Page 125 of Make-Believe Match

“I will,” he said, gently pushing me away so I balanced on my feet again. Then he knelt down. “But it requires a little choreography.”

I gasped and covered my mouth with my mittens as he pulled a small box from his coat pocket. When he opened it up, a gorgeous rectangular green stone caught the last rays of daylight, shimmering with hues of emerald and sage and forest. On either side, two tiny diamonds rested within a slender gold band. I’d never seen anything like it.

Nor had I ever experienced anything like the dizzying, heart-throbbing experience of seeing Devlin down on one knee, looking up at me like I was the only woman in the world. Snowflakes continued to fall softly around us.

“Lexi, you are the love of my life,” he said. “You’ve shown me that stillness isn’t something to be afraid of, it’s something to be savored. I have so many dreams for us, and I know they will take a lot of work and energy and money and time and sacrifice. But as long as I get to be still with you at the end of the day, it will always be worth it.” He took the ring from the box, and I yanked off my mitten. Slipping the ring on my finger so it snuggled up against my wedding band, his voice cracked as he said, “You are my wife. You are my family. You are my forever.” He looked up at me with shiny sapphire eyes. “Marry me for real this time?”

“Of course I will.” I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around his neck, crushing my lips to his. “Of course I will.”

He held me close and kissed me deeply, gathering all my dreams in his hands. I knew he would make them come true.

Eventually, Devlin helped me to my feet. “When should we get married?”

“You want to actually get married again?”

“Yes. You deserve a real wedding, where you come down the steps at Snowberry wearing Gran’s veil and carrying a real bouquet of roses, and all our family and friends are there to witness it.”

“Eeep!” I squealed. “I would love that! We’ll have to wait until the renovation is done. Spring?”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

I threw my arms around him again, squeezing my eyes shut. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. I even rode the chairlift for you.”

Keeping my hands clasped around his neck, I leaned back. “How was it?”

“Fuckingterrible,” he said. “I hated every second.” He kissed my lips. “But worth it. I wanted to say all this in the place I knew meant the most to you.”

I grinned, my body humming with joy. “The future home of The Firefly.”

“Yes.” He rested his forehead against mine. “I love thinking about the future with you.”

“What do you see?”

“A house with a big backyard. Kids begging me for piggyback rides.Maybea nice car in the garage.”

I laughed. “That sounds perfect. Can I ask what made you change your mind?”

“Well, for one thing, when I woke up without you the morning you left, I hated everything about it. I wanted you back right then.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” I shook my head. “I thought you didn’t care!”

“I wanted to—I almost did—a hundred times. I was so fucking miserable. I drove to Cherry Tree Harbor and talked to Xander, and he said some things that made me realize I was standing in my own way.”

“What did he say?”

“I think it was essentially the equivalent of him up in the tree telling me to stop being a chicken-shit and climb it.”

I laughed. “The tree all over again, huh? At least you didn’t fall this time.”

“Oh, I fell,” he said, that grin that stole my heart the night we met appearing. “I fell hard.”

“But I caught you,” I whispered, tucking my head beneath his chin, my cheek pressed to his chest. “And I’ll never let go.”

* * *

Getting Devlin back on the chairlift took some coaxing.