Page 199 of Burning Ember

‘C’mere, there’s more. Will!” he calls out. “It’s time.” He takes my hand and leads me downstairs. Will runs in front of us. He takes me into the kitchen, which doesn’t look like any home I’ve ever actually been inside. It has the same cherry-color cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors. The island in the middle runs the length of the kitchen.

“Will I be cooking for an army?”

He flashes a smile. Then he lifts his chin and motions for me to look behind me. Will is standing in front of the fridge, her back is to me. She’s fixing a piece of paper. But what has me moving closer is there’s artwork covering the whole fridge. She turns and stands aside so I can inspect them.

“Did you do these?”

“Yes,” she beams and looks behind me to Mav.

“Wow. These are really good, Will. Amazing! How did you . . .” I look back at Mav. The artwork on the fridge has shading, and minute details. Some are with crayon, while others are with colored pencils. I compare it to the artwork I put in the scrapbook that was stolen from me months and months ago. The difference is miles apart.

Mav is leaning on the counter watching us with a grin. He shrugs. “We work well together. And occasionally, she listens to me.”

My throat thickens with all the things I want to say to him.Thank you. I love you. You’re going to be the best father.

“Can we show her the garden now?” Will pleads and pulls on my fingers, trying to lead me out a side door.

“Yeah.” Mav follows.

Will drags me along and we walk outside. The walkway is a red cement with a swirl design, and the farther we walk the more I’m surrounded by colorful petals from roses, begonias, daisy’s and a bunch of flowers I can’t name. There’s also greenery everywhere I look. And the scent of it all brings back memories of home.

“Sit right here.” She points to a cute yellow rocking bench big enough for two. “You can see them all better from here.”

Mav steps up beside her. He’s dressed in navy dress pants and a light blue collared shirt.

When Will stands next to him in her baby blue dress, the nervous excitement I felt on the drive over returns. My stomach dips and weaves and a heady feeling of happiness fills my chest.

Then Will tugs on Mav’s pocket and whispers loudly, “You have to get on your knees.”

Mav pulls something from his pocket. He chuckles and looking down at her, says, “I was getting to that part.”

His eyes shift to mine, and as he takes my hand from my lap, he kneels down on one knee.

“Hey, Doll.”

Two simple words and my world spins and my heart races faster.

Breathe, Em. Breathe.

“I’ve known for a while now that if you gave me the chance, I would share every one of your tomorrows with you. I knew, because when I was in a dark place you were the only thing that brought color and light into my life. The only thing that made me want to change and be a better man than the one I’d become.

“I’ve had this ring for months, since Christmas, but I’m glad I waited to give it to you. I realize now, I needed to do this right. I needed to wait and prove to you that you could trust me again. With your heart. With your life. With Will and with the life of your child. My child.

“I know to love someone fully, you have to trust them. I broke the trust you offered me before, and I almost lost you because of it. I promised myself I would earn it again and I think I’ve finally done that.

“I also needed Will’s approval.”

I look to Will and she’s staring at Mav, her puppy brown eyes full of admiration. Her eyes flicker to mine and she holds out her hand, showing me a little ring on her pinky with her birthstone, an amethyst. It’s tiny and fits her little finger perfectly.

“Because when I ask you to marry me, I’m not only askin’ you to be mine forever in every way that matters, but I’m also askin’ you to let me be a father to Willow and a father to”—he lays his other hand on my stomach—“this baby boy who I can’t wait to meet.”

I hastily wipe at the tears flowing down my face. And when he smiles, I smile in return. “I want to be your rock, Em. Your provider, your protector, your friend, and your lover. The angel you need at your side and the Luce you need in your bed. I’m askin’ you to let me take care of you, and that means trusting me to do so. You sacrificed so much for your family, and now it’s my turn to sacrifice for mine. That means if you want to go to college then go to college. If you want to stay home and be a mom, then that’s what you get to do. But only do what you love, baby, and what makes you happy. And let me worry about the rest.”

For a long time he simply stares at me and smiles.

“Doll?”

“Luce.”

He smirks and brushes my hair from my face. He pecks my lips, and whispers against them, “Nah, Doll. It’s Mav askin’ you to marry him.” A coy smile spreads over his face as he draws back. He holds up a ring. “A white-gold band, because light is what you brought into my life, a red diamond, because you were all I could see, you and your red hair when my world was so gray.”

Tears trek down my cheeks and drip from my chin. I sweep them away, but more take their place.

Mav helps me and once I have them back under control, he continues, “With all that in mind, baby, will you, please, marry me in front of God and all of our family and friends? Will you be mine for however long this life lasts us?”

I let my eyes roam over this unbelievable man, who I could never deny even from the start. He is the perfect mix of light and dark, and he’s mine. When I look in his eyes, I know I’m his, and when he holds me, I know I’m home. He ismy perfect.And yes, dammit, I’m going to hold onto him, fight to keep him, for as long as there’s a breath left in me.

Because I want him in every one of my tomorrows too.

“Yes. There is no one else in this world I’d rather spend my tomorrows with.”