’t try to outshine me; being able to give my kids a nice Christmas was a big first for me.

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