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Magnolia Steel

Yes . The word is still on my lips.

One minute, I was a girl taking an after-dinner walk with the man she loves. The next, I was his fiancée.

He looked at me like I was already his wife, and in an instant, the rest of my life made sense. So no, I didn’t hesitate. Didn’t overthink. Didn’t allow fear to crawl in and take over.

I said yes to the man who broke through every defense I swore I’d never let fall, who saw past my armor into the softest, most hidden parts of me.

The man who cracked open every fear and filled the hollow with something steady, something safe.

The man who made me believe in forever and desire a life big enough to hold more than the two of us.

A life with fingerprints on the walls and laughter echoing down the hall.

We’re lying face-to-face, and I’ve never been more at ease.

My body’s humming—boneless, breathless, skin flushed from every dirty thing he just did to me.

His leg hooks around mine, while his hand rests on my hip, fingertips caressing my skin.

His eyes don’t stray. They’re fixed on mine, steady and unblinking.

I’m wearing his ring.

We’re engaged.

Engaged .

The word feels dangerous in my mouth, as though it’s something I might break if I’m not careful. My fingertips brush the band, needing to feel it again to believe it is real.

I lift my hand, letting the diamond catch the warm glow of the lamp on the nightstand.

It’s enormous—cushion-cut and surrounded by a delicate halo of smaller diamonds, all set in platinum.

Elegant. Expensive . Probably worth more than I’d earn in thirty years of working—if I worked every day and didn’t take a single breath off.

It’s more than I ever imagined I’d wear on my finger. More than I ever thought I was allowed to hope for. But it’s perfect. Not because of the size or the setting or the way it looks like it belongs in a glass case under museum lighting.

It’s perfect because he picked it for me.

Because Alex Sebring saw through every version of myself that I tried to hide from him and still saw that I was worthy of this.

Worthy of him.

“You’re thinking too loud, favorite.”

“I can’t help it.” I shift a little, my skin sticking to his with the leftover sheen of sweat and satisfaction. “There’s a lot happening.”

“I asked you to marry me and you said yes. Everything else can wait.”

Except it can’t. Not really. Not when the future is pressing in around us, curling its fingers around the corners of this perfect moment, hungry for answers.

I study his face—his sharp jaw dusted with scruff, that faint scar above his brow, his hair messy from my hands.

There’s so much of him to love. And somehow, he’s mine.

“You and I have a lot of big decisions to make.” Life-altering decisions.

“I’ve been thinking about our future a lot these last few weeks. And I’ve decided. I want to stay here.”

“Alex––”

“I mean it, favorite. You’re only getting started—your business, your vision. If being here helps you grow that, we’ll stay. If it takes you somewhere else, I’ll go with you. Wherever you lead, I’m there.”

My throat tightens. “That’s not fair to you.”

His brow creases. “Why is it not fair?”

“Because you have so much in Australia. Your career. Your family and cultural roots. You belong there, Alex.”

He opens his mouth to argue, but I don’t let him.

“If we stay here, it’s only us. Me, you, and a maybe-business I’m still trying to figure out.

My whole world in Charleston is one chaotic best friend, a rented apartment, and a new business in an office I can barely afford.

I don’t have a loving, nurturing family you’d be marrying into.

No Sunday dinners. No built-in village. But in Australia—and Samoa—we’d be surrounded by people who already love you, and people who are ready to love me, too.

We wouldn’t only be building a life together—we’d be stepping into one that’s already full.

Messy. Loud. Alive. That’s what I want. I think that’s what I’ve always wanted, but I didn’t realize it until I met you. ”

He reaches for my hand. “You think I belong in Australia, but––” He kisses my fingers one by one, eyes locked on mine. “Let me tell you where I belong… with you. Always with you. Home isn’t a place for me anymore. It’s you.”

He presses my hand to his chest. “I mean it. If you said stay here, I’d stay. No question.”

I shift closer until there’s not a breath between us, my leg sliding over his, anchoring myself to the heat of his skin.

“What about rugby? Do you want to play again?”

He hesitates, and I know his answer.

“Be honest,” I add. “I want the truth.”

His eyes search mine. “Yeah, I do. I want to go back and retire on my own terms. But I want you more than I want to play rugby. You come first. Always. Never doubt that.”

I shake my head. “You don’t have to choose between rugby and me.”

His brows lift.

“You love rugby. And I would never ever ask you to put that part of yourself away for me. You should play as long as your body lets you. As long as it makes you feel alive and happy.”

He stares at me as though I’ve handed him something sacred.

“That means going back to Australia. Is that what you want?” he asks.

“I’m going to be a Malietoa-Sebring now.

” I reach up, trailing my fingers along his jaw.

