Page 34 of All I've Waited For

“Pretending.”

Her delicate throat bobbed and her lips parted slightly. “Pretending what?”

The silence between them pulsed with something that begged for life. Derek scooted closer, until their thighs and upper arms touched. “That I don’t feel something I shouldn’t when I’m with you.”

Eyes widening, Ashley studied his face in that perceptive way she had, as if she were looking deeper than the surface. And just like the water, her presence sent ripples through him, through his life, in a way he couldn’t deny.

She pressed her lips together for a moment, then shook her head. “You never told me your proposal story.”

The electricity between them fizzled like a bucket of water dumped on a fire. Why had she gone and brought that up?

Because she was smarter than him, that was why.

He blew out a breath and leaned forward, placing his elbows against his knees. “Uh, well, it wasn’t really your typical proposal.”

She waited, not saying a word.

Fine. She wanted the truth? “My sisters had told me I should come home soon. That Dad wasn’t doing so hot. Claire and I were talking and just sort of decided that getting married was what we wanted. There wasn’t anything really grand or special about it.” In actuality, Claire had been the one to suggest the idea, but he wasn’t going to go so far as to tell Ashleythat. It still felt odd to him, since he’d been raised as a traditional sort of guy. “It wasn’t how I always pictured proposing, believe me.”

“How did you always picture it?”

Nearly missing her whispered words, he glanced at her. She picked at the cuticle of a fingernail so hard it had to have hurt. Before she could rip it to shreds, Derek enveloped her hand with his own.

Ashley tensed but otherwise didn’t move, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground. From her petite nose to her pointed chin, the planes of her face were so familiar—so beautiful. She had these little crinkles at the corners of her eyes from smiling so much. And her lips …

Derek wove their fingers together and ground his back teeth together before speaking again. “I always wanted to propose at the vineyard, at that spot in the very center where the vines veer from different directions and leave an open circle.”

She finally looked at him.

“I thought I’d line the path from the house to the spot with those lights in bags—you know, the ones we had to sell in grade school as a fundraiser.”

“Luminaries?”

“Yeah, those. Of course, I’d use fake candles inside of them. Couldn’t chance actual fire in a vineyard.” Derek licked his lips as he stared into her blue eyes. “And I’d somehow tie this ribbon from one end of the vineyard to that spot in the middle. Along that ribbon, I’d attach little notes, each one featuring a memory about our relationship.”

Ashley’s cheeks had two matching spots of red on either side. “That’s so sweet.”

Lowering his voice, he leaned closer. “And when she got to the circle, I’d be waiting with a ring in a little velvet box. And it would be just the two of us. Us and the stars.”

Just the two of them—him and Ashley.

His brain screamed at him to stop, but his body didn’t listen. With his free hand, Derek ran his thumb from her high cheekbone across her face. He traced the contour of her ear and brought his face within inches of hers, inhaling her intoxicating scent.

Ashley’s eyes dropped to half-mast, and she exhaled in such a sweet way that he was a goner.

His whole body trembled as he moved in, adrenaline pumping in anticipation of this thing he had wanted for so very long. Finally, his lips hovered over hers.

“Ashley?”

Both of them jerked away at the voice echoing through the courtyard.

She blinked rapidly. Her brain took a long few moments to register what her eyes were seeing.

Bella.

Bella was here, and she stood with her hands on her hips, head cocked to one side, eyes narrowed.

Oh, goodness.

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