Page 109 of Exposed Ink

He hands me a book, and I glance at him, puzzled.

“I already have this book,” I say with a laugh. “You were there when I met the author and got it signed. Thank you though,” I tell him, not wanting to sound unappreciative.

“It’s different,” he insists. “Open it.”

I set my fork down and open the book despite knowing it’s the same copy I have. The author only made one edition. It’s a hardback with sprayed edges and …

When I flip the cover over, I’m met with a square hole in all the pages.

“What the heck did you do?” I gasp, wondering why the hell he cut out the pages. It’s then I notice that inside the hole is a small black velvet box.

“Shane,” I say slowly as he plucks the box out of the pages.

“Kinsley,” he says, pushing his chair back and kneeling in front of me. “I’ve learned a lot about romance from living with two bookworms.”

I hear Taylor laugh, but I can’t take my eyes off Shane.

“In every book, there are trials and tribulations that the main characters go through before they get their happily ever after. When Taylor told me about some of the things the authors put their characters through, I didn’t understand why they would be so cruel, and I didn’t understand why she would read books like that. Until I met you.”

He smiles warmly at me, and I blink back my tears.

“You are strong and resilient, loving and warm,” he continues. “You care with your entire heart, and even when life knocks you down, you get back up.

“I learned that for a book to be considered romance, the characters must get a happily ever after. Otherwise, it’s called a love story.”

He palms the side of my face, and my heart races behind my rib cage as I take in his words. He’s not only pouring his heart out to me in front of our family and friends, but he’s once again showing me how much he understands.

“Your love story was with Brandon,” he says, “and it sadly ended in tragedy. If I could give you him back, I would, but since I can’t, my hope is that I can give you the next best thing—the reason why you love romances.”

He lets go of my face and pops the box open, exposing a beautiful diamond ring.

“I want to write our own story,” he tells me. “One that ends with the happily ever after that you deserve. Chapter one was the allergic reaction—or as Taylor would say, our meet-cute.”

Everyone laughs while I start to cry.

“Chapter two was convincing you to go on a date with me.”

“You worked damn hard for that date,” my dad says, making Shane chuckle.

“Chapters three, four, and five were getting you pregnant.” Shane leans in and lowers his voice. “I gave it three chapters because we spent a lot of time unknowingly working on that one.” He playfully winks.

Despite him whispering, everyone heard, and Taylor gags while my face heats up as I remember all the amazing sex we’ve had.

“You’re thinking about that time on the pool table, aren’t you?” he whispers.

“Shane!” I gasp, praying no one heard.

“Sorry.” He chuckles. “But that was a damn good scene. Am I right?”

“You’re not wrong,” I admit.

“I love every chapter that we’ve written so far,” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear, “and now, I’m asking to write many more, starting with you marrying me.”

He takes the ring out of the box and looks into my eyes, and it’s like everyone around us disappears. “I know you thought your last book would end differently, and we both know that there are no guarantees in life, but my hope is that we’ll get our happily ever after.

“So, Kinsley Elizabeth Bryson, will you marry me and continue to write this romance with me for the rest of our lives?”

Sure, there’s a chance tragedy could strike again. As he pointed out, there are no guarantees in this life. But I’ll never regret any moment that’s spent being happy and in love. Even knowing the way my story with Brandon ended, I could never regret it. Just like I’ll never regret letting Shane into my heart.

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