“And I want to learn everything that name carries. I want your mom to teach me how to cook the dishes she grew up on—and tell me what they mean. I want your siblings to become mine, not only in name but in bond. I want your dad to tell me stories about Sweden and show me where his quiet strength comes from. I want Malie and Alexander to be the mom and dad I never had. I want to belong to your world the way I already belong to you.”

He exhales. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

He shifts forward, pressing his forehead to mine. “I can’t wait to make it official.”

I smile, whispering against his lips. “Me either.”

He looks at me like I’ve handed him everything he’s ever wanted. He leans in and kisses me slowly, then pulls back enough for our eyes to meet. “Dad wants to offer you a position with Sebring Hotels.”

I blink. “Wait—what?”

“You got him brainstorming months ago—back when you first met. The way you talked about space, about how people feel when they walk into a room… it stuck with him. He said you made him see the business through a whole new lens. And when he joked about luring you away from Soul Sync, he wasn’t joking. ”

A job at Sebring Hotels. My heart kicks as though I’ve been handed a golden key to something I didn’t realize could be mine.

“But listen to me, favorite. You don’t have to say yes.

You can always start your own business in Sydney.

” He lifts his hand and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering long enough to make my chest ache.

“And I want you to understand—it’s not some gesture.

It’s not a favor. He sees you. He knows your worth. We all do.”

A rush of something warm and thick swells in my chest. Not only happiness. Relief. Gratitude. An aching, breathless joy that comes from being recognized.

He sees me. They see me. And it wrecks me in the best possible way.

“Or you don’t have to work at all. It’s up to you.

” His gaze searches mine, careful and open.

“Whatever fulfills you is what you deserve. If it means running your own company, we’ll make it happen.

If it means being a homemaker, a mum, or something in between—we’ll build that, too. I want you to be happy.”

His words bloom in my chest, something delicate and wild, too big to contain, too beautiful to name. “I’ve never felt more loved in my life. Not just tolerated. Truly loved. Every piece of me, even the ones I didn’t think anyone could like.”

His eyes soften, and he tugs me a little closer. “You’ve spent your whole life surviving. Let me show you what it’s like to be held. You don’t have to earn love with me and my family, Magnolia. You only have to let it in.”

“I know you can take care of me. And maybe for the first time in my life, the idea of someone doing that doesn’t make me feel weak. I feel wanted and safe.”

His thumb strokes the edge of my jaw in a slow, steady motion. “Of course you’re wanted and safe with me.”

“It’s ingrained in me to take care of myself. It’s in my bones. I’m going to need time to adjust to the idea that someone else even wants to carry part of the weight. I’m not sure how to not hold it all on my own.”

“I’m gonna show you how. Because you will never carry the weight alone again. Not with me.” He shifts a little closer, forehead brushing mine. “You remember what I told you before—about what marriage means to me?”

I nod. “I remember.”

“That hasn’t changed. I still want a marriage that’s a partnership.

Where it’s us—no masks, no pretending. Real.

Where we know each other, flaws and all, and still choose each other every damn day.

” His voice softens. “You don’t have to be strong all the time.

You don’t have to do everything yourself.

That’s the whole point of us. You have me now, and we’ll weather it together. ”

Tears sting my eyes. But this time, they aren’t heavy. They’re a release. As though the weight I’ve been carrying is already a little lighter.

I nod, more to myself than to him. “This job isn’t something I need to take—but I want to. I have to be able to stand beside you and know I earned my place. Not just as your partner but as someone who brings value. Someone who belongs.”

Pausing, I smile through the ache in my chest.

“I want to be a true Sebring—not only by name but by what I bring into the family. I don’t want to be the girl who stays home while you chase everything you love. My heart wants to chase something, too.”

“Then let’s chase our dreams together.” His smile is pure pride, the sort that settles in my bones and makes me believe I can do anything. “Hopefully gaining you into the family business will soften the blow of telling Tinā and Dad that I’m leaving my position and going back to the pitch.”

The idea of him returning to rugby makes my stomach twist. “Your family will understand. They love you and want you to be happy.”

He grins wider, tugging me in until I’m tucked beneath his chin, my leg sliding over his as though it belongs there. Because it does.

This is where I belong.

We lie there in the quiet for a beat, the hum of the world beyond this room fading beneath the thrum of something bigger.

A new beginning.

My eyes drift to the ring again, the weight of it warm against my skin. Not heavy but anchoring. A promise of what’s to come.

This is where our next chapter begins. Not with a wedding dress or a job title or a moving truck. But with this.

With honesty.

With hope.

With two people choosing each other—completely.

“I love you,” I whisper into his chest, the words coming as natural as breathing.

He kisses the top of my head. “It’s you and me forever, favorite.”

And for the first time, I don’t simply hope for it. I know it.

And I’m ready to let it in.