Page 133 of Heart Sick Hate

I nod, unlocking the door and opening it for her. It’s dark this late at night, but when I flick the light switch and the room illuminates, so do her eyes.

Glancing around, I’ve never been so thankful for Echo’s friends, because Fel and Maren did exactly what I asked them to. Toffee rose petals cover the floor and paint the shop with a golden hue. A few are in vases on the counter. They’re everywhere. Yellow on the edge of gold, as close as roses can be to the color of Echo’s unmatchable eyes.

“Crew, what is this?” Tears are already pooling in her lashes as she looks back at me, while I drop to a knee and take her hand.

She presses her lips together and a sheen coats her eyes. For a girl who never used to cry, she’s opened up so much since starting therapy. She’s no longer afraid to let me see her wear her emotions—each one more beautiful than the last.

“Do you know why I started the wall of eyes, Echo?”

She shakes her head, glancing behind me at the wall in the shop I’ve spent years adding to. I’m sure she’s expecting me to ask her something else, but she needs to understand this first.

“No.”

“Look in the center.”

She squints but doesn’t seem to see it because there’s no hint of recognition as her eyes pinch.

“In the middle of it all is a picture of you, of your eyes. The most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen.”

Her gaze darts around, before she finally lands on what I suspect are the right ones.

“It’s from that first barbeque we had when Blaze brought you on at the shop. Some chick was running around snapping pictures, and she took one of you.”

“I remember her. She wanted you to fuck her.”

The little hint of jealousy is so cute I’m tempted to lay her out and remind her why no girl matters to me but her.

“All I saw was you that day.” I squeeze her hand. “And you’re the only girl who’s ever been worth fucking.”

“I know, I’m not jealous.” She lies to herself, and it’s adorable how she bites her lip when she does it.

“Well, that’s good because I am.” I kiss the back of her hand. “And if another man touches you, I might be tempted to do things I promised not to do again.”

Her cheeks heat at my comment.

“My point is, your eyes are unmatched, Echo. They’re the center of everything.”

“I don’t understand… when did you add them?” Her nose scrunches as she looks down at me kneeling in front of her. “And why are you down there?”

“You already know the answer to one of those questions, Goldie.” I can’t help but smile at the blush that warms her cheeks. “But as for the first one. They’ve always been there; you just didn’t notice them until today.”

Her eyebrows pinch in confusion as she looks back up at the wall again.

Her golden eyes were the first ones I put on that wall. And even if I added to it every day for years, none drew my attention away from that pair.

“Echo, you’ve been the center of all I see from the moment I met you. And even if it took me too damn long to understand why, it was always you. Deep down, I knew. Your eyes are the sun, and I can’t escape them. I tried to look in every other pair, put them all on that wall behind me, and none of them saw me like yours. None of them drew me in like yours. None of them are yours.”

I squeeze her hand, brushing where her purity ring used to live, while gripping where it still hangs from my neck. She used to ask for it back, but now she’s accepted it’s mine. Just like she is.

“You gave me a ring before I got the chance to give you one, and I need to correct that mistake.”

Releasing her purity ring, I take both her hands in mine. “Echo Gwendolyn Slater, will you marry me?”

She gasps at the question. And I love that she’s still surprised even if she sees it coming. It’s the innocence she still holds deep inside, no matter what kind of darkness she’s been through.

Her fingers tremble as she brings one hand to her mouth and nods her head.

“Yes?”

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