We take each other’s hands and walk out of the resort and onto the beach. The sun hasn’t set yet, but it’s close. The water is starting to calm down from the day and the sky is beginning to get that orange and pink look to it.
“There’s this little trail down here by the beach with the best view, I want you to see it. Don’t worry we aren’t hiking any cliffs.” His devilish grin makes my eyes roll as I follow his lead. We walk another few minutes hand in hand before reaching a secluded strip of beach away from the resort.
“Wow… I could definitely wake up to this view every day,” I say, letting go of Ford’s hand and walking out closer to the water. I close my eyes to feel the breeze on my face and just stand still for a moment, letting the sound of the ocean seep into me.
“Abby.” I hear Ford’s voice behind me as he softly says my name.
I turn around slowly, expecting to look up and find his eyes, but instead of towering over me, he’s crouched down in front of me, on one knee with a small black box in his hand.
“Ford.” My voice begins to crack as I say his name and he takes my hand in his.
“I thought being in the NFL would be the best part of my life. That it was the one thing that would always make me happy, the one thing I couldn’t live without. Until you. I didn’t know what I was doing when we met, all I knew was there was this incredible girl I wanted to spend time with and I was willing to do whatever it took to be able to be near her.” I kneel down to his level, cupping his cheek in my hand as my eyes fill with tears.
“You give me purpose, Abby. I love you. I love everything about you. I love that you save all the red Skittles to eat until the end of the bag because they’re your favorite. I love that you think every new month should start on a Monday. I love how your nose scrunches up when you’re confused. You take your shoes off every single time you’re riding in my truck and I love that too. I want every part of you. Every single day. There isn’t anything I ever want to change about you, except your last name. Marry me, Princess. Please. Let me love you for the rest of our lives.”
The box in Ford’s hand slowly slides open displaying the most beautiful ring I think I’ve ever seen. To hell with keeping my composure for the sake of my makeup, that ship sailed about five minutes ago.
“Yes. Oh my gosh, yes.” Ford brings his lips to mine and lifts me off the ground as he stands, spinning me around. He places the princess cut single diamond on my finger and I hold my hand up in the air, staring at it through tears, in awe.
“Oh my gosh, now I need to go fix my makeup!” I whip my head around to find Summer, Chase, Nate, Liam and Mia walking towards us. Summer’s hands gripping at a scrap of a napkin she’s holding as tears are running down her face.
The guys congratulate Ford, while Mia and Summer obsess over my ring. All the while, I’m staring at Ford.My fiancé.I can’t believe it.
“He asked me after the Super Bowl,” Chase whispers in my ear while giving me a hug. “After we won, we were still on the field. He asked me then. I told him to ask me again tomorrow when the high and adrenaline ran out.” Chase throws his arm over my shoulder and we take a couple steps out towards the water.
“He fucking called me at seven in the morning the next day and had me meet with him so he could ask me again.” I laugh and shake my head.
“I love you, Ab. I just want you to be happy and safe and I know you have that with Ford. Even if it started as a big secret.” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Yeah… still really sorry about that.” We laugh and he pulls me in for a hug,
“Dad would like him. Probably like him better though if he played for Dallas.” My brother squeezes my arm as I wipe a happy tear from my eye and laugh before he kisses my head and walks away, giving me a moment.
My dad would have loved Ford and as I stand on this beach with my eyes on the water, it stings that they were never able to meet. But in some ways, it feels like Ford was sent directly from him. Like through all of the grief and the heartache that followed, I was still able to find happiness again. I guess that’s how it goes though, right? You walk through all of the storms and trials, the things that are meant to nearly break you, but you climb out and fight like hell to find yourself again, to find what makes you happy.
“Ready for dinner,fiancée?” Ford whispers in my ear as he comes up behind me.
My eyes land on his as I tilt my head up to look at him, smile and say, “Ready.”
