Page 29 of Christmas Kisses

Ben has been acting a little weird the past few weeks, and it's starting to worry me. Our relationship is so smooth and easy to navigate that it scares me. Nothing is that perfect in real life. AmI dreaming? Will I wake up and have a douchebag like the mayor sleeping next to me?

My body shivers with the horrible thought.

"Are you okay? You just trembled like you were cold."

"It's nothing."

He secures the oars to the boat and puts his hands on my shoulders. He kisses me on the side of the head and rubs my arms. He always does that to relax me and make me feel secure. It works every single time, and this time is no exception.

"Tell me."

"I…for a moment, I thought that maybe this was a dream and I would be startled awake to realize my life was crappy and hopeless."

"Those are some dark thoughts. Where'd they come from?"

"I'm just so happy."

"We deserve this happiness, baby."

Ben puts his arms around me, and I suddenly don't care that I'm sweaty and my hair is a mess. We belong together. I turn around in his arms and look deeply into his eyes.

"Marry me," I ask him.

"What?"

"Let's get married."

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes. Oh, god, I'm sorry. I should have let you do it. I'm just desperate to join our lives together."

He kisses me, and I'm shaken to my core. His kisses always catch me off guard, and then I'm swept away by all the feelings they bring out in me.

"You know what I think, beautiful?"

"What?"

"Great minds think alike."

He searches for something in his shirt pocket, and my mouth falls open when he pulls out a blue velvet box from it. I can'tbelieve it! He flips the lid open, and a gorgeous piece of jewelry shines bright right before me.

"Samantha Bower, will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes!"

I rush into him, and we tumble back into the boat. The thing rocks as if it's going to dump us in the water, but we stay still, holding onto each other. We both laugh hysterically. Ben lowers his head and kisses me on the forehead. Then, I lift my hand up so that he can place the ring on my finger.

It's a perfect fit and I keep looking at it like the miracle it is. Not that he bought me a fancy ring, but that we're going to join our lives together and be as one. We hold one another for quite a while, then we finally sit back and Ben resumes his rowing.

It looks like he's going the wrong way, though.

"Shouldn't we be going that way?" I signal toward the east.

"Trust me?" He smiles a lazy smile.

"Okay."

He keeps rowing and soon I see a dock with garland and balloons. There's a big banner that says 'Will you marry me?' and I burst into tears. We're really in sync. We want the same things, and here's proof. We dock and get out of the boat. There's a table with champagne and some tasty treats from Flora's bakery.

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