"It's just that…after Phillip, I swore I would never fall in love again, but here I am." Now she pressed a hand to her chest. "I'm still trying to figure out how this happened when we haven't even gone on an actual date."
"Me too." He chuckled, delighted to hear her confession of love. Then he sobered and caressed her knuckles. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Not really, but I do believe God has a plan for us. I'm living proof that if we get on the wrong track, He will correct us."
"I agree." He continued to caress the back of her hand. "Despite the obstacles we still need to deal with, I feel good about the path we're on."
"Me too."
"As soon as I talk to Dr. Stoker and your dad, I promise I'm going to start taking you out on dates. And hopefully, we'll get to do a lot more of this."
He pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss that made his blood pump a little faster.
Paige jerked back and gasped. "Did we really— Are we engaged now?"
Gabe bit back a smile. "Only if you want to be. My mom's time is limited, but I don't want to rush this, not even to make her happy." He glanced toward the house again, where Mom and Grace's headssuddenly jerked toward each other—a poor attempt to hide that they'd been watching him and Paige. "I don't relish going in there and telling her the truth, though."
She'd be happy he and Paige had fallen in love, but he dreaded seeing the disappointment in her eyes when he admitted he'd lied to her.
"So don't."
His gaze jumped back to Paige. "What?"
"Don't ruin this day for her." She gave a casual shrug. "Yes, you owe her the truth, but if you're serious about everything you just said, it doesn't need to be today." Then she winked. "It'll probably go over better if you wait until our wedding day to tell her."
Gabe burst out laughing. "As much as I like that idea…” He looked at his mom again. “I need to tell her the truth.”
He pushed to his feet and tugged Paige’s hand to pull her up, but she resisted.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
He narrowed his at her, giving her a questioning look.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we just got engaged.” Her nose wrinkled as she scrunched her brow. "Did you bring the ring with you? Shouldn’t we make this official? Well, unofficially official." She shook her head and frowned. "That doesn't make sense." She tried again. "Secretly official." Her eyes lit up with that one, and he laughed.
He took the ring from his pocket then sat back down beside her. "Are you sure about this?"
"Am I sure I want to be engaged to my physical therapist, who I've only known for two months and have never actually dated because he's not supposed to date his patients?" She paused just long enough to suck in a breath before continuing. "Yes, because not only is he a compassionate and kind man, who always puts others’ happiness above his own, he's incredibly handsome, gives great massages, and has a set of six pack abs to die for."
"Abs?" Gabe chuckled. "And here I thought you were checking out my pecs all this time."
She winked. "I was checking out those too."
He reached for her hand, ready to slip the ring on her finger.
“Uh-uh.” She wagged a finger at him. "This is the real deal. You’re going to do this right.” She pointed at the ground in front of her. "Besides, your mom is watching. This is the only proposal she'll get to witness, so you'd better make it good."
Grinning, Gabe slid off the bench and dropped to one knee. He hadn't prepared for this in the slightest, but it didn't take much contemplating to figure out why he wanted to marry Paige.
He sobered as he took her hand. "A crazy anticipation hit me when I woke up this morning, because I looked forward to spending the day with you." He shook his head and gave a rueful smile. "If you'd told me this morning that I'd be proposing tonight, I probably would have canceled our plans. Because I was scared. I was afraid I couldn't give you everything you deserved, or that I wouldn't measure up, and you'd end up walking away.” His grip on her hand tightened. “But I can't bear to lose you, Paige."
He caressed her knuckles with his thumb as he continued. "The moment I took your hand in mine on the drive to the Arboretum, your touch filled the gaping hole in my heart and smoothed out the troubled spots. I knew I needed to embrace this gift from God. All day, I kept wishing this day would never end. But when my mom handed me this ring, I realized I had been wishing for the wrong thing. One day with you would never be enough. I want a lifetime."
"That's beautiful." Tears filled Paige's eyes as she pressed her fingers to her lips.
"I know this is asking a lot, but will you marry me—someday, down the road—after I've had a chance to court you properly?" He rushed on when she opened her mouth to speak. "With the stipulation that we need to keep it a secret from everyone except my mom and sister for now?"
"Thatisasking a lot." A grin teased at her lips. "But yes, Just Gabe, I will marry you—someday, down the road. I can't wait for you to court me." She pitched forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his.
