Page 129 of Rebellious Hearts

He took my hand and kissed my knuckles when I laughed.

I put my hand on my stomach. I wasn’t showing yet, but soon, I would be.

“Hey, I have another crazy idea,” Ben said.

“What?”

“Let’s get married.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“You and me. Let’s do this together, all the way. The big white wedding, the family, the awkward speeches… all of it.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Are you… proposing?”

“Well, yeah,” Ben said sheepishly. “I actually have this…” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little black box. It was square and leather.

“What is that?” I stared at it. “Is that… a ring?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s a ring. I bought it as soon as we got back to Newport because I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re not only my future, Sofia. You’reeverything. You taught me so much about myself, so much I didn’t know, and if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be this man, this better version of myself. I don’t want any of that to be uncertain, a question.”

“It’s not a question,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Ben grinned at me, that lopsided grin I couldn’t resist, and a thrill ran through me.

“I can’t believe you’re proposing to me in a car in the middle of traffic.”

“I didn’t actually plan this. It sort of just fell out of my mouth,” Ben admitted.

I laughed. “Well, my answer is yes,” I said. “I’ll marry you.”

I took the box from him. When I opened it, I gasped.

The ring was incredible, with a large stone mounted on a gold band, with small diamonds all around it.

“Ben…” I took it out and slipped it onto my finger. It fitperfectly. “I can’t believe you.”

Ben chuckled. “Sweetheart, I’m full of delicious surprises. I have one more idea.”

“What?”

“Let’s do it now. Before the baby is born. Before you show. You know, so you can have your dream dress and everything.”

I stared at him. “That means it will have to be in the next month.”

“I happen to have some space on my calendar. Besides, babe, what are you going to do for the rest of your life?”

I laughed at him when he waggled his eyebrows at me and threw caution to the wind. I’d wanted control of my life for so long, terrified of letting anyone in, terrified of letting go. But with Ben, I could let go and I knew he would catch me. He would make sure that I was safe and it all worked out right.

All I had to do was close my eyes and jump.

“Okay,” I said.

“Yeah?” Ben said, looking almost surprised.

“Yeah.” I laughed. “Let’s see what we can slap together in a month.”

“Oh, sweetheart, as soon as my family knows we’re getting married, you’ll see a Blackwood wedding for the ages, and it will come together like magic. I have a mom and a sister-in-law. Not to mention Amy, who will lose her shit. Leave it to them, and you’ll see what the Blackwood clan is really made of.”