Page 93 of The Promises We Broke
A surprise? On Christmas morning? Should I be worried?
Only if you don't trust me.
I trust you completely. That's what has me worried. ??
Ten minutes later, she appeared on the front porch wearing the red sweater I'd bought her last week and jeans that made her legs look endless. But it was her face that stopped my breath—sleepy and curious and lit with the kind of trust that still amazed me after all these months.
"Gage Farrington," she said, climbing into the truck and stealing a quick kiss. "What are you up to?"
"You'll see," I said, hoping my voice sounded steadier than I felt.
The drive to the house took five minutes that felt like five hours. Billie kept glancing at me with growing curiosity, and I kept checking my pocket to make sure the ring was still there.
"Are we going to the house?" she asked as I pulled into the driveway. "Did something go wrong? Did a pipe burst or..."
"Nothing's wrong," I said, coming around to help her out of the truck. "You have to wait and see."
"You're being very mysterious."
"It's Christmas morning. I'm allowed to be mysterious."
I led her up the front steps, my heart hammering so hard I was sure she could hear it. The key turned in the lock with a soft click, and I pushed open the door to reveal our empty, beautiful house glowing with dozens of candles.
"Gage," she breathed, stepping inside and looking around in wonder. "It's gorgeous. The candles... it looks like something out of a fairy tale."
"That's what I was hoping for," I said, dropping down to one knee behind her.
When she turned to face me, I saw the exact moment understanding began to dawn in her eyes. Her breath caught, and her hands flew to her mouth.
"Is this...?" she whispered.
"Billie," I said, and my voice cracked on her name. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I know this might seem quick, but the truth is, it's not quick at all. It's eleven years later than it should have been."
Her eyes filled with tears, and I felt my own beginning to gather.
"You were the first girl who ever meant anything to me," I continued, my voice thick with emotion. "The only girl who ever meant anything to me. You were the one who taught me howto love, and you've been the one holding my heart all this time, even when I was too scared and too stupid to deserve it."
I knelt before her right there in our empty living room, surrounded by candlelight and the future we'd hopefully build together. The ring box felt warm in my trembling hands.
"I'm just one flawed man, Billie, and you could do so much better than me. God knows you deserve so much better." A tear slipped down my cheek, and I didn't bother to wipe it away. "But this chance you've given me—to love you, to build a life with you, to be the man you believed I could be—it's more than anyone could ever deserve."
I opened the ring box with shaking fingers, revealing the vintage emerald that had been waiting for this moment. For her. Decades nestled inside a velvet box, waiting to grace her beautiful finger.
"If you'll say yes," I said, my voice breaking with the weight of everything I felt for her, "I'm going to spend every day for the rest of my life proving to you that I deserve it. That I deserve you."
The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now, but she was smiling through them, nodding before I'd even finished asking.
"Will you marry me, Billie? Will you be my wife and build our forever with me?"
"Yes," she said, laughing and crying at the same time as she dropped to her knees in front of me. "Yes, of course, yes. It's always been yes with you, Gage. Always."
I slipped the ring onto her finger with hands that wouldn't stop shaking, and it fit like it had been made for her. Like my grandmother had somehow known, all those years ago, that someday this ring would find its way to the next woman who was meant to wear it.
When I kissed her, it was with all the love and hope that had carried us through the darkest times to this moment of pure, perfect joy.
"I love you," she whispered against my lips.
"I love you too. Forever and always."
