Page 124 of Save Me

And he was going to love her forever.

Seven

For the rest of the week, they stayed in their own little world.

Sort of.

Their friends did give them a few days to themselves, but then the invitations to go out to eat or go for drinks at Donovan’s Pub started coming in, and as much as Ivy wanted to keep them in their bubble a little longer, it was a good thing for them to go out too.

This was going to be their lives.

Together.

It was super-fast and a little crazy, but…she’d been in love with Connor for far too long to waste any more time. He was back and he was hers.

And she’d never been happier.

Ivy had one more week off from work and she planned to spend every minute of it with Connor. For his part, he was happy to take another week before he really needed to get serious about finding a job and then deciding on when to have his next surgery. She hated it for him, but was relieved that she’d get to be there for him this time.

It was Sunday night and they had opted to go out to dinner, just the two of them. Ivy had agonized over what to wear since it had been ages since she’d gone out on a formal date. Connor looked incredibly handsome in his charcoal-gray suit, and she was glad she’d gone with the strapless burgundy dress. They totally complemented each other.

The steakhouse he took her to was one of her favorites. It was someplace they used to joke about when they were younger because they never could afford to go. So being able to go there for dinner together was kind of a big deal.

They had made reservations and were seated almost immediately. There was a small candle in the middle of the table and the whole atmosphere was very romantic. Connor ordered their wine, and once it was served, he raised his glass.

“This is something I used to dream of,” he began somberly. “A fancy date night with my favorite girl. There were times when I thought it would never happen, and I hate how it took seven years for it to come to fruition.”

“Me too. But I’m glad we’re here.”

“Here’s to us and our future.” He touched his glass to hers and it made her smile before taking a sip.

They ordered their meals and sat in companionable silence for a moment before Connor reached across the table for her hand. “I have something for you.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “Before everything happened back then, I had bought you something for your graduation that I never got to give you.”

There was no way he could have possibly held on to a gift for all this time, could he?

She watched him pull something out of his suit jacket pocket with his free hand.

A ring box.

“If you remember, I worked for Coleman Construction over in Magnolia that last year and then washed dishes at Donovan’s at night.”

“You worked a lot,” she said quietly.

“At the time, I was working toward something.” He placed the small box down on the table between them and opened it. It was a simple gold band with a tiny solitaire diamond in the middle. “And for all those hours, I still couldn’t afford much.” He paused. “Ivy, this ring doesn’t mean now what it meant then. Back then, this was all I had to offer. It was meant to symbolize how much I loved you and wanted to marry you.”

Now she was mildly confused.

“And…now?” she nervously asked.

“Now it’s a promise for something more,” he told her. “I know it’s too soon to ask you to marry me—even though we both know I’m going to. We need a little more time and I’m okay with that. But this ring is a promise to you that I will be asking.” He gave her a boyish grin as he released her hand and took the ring from the box. “And I hope you’ll say yes when the time is right.”

Tears stung her eyes as she nodded. “Is it wrong that I want to say yes right now? That it doesn’t matter how soon it is?”

“Ivy…this ring is…it’s…”

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