Page 135 of I Heart Mason Cartwright
She opens her mouth to say something, but I silence her with a finger against her lips. She kisses it lightly. I take that as an extremely good sign. A sign that makes me want to pull her in my arms and kiss her for real. But I need her to know how the conversation went down. And to know that it’s her, first and foremost, before everyone else.
“Zach mentioned he felt like you’d left him too,” I continue. “He said that he had lingering insecurities from when you were younger about you choosing your family over him. Which led to us talking about your issues with AshLynn. Both of which were mere sentences, it’s not like they were full-on discussions. Then he asked what I’d ever seen in AshLynn. And that is when you walked in.” I lift her hands and kiss each palm before lowering them back to her lap, still holding them in mine.
She nods in response. Then takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I don’t remember taking off the ring. I didn’t realize I’d done it until after I was home tonight and I grabbed my phone for something. I’m sorry I did that to you. There was no hidden meaning or ulterior motive with it.”
She lifts my hands this time and kisses the backs of each. I grip them a bit tighter. I don’t like the idea that she just took off the ring without remembering, but I think I understand why it happened.
“I needed to clear the air with my family once and for all. Or at least try to. I needed them to know how I felt about everything. And that this thing between you and me is real. If they want a place in my life, they have to accept that.”
She pauses.
“How did that go?” I ask, keeping my voice soft.
“Not good.” She laughs bitterly. “It was mostly my dad sitting there saying nothing, and Cassandra and AshLynn trying to convince me how right they are and wrong I am.”
I scoff. “About what?”
“Everything. Anything. It didn’t matter, they ran the gamut of topics.”
“That was like seven hours that you were gone, baby. You must be wrecked.” I brush the hair back from her face and cradle her cheek. She turns her face into my palm and kisses the heel of my hand.
“I left after three hours.”
“Where did you go?”
“I bought some clothes from the gift shop, charged them to my dad’s room, then walked around a while, had a cup of coffee, and just thought about everything that had happened. Trying to wrap my head around it.”
I nod in support.
“Then, I ordered a town car, charged that to my dad’s room too, and had it bring me home.”
“Which is when you walked in on me confessing my greatest sin.”
“No,” she says. “I walked in on my fiancé confessing his greatest sin.” She smiles.
I smile back.
“Then my dad came over.” She looks off to the side, as though thinking about what happened.
“But that went well?” I ask, even though I’m already sure that it did. Based on what Jonathan told us and based on how Willow is acting now.
She nods. “Really well. He apologized for everything. Which was amazing. He explained himself and why he did some of the things he did. It was so incredibly revealing. Even promised some changes.”
“How do you feel now?”
“Better.” She smiles and ducks her head. “Will you do it again?” She peeks up through her lashes.
“Do what, baby?”
“Ask me again.”
“All day, every day.” I kneel between the chair and coffee table at her feet.
“Wait.” She gets up and goes to the counter, coming back with the ring, and hands it to me.
I take her hands in mine and look at her. This beautiful woman who for some reason has blessed me with her love and affection. “Willow, I can’t fathom going a day without you by my side. You make me a better me just by being you. You are the sun in my day and the stars in my night. Will you do me the honor of making me the luckiest man alive and agree to marry me?”
She smiles big. “That was different from before.”
