He drops to one knee.
My heart stops.
He pulls out a small velvet box and opens it, revealing a beautiful, elegant diamond ring. I don’t get a good look at it because my eyes immediately fill with tears.
I cover my mouth, blinking rapidly, trying to see through the blur.
“Tessa,” he says, looking up at me, “I know we haven’t been together long, and I know this is quick. And trust me when I say we can have whatever length of engagement you want. There’s no rush to get married. But I want you to have this ring because I want you to know that someday, I hope you’ll be my wife.”
Tears spill down my cheeks.
“There is no one in this world who will make me happier,” he continues. “You were right—I fell instantly in love with you from the very first moment I saw you. I didn’t know a love like this could exist. And now that I have you in my life, I don’t ever want to know what it’s like to not have you.”
His voice cracks slightly, and I’m crying harder now, happy tears streaming down my face.
“So, Tessa Marlowe—the most beautiful, kind, sweet, loving, funny, adorable person in the whole world—someday in the near or the distant future, will you marry me?”
I laugh through my tears, nodding before I can even get the words out. “Oh my gosh, Logan. Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
I don’t even have to think about the question. I can’t imagine a second of my life without the man kneeling before me. In my heart, he was already mine forever, and I was his. With or without a ring, I was going nowhere unless he was by my side.
He slides the ring onto my finger, his hands trembling slightly, and I blink away tears, trying to get a good look at it. It’sstunning—a round diamond in a delicate setting that catches the light from the candles and the setting sun.
“It’s so pretty,” I whisper.
“I’m glad you like it.” He stands, his eyes locked on mine.
And then he pulls me into a kiss.
It’s slow at first, tender and reverent, like he’s sealing a promise. His hands come up to cradle my face, thumbs brushing away the tears still falling. I melt into him, my arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer.
The kiss deepens, becoming more urgent, more desperate—like we’re trying to pour every unsaid word, every overwhelming emotion into this one moment. He tastes like mint and hope and forever, and I never want it to end.
One of his hands slides into my hair, careful not to mess up the pins, and the other wraps around my waist, holding me against him like he’s afraid I might disappear. I rise on my toes, needing to be closer, needing to feel all of him.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard, foreheads pressed together, the world around us forgotten.
“Are we crazy?” he asks, his voice rough. “We’ve known each other for three months.”
I shake my head, smiling through the last of my tears. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
“Me too,” he agrees, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “But it wasn’t until I saw you that day at the signing that I realized what I’d been waiting for.” He grins, that wide, beautiful smile that makes my heart skip.
He kisses me again, softer this time, sweeter, and I realize that this—right here, right now, in this flower-covered gazebo by the river—is the moment everything changes.
This is the moment my past ceases to hurt me because it led me to my future.
A future with him.
Forever.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
LOGAN
The graduation ceremony is small. I’m pretty sure my teammates, their wives and girlfriends, and their families make up at least half the crowd. But the fact that half the room is here in support of Tessa feels fitting. Everyone she loves is here—Joyce, Bob, Layla—showing up for her in a way she deserves.
