Page 110 of Second Chance with Seth

I pull out the ring box and hold it up. “By showing you this,” I say, throwing my jacket onto the box at the end of the bed and kneeling up on the mattress alongside Everly.

She’s staring up at me, wide-eyed and utterly confused. “You’ve got a ring?”

“Yes.”

“When did you buy it?”

I move a little closer to her, although I’m still kneeling… for a reason.

“About six months before I left you.”

“The first time?”

I put down the ring, and take her hands, pulling her up, so she’s kneeling before me. “I didn’t leave you the second time… not in the same way. There were things that needed to be done. But I was still with you in every way that mattered.”

She nods her head. “Okay, but are you seriously saying you’ve been carrying that around for eighteen months?”

“Yeah. I was gonna propose on your birthday. I had it all planned, but then…” I see the shadow cross Everly’s eyes when she realizes what I’m not saying.

“Then Aunt Clare died.” She puts my thoughts into words and I nod my head.

“There was no way I could do anything after that. You were too buried in your grief, and I guess I was too, in my own way… although I kept hoping we’d find a way out of it, and the right moment would come along. Only that was when things went wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, lowering her head.

“Hey…” I cup her face, raising it to mine, until our eyes lock. “None of that was your fault, babe.”

“It wasn’t entirely yours, either.”

“And it doesn’t matter now. The point is, I’ve kept the ring in my pocket ever since, and I’ve kept you in my heart, too.” I lean over and pick it up again. “I know we haven’t been back together for very long, and I haven’t helped by spending the last few days in Concord, but I think we both know we’ve never really been apart.”

“No, we haven’t,” she says, taking my hand and putting it on her chest, just above her left breast. “You’ve always been here.”

I smile at her, keeping hold of her hand, while I balance on one knee, doing my best not to topple over as the bed wobbles.

Once I’m stable, I release her hand, and open the box, watching as she gazes down at the white gold sapphire and diamond ring, nestling inside.

“Will you marry me?” I say simply, and she raises her eyes to mine.

“Yes.”

I pull out the ring, throwing the box over my shoulder, and take her left hand, both of us gazing down as I place the ring on her finger, before I pull her into my arms and we both fall back onto the bed.

“You’re mine,” I growl.

“I always was. Even when you weren’t here.”

“I’m here now, and I’m never leaving you… ever again.”

I lean in and kiss her, surprised when she pulls back after just a few seconds, moving her hand between us so she can admire the ring.

“It’s beautiful,” she says.

“Nowhere near as beautiful as you.”

She smiles up at me. “So, can we get married, and move into that house, and…”

“That’s the order you wanna do things? You wanna get married first and then move?”

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