Page 114 of Always Will
I want to tell him he’s crazy for putting me on such a pedestal. That, if anything, I’ve made it harder for him to get to where he is now. But the pure adoration in his eyes shuts down every conflicting thought. Leaning forward, I press a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you,” I whisper as silence washes over the room.
He smiles and gives me a quick kiss back. “Always will.”
After dinner and the award ceremony, we skip the dancing and head straight home. Trevor seems just as eager as I am to have a night to ourselves. He tucks in behind me as I unlock my front door, hands curling around my hips while he nips my ear. My giggling is swallowed up by a gasp when the door swings open. There’s a pathway of candles through my house. He nudges me inside with a sexy chuckle in my ear.
“What’s all this?” I ask, turning to face him. He’s busy digging in his work bag, so my eyes sweep over the romantic setup again. Even on his special night, he planned all this for me?
“Willa…”
When I turn around, his fingers grip a small black box, and I shake my head as if it will make it disappear. “W-why do you have that?”
Trevor inhales deeply and steps toward me. “Because I was offered a position in Germany, and I want you to come with me…” He takes another hesitant step, and my body forgets how to move, how to breathe. “It’s a short assignment—just a year. I know this all sounds crazy right now. Rushed. Unorganized. But come with me, Willa.” A hopeful grin slides across his lips. “Bewith me. Traveling through Europe is your dream, and you’re mine. Let me support your dreams, sweetheart. Just…let me come along for the ride too.”
Eyes wide, I glance at his hand. “That doesn’t explain the box, though.”
Trevor turns back and grabs some paperwork from his bag, thumbing through it until he finds what he’s looking for. I blink at the words on the paper.Spouse. “The easiest way for me to keep my promise and give you your dream trip to Europe is if you’re my wife…German visa guidelines are pretty strict about that. I spent most of the morning trying to sort out all the rules.” He chuckles nervously, but it doesn’t touch the fear in his eyes as he takes another step toward me. “Willa, we’ve done all of this backward. Every single part of our story has been out of order, but there’s no denying the timing has always been right.” Another step, and he reaches for my hand, placing it over his chest. “You’re in here. You’re a part of me in a way I don’t ever want to be without. You’re the sound waves rippling across the ends of the earth and back, calling to that secluded place in my heart. You’re the ocean that swept me up, molded me, gave me new purpose. It’s you, and it’s been you for so long, I can’t remember a time before you.” He places a soft kiss on my hand, then drops to his knee. “Marry me, Willa. I promise we’ll work out all the details with the studio and anything else. Just…marry me?” His eyes plead, and it breaks my heart that he looks so scared right now. Scared of my answer. Scared that I’ll walk away from him.
My heart pounds in my chest, beating so fast I’m worried it’ll fly across the room. Taking this leap with him is something I’ve considered multiple times over the last few months. It’s terrifying to put all my trust in someone else when I’ve worked so hard to make sure I never needed to. Scared shitless doesn’t even begin to cover it. But as much as the old me wants to fight this, she’swrong. This is the next step for us, and it feels right. “I’m trying to dig up the courage to say yes,” I whisper.
“Yeah?” His shoulders collapse, his face the picture of relief when I nod quickly. A cautious grin slides across his face as he flips the box open, revealing a simple round cut, solitaire ring with a twisted gold band. I stretch my left hand toward him, and the closer I get, the deeper those dimples go. As I stand here in front of a man who I couldn’t stand a year ago, I know without any shadow of a doubt that I long to be his wife. He pulls the ring from the box and hesitates before pushing it on my finger. “I’m gonna need some words, Gem.”
“Yes, Tre,” I say, tears falling despite the smile on my face. “Yes, and yes again. When do we leave?”
He slips the ring on my finger. Everything that happens next moves in warp speed and slow motion all at the same time. Trevor pins me against the wall and kisses me with a tender passion. I meet him with just as much enthusiasm, grabbing at the lapel of his tux to pull him closer. We move slowly through the house, never breaking our connection on the way to the bedroom.
When we drop on the bed, fancy clothes rumpled all to hell, he brackets me with his arms. I slide a hand behind his head, finally giving myself permission to let go and rest in him completely.
“You’re sure?”Trevor asks. I prop my chin on his bare chest and smile at him as we lay together, feeling perfectly at home in his arms. Our gala clothes lay crumpled at the foot of the bed.
“Why do you keep asking me?”
“Because I know you didn’t ever envision yourself beingmarried, and we were in the heat of the moment. It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind or you?—”
Stopping him with a kiss, he sighs like it gives him the answer to a million other questions. I pull back, my heart leaping at the crooked smile on his face. “I’m sure, Tre.”
He strokes my back with his fingertips. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. You didn’t want marriage before.”
“That was before you—before I knew what it was like to be yours. You’re the only one it could be, and there’s nothing I want more.” I hold my hand up, admiring my new ring. “You didgood, Dimples.”
“Yeah?” He chuckles, pulling me closer. “Maya helped me pick it out over video chat… We’ll have to do it pretty soon—the wedding. They want all our paperwork in before November so everything hopefully goes through by the new year.”
“That’s okay. I don’t want a big wedding. I don’t even want a wedding. Or a fancy dress. I’d be fine at the courthouse.”
“Then let’s do it.” He smiles, tracing my lips with his thumb.
I give it a peck. “Won’t your family be upset by not being there?”
“Naw, not really.” He shrugs. “They’re used to my surprises by now, and they’ll just be happy I’m happy.” Trevor’s phone chirps in the pants at our feet, and he cranes his neck to look at the time on the alarm clock. He bites his bottom lip, which does nothing for the smile playing at his lips. “It’s midnight,” he says, stretching to open the nightstand. He pulls out a small blue velvet bag, identical to the one that held my camera necklace all those months ago. Dangling it in front of me, he says, “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
With a shake of my head and a smile on my face, I grab the bag out of the air. I should have known he’d do something for my birthday. “You remembered.”
“I remember everything about you. It’s kinda my thing.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Open it.”
I untie the satin strings cinching the bag closed, and theskinny golden cuff that slides out makes my heart burst. My thumb swipes over theAlways Willinscribed on the inside curve. His fingers tangle with mine when he turns the bracelet around, revealing the etched pattern of sound waves. “It’s just a way for you to remember my promise to you. I love you, Gem.”
Dropping the bracelet on his chest, I prop myself up to reach his lips, a kiss backed with all the emotions swirling inside. Excitement. Peace. Love.Happiness.I palm his jaw, hoping to convey how much this simple gift means to me—how muchhemeans to me, as I whisper, “Always will.”
