"I had plans for that, you know."
Jenna's head whipped around, tears brimming in her eyes. Country stood in the doorway, that lopsided smile stretching across his face. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish caught on land as she looked back at the intricately crafted gold ring displayed in black velvet. "You had this? In Toronto?"
Country rounded the bed and sat next to her, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her against his side. "I did."
"When? How long—?" Jenna couldn't form a complete sentence.
"I bought it two weeks before we broke up."
Her stomach clenched. Two weeks before. Country had been planning to propose at the same time that she was talking to her mom about getting tested. He was planning to drive up to ask her to marry him, and instead, she'd— "I'm so sorry, Gentry." Jenna turned to him, wrapping her arms around his barrel chest with the ring box in hand and burying her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry."
He hushed her, kissing the top of her ear and running his hands up and down her back. "We did the best we could, didn't we?"
The truth of that statement covered her grief like a balm. She had done the best she could, and while she wished she could rewind the play and choose differently, who knew if a different lineup would've brought her here? In Windsor, she’d believed she had to be the perfect piece to fit into Country’s life puzzle. That all of life was supposed to be travelled step by logical step, all the choices and consequences wrapped up with a neat little bow.
If their life had gone as they’d planned, would it have led them to this point? Still desperate to be together?
Jenna lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Can I have it?" Country's brow furrowed, and Jenna pulled her arm out from under his, showing him the open box.
His eyes grew liquid, and a muscle in his jaw flexed. "You want it?"
Jenna nodded, wiping her nose with the edge of her sleeve. "Country, I want the hell out of that ring." She held out her left hand, handing him the box, and Country laughed out loud with relief.
He dropped to one knee in front of her, and gazed up at her with red-rimmed eyes. "I want you to know I had a romantic dinner planned at Westlake Chophouse?—”
“Where we went on our first anniversary.”
“And I spent every cent of that month's savings to pay for a steak that wasn't as well-cooked as I can make here on my smoker."
Jenna laughed, choking on a sob as Country continued. "Then I was going to take you out into the fields in my truck with wine and blankets to have a re-do on our recent star gazing disaster, and only after I made love to you in the cold was I going to pull you close and ask this question."
"After? You could've lost the box." Jenna sniffed.
"I wouldn't have lost the box."
"Our clothes would've been all over the place, and with the blankets . . ." Jenna zipped her lips shut.
Country smirked. "Jenna McAllister, will you marry me?"
Jenna nodded so fast she got dizzy. Blood rushed in her ears as Country pulled the ring from the box and slipped it over her ring finger. "It fits."
"Since you're exactly the same size as you were in high school, I wasn't worried." In one smooth motion, Country lifted from his knees and set the still-open box on the nightstand, then pushed her further onto the bed and stretched over her.
Jenna cupped her hands over his face, staring at the new accessory on her hand. It was simple and stunning. A thin gold band with a round-cut diamond. Symmetrical. Perfect.
"You like it?"
"I love it," she breathed, then looked him straight in the eyes. "I love you."
Country's eyes darkened as lowered his head to kiss her. His lips were soft against hers, but his kiss was anything but. "Say that again."
"I love you," she whispered as Country dropped more of his weight against her, teasing her lips open with his tongue. She scraped her fingertips through his hair. “I love you, Gentry.”
"You have no idea how long I've waited for those words to come out of your mouth again." Country slid his hand under her shirt, and Jenna sighed against his lips.
"Too long." She arched against him, allowing him to slide the fabric higher on her torso.
His stubble rubbed against her chin as he devoured her with his kisses, his heart beating so erratically against her chest, Jenna could barely think straight. "This place never felt like home without you, Jens."
