Not that long ago, I might have wondered about that gesture, questioned if it was directed at me, scrutinized its possible meaning, or doubted its intention, but that’s not me anymore.
Tonight, I get to my feet, smooth the wrinkles from my skirt, and move confidently to join the man I love on the dance floor.
“I may be a bit rusty,” said man mumbles as I fold myself in his arms.
I beam a smile up at him in response, because I don’t care if he tramples my feet.This is another one of my secret dreams fulfilled, and he doesn’t even know he’s decimating my list.
“Good day?”he asks, when we’ve found our rhythm.
Turns out he’s not bad at all, quite limber on his feet for such a large man.
“The absolute best,” I give him, settling my cheek against the lapel of his jacket.
“I’m glad to hear it, but I’m hoping I can make it even better.”
I tilt my head back to look up at him.
“Better?”
Quite uncharacteristically, he bites his lip and does a quick glance around us.Almost as if he is nervous.
“Slip your hand in my inside pocket, Bess.”
Confused, I tilt my head, but he urges me on with a nod.It takes me a moment to figure out the inside pocket is on his left, so my right, but as soon as my fingers slide in and encounter something, my feet stop moving.
Hugo’s eyes are my anchor as my ears start ringing and my knees nearly buckle.But he stands firm, unwavering like a tree, and his voice is soft but strong.
“I have a question for you.”
My heart starts beating in my throat, and I don’t think I could swallow if I tried as he leans his forehead to mine before he continues.
“I could give you every reason under the sun, but I’d rather save them so I can remind you each day of the rest of our lives why I want you to share yours with me.Marry me, Bess.”
I knew it the moment my fingers touched the delicate band of the ring he had tucked inside his pocket, but am still too afraid to believe it.
With our foreheads still touching, I can do little more than nod as I close my fingers around the ring, but it’s enough for him.The moment I free my hand from his jacket, he reaches between us and takes the ring from me and, enveloped in our makeshift cocoon, we both look down as he slips it on my finger.
The next moment I’m back in his arms, swaying to the music as if nothing at all just happened.Except it had, and it was momentous and absolutely perfect.In the presence of everyone we care about, yet just for us.
Except perhaps Savvy…she shoots me a wink when we dance by.
Epilogue
Hugo
“See?”
I nudge Tessa Androtti with an elbow.
We’re standing at the edge of the new deck Nate helped me build out here over the summer.It’s a party deck, as Bess calls it.
As it turns out, our house has become the hub for several cookouts already, and Bess loves it.It shouldn’t be a surprise she loves entertaining and feeding friends, she built a business on it, and this place, out of the way of neighbors and busy streets, is perfect for it.
It’s a great spot with lots of options for outdoor activities.In the spring and early summer, when the water was high, you could hop on an inner tube right out back, and float all the way down to town.All year round, there are plenty of trails to hike, and there are always fish in the creek.
Right now, the Chinook salmon are starting to run.It’s not quite spawning season yet, that won’t start until probably mid-October, but we’ve seen a good number come up the creek already.Of course, Carson is out there standing ankle-deep in the creek, tossing his line in the deepest part where the water still has some speed to it.With him are Tatum—she’s rarely far from his side—and both Remi and Linc, Tessa’s boys who have developed an interest in fishing the couple of times they’ve been here.
“Yeah, you told me,” Tessa acknowledges with a grin.“I’d hoped and prayed I was making the right decision, but I was coming in blind.”
