When I pull the little box out of my pocket and open the cover, the ring sparkles as brightly as the blue in Olivia’s eyes. A sheen covers them as she swallows hard.
“Oh.” She bites her beautiful plump lip. “I always held out hope, but I just never thought…”
“I know.” I fight the emotion clogging my own throat. “Me, neither.”
“It’s beautiful, J.” She gets on her knees across from me and touches the ring lightly with her finger. “But you didn’t need to buy me this incredible house or this gorgeous ring to get me to say yes. I said yes to you a long time ago, and I’ve never changed my heart.”
“I want to give you everything because that’s what you deserve. And I’ve been thinking…”
“Oh, no.” Her expression turns teasing.
I grin. “Nothing bad. I know we’ve gone back and forth on this, but I really do think that we should have a real wedding. In front of family and friends. It can be super casual, but I feel like an actual wedding is important for us. Maybe because of what we’ve been through.”
She holds out her left hand. “Great minds think alike. Hayley and I were just coming to the same conclusion. Will you put the ring on me?”
I take the ring out of the box and slip it on her finger, right next to the one she already wears from me. “They fit together,” I say.
Her eyes fill with tears. “I’m going to make this ring my wedding band,” she says, pointing at the band. “They make a perfect match.”
I bring her into my arms and put my mouth over hers. “Yes, they do.”
For so long, I lived my life in a daze, missing Olivia and fearing the worst—that I’d lost her for good. I was lucky enough to get another chance to make her mine. And despite all our spin-outs and missed opportunities, here we are. Just the two of us, together forever. Olivia Graham is finally mine, and I’m never letting her go again.
