Page 52 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

“Yes, I saw the photos. She’s adorable,” Derek replied with a fond expression before turning on his indicator and parking up on the side of the road.

I glanced at him in question because we weren’t anywhere close to my house. “What’s going on?”

He turned off the engine and tilted his head to me. “Don’t you recognise where we are?”

Peering out the window, I saw the blooming cherry blossoms because it was that time of year.

I used to adore them as a girl when I would walk home from school and find myself admiring the flowers as my mind wandered through daydreams. Then it hit me.

I knew exactly where we were, all that was missing was the sudden hailstorm.

“This is where you picked me up that first time,” I said, my chest fluttering at the memory. I’d been in such a state of disbelief at the time that someone like Derek Balfe had even known my name, let alone had offered me a lift home and an escape from the downpour.

“It is,” Derek said, and I cast him a curious glance.

“Why are we here?”

He shrugged. “Just feeling nostalgic. Shall we take a walk?”

“Sure,” I said, unfastening my seatbelt. The weather was nice, and I was in no rush to get home. Also, I’d missed my cherry blossoms. It was nice to see them again, especially since they held such a dear memory.

I stared up, the blue sky vibrant amid the pale petals, and smiled to myself.

We’d been walking along in quiet when Derek’s warm palm suddenly captured mine, his thumb brushing at my pulse as he gave a gentle tug, stopping me in my tracks.

Looking up into his handsome brown eyes, my breath caught because there was a spark of something, like a secret about to be revealed.

He looked confident, completely at ease with himself, and when he started to lower to one knee, I gasped so loud the people living in the nearby houses probably heard me.

“Camille,” Derek began as he slid a velvet ring box from his pocket. He flicked it open, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was that the same one he’d—

“Will you marry me?” he asked, cutting short my train of thought.

My heart skipped a beat, racing so fast I could hardly think. Despite this, I knew with certainty my answer. Unlike the last time he’d asked me the very same question, I had zero hesitation as I nodded fervently, tears pooling behind my eyes as I managed to blurt an emotional, “Yes.”

Then he rose, a handsome, fiercely possessive smile gracing his features before he slid the ring over my finger. “Derek,” I breathed. “Is this your grandmother’s ring?”

He nodded, pure, unadulterated affection in his eyes when he said, “It’s always been yours.”

Emotion thickened my throat. “I just thought you would’ve given it to Paloma back when—”

“No,” his expression clouded. “That never felt right. This ring was never meant for anyone else. Perhaps some part of me knew one day I’d get another chance to give it to you.”

We stood in front of each other on the quiet, tree-lined street, the gentle spring air drifting past, and I was so overwhelmed I might cry. The thought of Derek keeping his late grandmother’s ring all these years was too much.

“Come here,” he murmured, pulling me close and wrapping one arm around my waist. With his free hand, he lifted our fingers, twisting them to kiss my knuckles as he gazed down at the ring. “I love seeing it on you. I even stole one of your rings a couple weeks ago to have it resized.”

“You’ve been planning this for weeks?” I asked, my belly all aflutter, though I didn’t know why I was surprised. Derek had always put a lot of advance planning and thought into the things he did.

“Yes, but I’ve been thinking about it for a lot longer,” he confessed, and my belly flutters multiplied.

“How long?” I whispered.

A faint look of chagrin passed over him. “Since London. When you told me you still loved me, I knew I was going to ask again. I just had to wait until the right moment.”

“That’s so …” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

“So?”

“Some part of me feels like I should’ve been the one to ask you. It doesn’t feel fair that you had to take the chance after the last time.”

His expression softened as he gazed down at me with so much love I barely felt like I deserved it.

“I’d take a million chances if it meant spending the rest of my life with you, Camille.

And besides, I wouldn’t change how beautiful and stunned you looked just now when I popped the question.

” Right as he said it, a cherry blossom petal fell, landing on my cheek.

I laughed as Derek plucked it off before pulling me in and whispering his lips over mine.

“The girls are going to lose their minds when we tell them,” I said past his kisses, and he chuckled low. “Right, perhaps we should invest in some ear defenders beforehand. I suspect there’ll be quite a bit of squealing,” Derek said.

“And Pablo will probably roll his eyes and tell them they’re being dramatic,” I added.

Derek’s son had been surprisingly accepting of our relationship.

I’d feared he’d have reservations, but he was completely easy with the whole thing, though I suspected Derek had sat down and talked to him, the same as he’d done with Gigi.

Derek bestowed me with several more kisses before he took my hand and led me back to the car. I couldn’t stop staring at the ring, how right it looked on my finger as Derek resumed the drive to my house.

“Now all we have to do is plan the wedding,” he said, falling silent before amending, “Well, that and find a house.”

My heart skipped a beat. “A house?”

“We can hardly get married and keep living apart,” he said, a glint in his eyes. “So, when do you want to start looking?” I bit my lip, a hint of chagrin claiming my features. Derek glanced from me to the road. “What’s that look about?”

“Well,” I confessed. “I may have already compiled a list of all the most suitable houses for sale in the area. Just in case.”

He chuckled quietly, shaking his head as he pulled to a stop outside my house and placed his hand over my knee. “Of course, you have. Well, you can show me this list after.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “After?”

His gaze smouldered. “After you take me inside and we celebrate our engagement thoroughly.”

How did he still manage to make me blush after almost an entire year together?

Lucky for both of us, Deirdre was out with Gigi and a few other girls from school, so I allowed Derek to come around and open the passenger side door, leading me to my house and straight upstairs to my bedroom, where we spent the next few hours celebrating so thoroughly we both passed out from exhaustion.