He still sat on the bed. I stared down at him. When he opened the box, I saw the shimmer of white gold and sparkling diamonds.
He gazed up at me. “I can’t get down on one knee yet, and maybe I should wait until I can, but I don’t want to. I’ve waited long enough.” He held up the ring box as though offering it to a deity. “Jessica Ariadne Nielsen, will you marry me?”
I pressed my hand to my mouth and lowered myself to the floor in front of him, so we were eye to eye. Confusion and rapture filled me. I stared at the ring. It was a wide band of white gold, with three diamonds encased in the metal. A ring for a working woman, beautiful without being delicate, the stones protected by the gold so they wouldn’t easily be damaged. It was a reflection of me—sturdy, practical, durable.
“Where did you get this?” I stared into his eyes. “You were in the hospital, and then you were here.”
He smiled. “I bought it several weeks ago, before the accident. I had Janine pick it up and hide it in the bag, knowing you wouldn’t look inside once she removed the gym clothes.”
“Weeks ago?” My eyes grew wide. “You were serious the night of the accident? Because of the drugs and the pain, I didn’t think you remembered asking me to marry you.”
He scoffed. “Jess, I might’ve been drugged up, but I knew exactly what I was saying. I wouldn’t say anything I didn’t mean, even under the influence.”
“And Janine has known all this time? Oh, my God.” I shoved a hand through my hair. Now her comment that day about my fitting in with the artistic Wrights made sense.
“Well, she did help me pick it out.”
“Really? And… How did you know my middle name? Did my dad tell you?”
He grinned. “Nope. Jan saw it the night of the accident, when you filled in the blood donor forms. Thought it was interesting enough to mention.”
“My dad was a big fan of Greek mythology,” I muttered. “Coincidentally, Ariadne married Dionysus, who was basically the god of partying and loose living.”
“I’m sure there’ll be jokes about that later.” His tone was casual in an overly-exaggerated way. “But at the moment, would you like to try on the ring and maybe answer my question?”
I snapped out of my stupor. I took the box, gazing into his handsome face. Despite his humorous tone, his expression was anxious. Did he genuinely have no idea what my answer would be? Here he was, brave enough to risk his pride and having his heart broken for a second time, and I was lollygagging.
I swallowed and grinned. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” I hoped he could see the joy and wonder in my eyes. “I never thought I’d want this whole marriage thing, but... with you, I do. I do.”
I leaned over and kissed him. We had the rest of our lives to look forward to together.
When we drew apart, I took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.
“How did you know my ring size? I don’t even know it myself.”
He smiled smugly. “I measured your finger while you were asleep. Do you like the ring? It’s not fancy, but I thought it would be suitable for—”
I put my finger up to his mouth to stop him. “I love it. It’s perfect. I couldn’t have designed anything better. You’ve thought of everything. You know me so well.”
I reached out to take his hand and kissed his fingers. “Thank you.”
He lifted my hand to his lips, the ring sparkling on my finger as he kissed it. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Jesse.”
My eyes met his, my world now colored in a rainbow of love and emotion. Words became unnecessary between us.
“You’re going to be an awesome husband,” I whispered.
“And you’ll be an awesome wife. You’re already an awesome cat mom.”
“What about human kids? We’ve never talked about it. Do you want those?”
He cocked an eyebrow and pulled me onto his lap, proving his leg was back to normal. “Not right this minute. Do you?”
I snuggled into him. “Definitely not this minute.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“Where will we live?”
