Page 99 of Never the Best

He took my hand, his grip firm. Looking at me, hisblue eyes reflected the endless sky above us. “Pearl Beaumont,” he said with quiet conviction, “I don’t ever want to marry you.”

I blinked, caught between confusion and amusement. “What?”

He smiled, his thumb brushing lightly over my knuckles. “I don’t want the big white wedding, or the society circus, or any of the things we were raised to believe mattered. I don’t want any of it. I just want you.Forever. No papers, no pomp, no rules. Just us, doing things our way. Will younevermarry me and make me the happiest man on Earth?”

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest, as I absorbed what he’d just said. “This is for life?” I breathed.

“Absolutely.” His smile widened.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I didn’t bother wiping them away. “No expectations. No one else’s rules. Just you and me, building a life that makes sense for us?”

“Yes. So, what do you say?” he prompted, his grin turning playful.

I laughed because how could Inotbe with this man who made me so incredibly happy? “Yes, Rhett, I’llnevermarry you.”

The relief and joy that washed over his face was pure. He slipped the ring onto my finger, and pulled me into his arms.

We stayed like that for a long moment, the wind whipping around us, the towers standing silently as witness to our promise.

Later, as we sat by the glacial lagoon, our boots off and our toes dipping into the icy water, I lookedat the ring on my finger and smiled. It wasn’t flashy or ornate—it was simple, understated, and completelyperfect.

“You know.” I rested on my hands. “A year ago, I never would’ve thought any of this would be possible.”

“Any of what?” Rhett asked, glancing over at me.

“All of this.” I gestured to the mountains, the water, the ring. “Being here. Being happy. I didn’t think I’d ever get to a place where I felt like I was enough.”

Rhett reached over, taking my hand in his. “And now?

I smiled, squeezing his hand. “I’m getting to a place where I believe that I’m more than enough,” I admitted. “But it’s a process, and, as you know, some days are harder than others.”

“And on those days,” he vowed, “you’ve got me. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. Always. Forever. Because, Pearl, you’re there for me every day as well, making me better.”

I looked at the man who had once been the source of my deepest pain but was now the love of my life. As I gazed at him, I felt something I had slowly grown used to since he reentered my world:hope.

“Forever,” I echoed, leaning into him as we both stared out at the jagged peaks and the endless sky, the world stretching wide and wild before us.

After all, today wassomeday. And it was just the beginning.

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