After another couple rounds of lame three-letter words, Riley grew impatient. Every time Daniel studied his tiles, deep in thought, she pulled a few more tiles from her right pocket and slipped a fewfrom her tray into her left. Once she had all the necessary tiles in front of her, she couldn't wait to make her move. She needed to utilize the spaces between the M in family and the R in true before she lost her chance.
Sucking in a deep breath, she laid down an A below the M, then added another R before the R in true. Her Y came next, then before Daniel could read the letters she'd laid down, she tacked M and E onto the end.
MARRY ME.
"That's two words. You can't—" His words died off when he looked up and found her staring at him with raised eyebrows. He looked back down at the board, his brows drawing together. "Wait. Is this serious?" He shook his head. "Are you...proposing to me?"
She laughed at the way the surprise in his voice made it rise in pitch. She didn't blame him for being shocked. "I know it's not traditional, and I don't have a ring or anything. There aren't clear guidelines for how a woman should do this, but..." She slipped from her chair, took the single step necessary to bring her to his side of the small table, and dropped to one knee. "Daniel, I love you. I always have, and I always will." She put a hand on his knee. "We've lost out on so much time together because I walked away from you three years ago. We could have both been saved so much hearta?—"
His fingers pressed against her lips, cutting off her words. "Don't ruin this moment with regrets and 'should haves.'"
"You're right." She'd worked with Emily long enough to know there were some things that weren't worth devoting time and emotional energy to, and the past was one of them. She took his hand in hers. "I don't want to waste another moment. I want to marry you and start the life we were always meant to have together."
She stopped speaking, expecting him to say something. A goofy grin covered his face, but he didn't speak.
"You have been so patient and gentle with me while I worked through my issues, and it's convinced me more than ever that I want you by my side through all of life's ups and downs."
She didn't think it was possible for his grin to grow any bigger, but it did. Still, he didn't speak.
"Well, are you going to say something?" She nudged his knee.
"Oh, I have lots of things to say. I was anticipating answering a certain question, but you haven't actually asked it, so now I'm floundering for exactly how I'm supposed to respond." The twinkle in his eyes let her know he was teasing her and enjoying every minute of it.
She folded her arms and tilted her head toward the Scrabble board. "I did ask you."
"Ah, that's right." He studied his tiles, then promptly grabbed two. He placed a Y in front of the E in me and an S after it. “Yes, Pockets, I will marry you. You and me forever.” He pulled her up and onto his lap. Her hip bumped the table hard enough that half the tiles fell on the floor.
They both laughed.
"I believe it's my turn to tell you what an amazing woman you are and how much I love you, but first..." His fingers slid into her hair and cupped the back of her head, guiding it down until her lips met his. His other arm snaked around her, pulling her tight against him.
He kissed her with so much emotion, it brought tears to her eyes. The kiss was passionate and probing yet gentle and sweet. Heady yet tender. It was sheer perfection.
EPILOGUE
Paige jumped when a knock sounded on the door behind her. She opened the door of the small classroom that doubled as a bride's room today and peered out.
"Faith said it’s time to get this show on the road." Zane tugged on the collar of his white button-down shirt above the knot of his sage green tie.
Paige had never seen him wear anything other than a bolo tie and knew he must be incredibly uncomfortable in his suit. She laughed. "Are you sure that's what Aunt Faith said?"
He waved a hand in dismissal. "She said some nonsense about how if I didn't escort Riley down the aisle exactly at one o'clock, then it will throw off the schedule for the whole day."
"Yep, that sounds like Aunt Faith alright." She opened the door a little wider and beckoned to Riley. "Zane said it's time to get this show on the road."
"It sure is. I've waited long enough to marry the love of my life." Excitement filled Riley's voice.
"You've only been engaged for a little over two months." Their cousin Damon Knight stepped up beside Zane in the hallway. Helooked handsome in his full-dress uniform, identifying him as a sergeant first class in the Army.
"Yes, but I should have married him years ago."
"You did. Don't you remember that time I married the two of you in the orchard back when we were ten?" He looked up at the ceiling. "You would have been eight at the time."
"I remember." Riley laughed. "Daniel has sure learned a lot about kissing since then." A flush of pink colored her cheeks.
Zane cleared his throat and tapped his watch-less wrist. "I'm going to have Faith breathing down my neck if we don't get you girls down that aisle ASAP."
Damon held his arm out to Paige. "I think we're supposed to lead off this procession."
