Lacey’s throat went dry at the serious tone, but Roman’s gaze didn’t waver.
“I’ve talked to my parents,” he said. “I’ve talked to my friends. I’ve talked to my coach, teammates, and anyone else I trust completely.”
She blinked at him, aware of her eyes stinging again.
“I’ve sat alone and asked myself if I’m being impulsive or if I’m being honest.”
His hands tightened around hers, which was good, because she felt like she might actually sway with this boat.
“And every time I ask, the answer comes back the same.”
He released one of her hands and reached into his pocket.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
The world narrowed to that small movement and a box appeared in his palm, the sight of it stopping her heart. Then it started again, too fast.
“Roman,” she whispered, and didn’t even realize she’d spoken.
Very slowly, very gracefully, Roman lowered himself to one knee.
The deck felt impossible beneath her feet. The sunset light hit his face, turning his skin warm, his expression almost unbearably open. A man on his knee on the deck of a boat in a harbor at sunset was supposed to be a fantasy. A scene in a movie. Something you watched and thought,That would never happen to me.
And yet—here it was, happening.
“Lacey Rose Knight,” Roman said, her full name sounding downright poetic on his lips. “I love you. I’ve never met anyone like you and I never will. You’re solid, you’re real, you’re smart and funny and, yeah, you overthink everything, but you are going to be the best wife and mother.”
Wife and mother?She stared at him, tears threatening to spill.
He opened the box and she couldn’t help herself—she looked.
The ring caught the last bright edge of the sun and flashed—elegant, stunning, far more exquisite than anything she’d ever seen in person.
“I refuse to ask you to move to Jacksonville without this on your finger, officially my fiancée and then my wife. You’re worthy of that and so much more.”
Her mother’s words about worth danced in her head…but her pulse was pounding too hard for her to remember what Mom had said.
“I’m asking you to marry me,” he said, as if she hadn’t figured that out yet. “I want you to know that when I ask youto do something hard—like changing your life—I’m not doing it casually. I’m doing it because I love you, and I’m choosing you.”
Lacey couldn’t speak.
Her chest felt like it was caving in, not from sadness, but from the sheer weight of being loved that directly.
Roman’s eyes glistened, just slightly, and that tiny crack in his control undid her.
“I know people will say it’s fast,” he said. “They can say it. Let them. I don’t live my life based on what people say from the outside. I live it based on what’s true.” His thumb brushed her knuckles. “You’re true.”
A sob rose up her throat, and she swallowed it back hard. She loved him, so much it scared her.
Roman watched her face like he could see every thought rushing through her. He didn’t pressure. He didn’t plead. He simply stayed there, on one knee, offering her his life.
She tried to breathe. But what rose up first was panic—bright and sharp, a reflex she hated.
“Roman…” Her voice broke.
“Take your time,” he said immediately, gentle. “I’m right here.”
She shook her head, tears falling. “I don’t—I can’t think. I can’t?—”
