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There weren’t audible words, only tiny moments of their relationship. Megan had caught Jackson’s hand resting on Jenna’s lower back. His fingers brushing her hair back from her face. Jenna’s laughter at something Jackson said. Her head nestling into his neck, pressing a kiss there. Each moment more precious than the last.
Tears slid silently down her cheeks and she didn’t realize that she had grabbed Megan’s hand until the video faded to black. Jenna closed her eyes.
“Wait—it’s not over yet.”
Looking down on the screen, Jenna saw her beach cottage. The music had faded away. She didn’t recognize this moment. The camera followed Jackson as he walked to the fireplace and then turned around with a huge smile. He put his finger to his lips, then reached up for the ring box.
Jenna’s heart stopped. Jackson flipped open the box and the camera zoomed in on a gorgeous and simple diamond ring. It panned back up to his face, still smiling, but with tears shining in his eyes now.
“I want to ask you something, Monroe. I think it’s about time,” Jackson said from the video.
The video went black again and Jenna’s gaze snapped to Megan. An unfamiliar smile, not unlike the Cheshire cat, spread over her face. “Is that … it?”
“Down here, Monroe.”
Jackson’s voice carried up the stairs and Jenna gasped. While her eyes had been glued to the small screen in front of her, Jackson had moved to the bottom of the tower room stairs, surrounded by their friends. He knelt on one knee, and his expression was the same as the video: a huge smile and glistening eyes. Behind him, their friends formed a half-circle around him, all smiling up at her.
Jenna’s hand flew to her chest, as though she could still the wild beating of her heart. “Jackson—what?”
He laughed. “Welcome to your proposal, Jenna. I’ve been waiting what feels like a really long time for this moment. Most of my life, if I’m being honest. I want to spend the rest of my life beside you. I want more moments like the ones in the video, big and small. I love you, Monroe. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Jenna didn’t realize that several moments had passed until Megan nudged her, nodding toward Jackson. “Are you going to answer him?” she whispered.
“Oh!”
There were chuckles from downstairs. Jenna stood, suddenly sure that she was going to fall down all seven steps. She gripped the banister so hard that her knuckles turned white. Jackson seemed to read her mind.
“I’ve got you, Monroe.”
She smiled because she knew he did. Jackson took her hand when she reached the bottom. The ring sat in his other palm, waiting. She could almost feel its weight on her finger already.
Jackson squeezed her hand. “Jenna Monroe, love of my life, I promise you my faithfulness and love until death do us part. Will you marry me? Will you be mine, forever?”
This was the moment Jenna hadn’t thought to hope for six weeks ago. She had been lost and bitter, defeated and heavy. Love seemed like an impossibility, and love with Jackson Wells would never have crossed her mind. But he had swept into her life like the Nor’easters that sometimes battered the island. God had used him to help heal her, to help her let go and find peace again. She wanted to remember the love in his eyes and the way his smile lifted a little more at the right corner than the left.
“Are you going to answer me, Monroe?” Jackson almost whispered, a smile playing on his lips.
“Yes.”
His grin widened, and Jenna knew her own rivaled his. “Yes, you’re going to answer me or yes, you’ll marry me?”
“Yes to both.”
Before she could react, Jackson stood and swept her into his arms. There was cheering and clapping all around them, but Jenna couldn’t focus on anything but the man holding her. Jackson slid the ring on her finger and, before she could even admire it, he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.
Jenna gasped into his mouth, but her surprise faded almost instantly into heated passion and something weightier. In every glide of his lips against hers, it felt like Jackson was promising to love, cherish, and honor her, as though he was already making his vows through the kiss.
It wasn’t just her body waking up and responding to the kiss. She felt like Jackson stirred her very soul. He had resurrected her hope. With him, she felt like faith was possible again. Not just a trust in him, because he would let her down sometimes. But a hard-won belief that God held her in his hands. Jackson’s love reminded her of how treasured and precious she was to God.
After what didn’t feel like nearly enough time, Jackson pulled back. Jenna threaded her hands through his hair, keeping him close, not even caring that their friends were still nearby. They had retreated to the kitchen, where she heard the popping of a cork. After feeling so self-conscious and worried all week, she felt clingy and needy. She didn’t want to move even an inch away from Jackson right now.
This close, it was hard to focus on both of his eyes, but she tried, needing this connection. “This whole week I thought you were going to break up with me,” she whispered.
His head jerked back. “What? Why?”
“You’ve been acting so different, avoiding me or just being aloof.”
Understanding passed over his features. “That’s called me trying to keep a secret and being really nervous. I’m so sorry I made you think that.”