Page 91 of The One I Love
Shane tilts his head in confusion. “Do I what?”
“Want to get married?”
Shane quicky gets out of his chair and sits down on the blanket, gesturing me to sit across from him. “Of course, I do. I’d love nothing more. The question is, do you?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Always.”
I take a breath, wanting to make sure that I choose every word correctly. “Four months ago? I’d have said no. I had no desire to get married ever again. Then my best friend kissed me.”
Shane grins. “Your best friend stands by that decision.”
I softly laugh. “And I’m glad he did. And yes, I have thought about it. And every time I have, I’ve thought, yes, this is something I’d one day want.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Yes…”
“I now know to wait for the ‘but.’”
“You know me so well. But…I don’t want to rush. I rushed last time. Yes, most of that was because of Luke. But I was pressured, and it was rushed, and I remember feeling completely out of control of a situation that was literally about me and my life.”
“I hate that for you,” he says. “I remember when you told me about it. I wanted to tell you not to do it, but I knew it wasn’t my place.”
I nod. “It wouldn’t have mattered. It was happening, whether I liked it or not.”
And it was. Our mothers made sure of that. Looking back, Idon’t think either of us wanted to. But we felt like our hands were tied. “All I’m saying is that I’ve done rushed before. I’ve done the ‘we’re just doing this because we feel like we have to.’ And while I want to marry you, I really do, I don’t want us feeling like we’re doing it for anyone but us. I want it to be because we both think the time is right. We know this is what we want forever. We’re ready for the next chapter of us.”
Shane smiles while taking both of my hands in his. “I promise. We’re going to get through this ruse of a fake engagement. We’ll piss off Paul, which is really fun, and the second he’s done being a dad, it will be back to normal. Because, beautiful? When I ask you to marry me, I want you to remember it for the rest of your life.”
I smile. “Good. I must say, it was rather disappointing getting engaged and not even being there for it.”
This makes him laugh. “God, I’m so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?”
I lift my eyebrows, which immediately puts a confused look on Shane’s face. “I have an idea.”
“You knowwe could have done this at home?”
I laugh as I take my helmet off. “Not like this. Here we got to ride up the coastline. See beaches and beautiful homes. In Rolling Hills we’d be driving past old gas stations, through our two stop lights, and on dirt roads that lead to the hunting trails.”
“Fair,” Shane says. “Now, get up here so I can hold you.”
I smile as I dismount the motorcycle, only to get back on in front of Shane. I lean back into him, my back to his front, as we sit and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.
I don’t know what Shane thought when he said he wanted to make it up to me, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t think I’dsuggest a coastal motorcycle ride. I thought it was a perfect way to spend the day. Shane loves riding his bike, and I found a place that rents any kind of motorcycle you could want—including a limited-edition Harley Davidson that made Shane’s eyes sparkle when he saw it. The air was warm, the scenery was beautiful, and I got to spend it by holding on to the man I love.
Because I do. I love him. I love him so much it hurts sometimes. I love him in a way I’ve never known before.
“Shane?”
“Yeah, beautiful?”
“This is where I want to get married.”
“Really?”
I nod. “Yeah. I just keep staring at the shoreline. The sun setting in this perfect orange and pink backdrop, and all I can think about is that when the time comes, this is where I want it.”
