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Her lips twitch side to side as she thinks. “Something bigger. I’ll know it when I see it.”
I move away from her and peer over my shoulder to see if she’s looking.
She’s not.
Reaching into my pocket, I remove the clam shell I stashed there and hold it in my palm.
“Hey, what about this?” I offer it up for her inspection.
She hurries over to check. “That’s perfect.”
“Maybe there’ll be a pearl inside,” I hint.
“Check.” Her eyes light with anticipation.
I open the two sides of the shell so it’s facing me, remove the ring, and hold it up.
“Look what I found.” Her eyes widen, and when I drop to one knee, her jaw falls open.
“Maeve,” I begin, my voice cracking slightly from nerves. You’ve owned me from the moment I first looked into your eyes. There are so many reasons I fell in love with you. Your kind heart, your sense of humor, your delicious pussy, your beautiful smile, the loving way you treat Gwen. I could continue on endlessly. I’ve spent forty-three years without you, and I don’t want to spend another day without knowing you’ll be by my side forever. Maeve O’Rourke, will you do me the honor of becoming Maeve Ledger? Will you marry me?”
“Yes. I will. Yes! Yes! Yes!” She holds out her hand and I push the ring I searched high and low to find onto her finger. She stares down at it in awe. The tears welling in her eyes overflow, trailing down her cheeks. And she’s never looked more beautiful to me.
She throws her arms around me, and I hold her close. When we finally separate, I say, “I can’t wait to marry you.”
She smiles up at me. “Can we get married on the beach?”
“If that’s what you want.”
She holds her hand out, studying her ring. “What kind of stone is this? It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s a purple diamond. They’re pretty rare but then so are you. I wanted you to have a ring worthy of you. And since purple is your favorite color…”
“Trey, I don’t even know what to say. How did I get so lucky?”
“We got lucky, Sunshine.”
Her eyes are filled with love when she looks at me. “You’re so good to me.”
“I hope you know I’ll give you the world if you let me.”
She smiles. “You already have.”
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