Page 28 of Christmas with Hope

He was right. We had spent lots of time over cups of coffee, shared meals, cuddles by the fire, and laying in each other’s arms discussing how things between us seemed unreal. Unexplainable. He was perfect to me. And he told me I was perfect to him. We talked about how we didn’t want to leave the cabin and go back to our worlds. How we were perfectly content staying at the cabin forever with each other.

“You’re my happily-ever-after and I want to be yours, Hope Dawson.”

“Colton?” I asked softly unsure of what was going to come next from him. My mind raced and anticipated his next words. Was this conversation going where I thought it was heading?

“Hope Dawson, will you make me the happiest man and be my happily-ever-after?”

A tear slipped down my cheek. Colton wiped it away and smiled.

“Are you asking…” I couldn’t even finish my question. Another tear rolled down my cheek.

“Yes,” he said, wiping away the fallen tear. He dropped down to one knee in front of me. A gasp escaped me.

Colton dug in his pocket with one hand and held my hand with another.

“Hope Dawson, will you marry me?” he asked softly, looking up at me.

“Yes.” The word was quiet, but I meant my answer with every ounce of my being.

Happily-ever-afters and I seemed like words I would never have put together. I saw happily-ever-afters for everyone around me, but never for me. That was until Colton.

I wanted Colton to be my happily-ever-after. If I left the cabin with him in my rearview mirror, I would never be complete. Deep inside me, I knew no other man would make me this happy nor would any man compare to Colton. He was the one for me. I had known it from the beginning.

“Yes?” Colton asked in disbelief with a huge smile across his face. I nodded my head.

“Yes. A thousand times yes.”

Colton took my hand and slipped a small red ribbon around my ring finger. He tied it into a bow then kissed my finger.

“I’ll get you a real ring once we get out of the boonies,” he chuckled.

“I don’t need a real ring,” I shook my head.

“You don’t?” He stood up and held both of my hands. I shook my head again. “Why’s that?”

“I’m happy as long as I have you.”

“But you deserve happiness, sweetheart.”

“And you are that. As long as we’re together, I’m happy, Mr. Preston,” I grinned.

“And you are my world, the future Mrs. Preston.”

Epilogue

A year later…

“This is your fault!” I screamed at the top of my lungs with my eyes locked on Stefanie.

“Hope, it’s okay,” Stefanie whispered and squeezed my hand gently.

“No! Your fault! If you hadn’t set me up with Colton, this wouldn’t have happened!” I sobbed. “I hate you!”

“Hope,” she chuckled slightly but stopped when I glared at her with tears streaming down my cheeks. “It will be okay. I promise.”

“You want to make it better for me?”

“Of course. You’re my sister. I’d do anything for you. Just tell me what to do,” she smiled and swept strands of my sweat-covered hair off my forehead.

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