Page 70 of The Marriage Bid
He was not saying what I thought he was saying. I was mistaken. “What do you mean?”
He reached for my hand. “I want you. I want us to be together for real. Forever if we can manage it.”
“F-forever.” If I had food in my mouth, I would have choked.
“If you want to.”
“I do. I like it a lot.”
We ate the rest of the eggs while chatting about what we were going to do for the rest of the day. All the while, I couldn’t believe what he had just asked me. I was so happy I wanted to pinch myself. It wasn’t a love confession, but it was close enough.
Chapter 31
Saffron
Tyler’s siblings were as amazing as he had made them out to be. Nolan, the oldest, welcomed me to his house, where they hosted their annual Thanksgiving lunch. His wife was warm and cute, and when she learned I would come with Tyler, she got to painting and made an abstract painting of Tyler and me. The second oldest, Carey, was a famous lawyer that I had seen in the news a few times, and he was just as warm as Nolan. He wanted to know if Tyler and I were going to get married for real this time.
I had no answer to that. It seemed he had taken it for granted that Tyler was in love with me and we would renew our vows or do something to that extent. In fact, they all seemed to be under that assumption, especially Levi and his wife Elle, Raine, and Ivy. Only Thalia, Carey’s wife, and Sebastian seemed to understand what my relationship with Tyler was like. But when the dinner was over, Thalia had said, “He’s going to confess soon. Trust me.”
Those were the last words she said to me before we left. But he didn’t say anything along those lines that night or the following day. However, I could not deny how intense his lovemaking had become. He wanted me to feel every inch of him. He wanted to give me every part of himself. He was so open andso vulnerable; he left me breathless each time we were together. And during the times lust drove us both, he was still just as attentive to my needs and made sure my desire came first. It was obvious that if we ever broke up, I would never recover.
For Christmas, we went to England, where Tyler, Levi, and Sebastian’s mother lived. Her castle was outside London, and it was the perfect place for a Christmas holiday. Especially for kids. Would he want kids? We never talked about them; the issue rarely came up, but staying at his mother’s place made me yearn for them.
She was so happy to see me that I was afraid I would disappoint her by falling short throughout the stay, but when the holiday was over, Rebecca and I had become fast friends. After Christmas was over, we went back to New York to usher in the new year there. Instead of a party, Tyler had organized a private dinner atop the terrace of his apartment, to my surprise, and we had a candlelight dinner together.
“This year has been so amazing I don’t think I can replicate it next year,” I said to him as I sat on the swing couch next to him. We finished eating dinner and were now lounging, drinking wine, watching the stars as some overly excited people threw fireworks. It was a few minutes to midnight.
“It could be.” He took a sip of wine.
“I don’t know.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “It’s been so good that I’ve tried to capture every wonderful memory I had so I would not forget. You were right; your family is amazing. Meeting them has been a highlight.”
“Are they really?”
“Yes. Your mother especially.”
“She wasn’t as present as she had been recently. The recovery seems to be for real this time.”
Tyler had told me about his mother’s alcohol addiction and how it was getting better now. “That’s good news, right?”
Tyler nodded. “It is. But I am always waiting for a relapse, and I guess the fact that there hasn’t been one for a year shows she’s truly recovered.”
A firework popped in the sky, lighting it up with yellow streaks. Suddenly, Tyler disentangled from my embrace and got down on one knee. I gasped.
“I’ve been looking for the right time to do it. I tried to say it while we were eating dinner. I even thought of putting it in your dessert, then I had a flash image in my mind of you choking, so I didn’t. Fuck, I am screwing it up.” With trembling hands, Tyler dug out a red velvet box from his pocket and popped it open. An emerald surrounded by tiny white diamonds on a white gold ring shone, catching the low light. “Let me start over.” He took a deep breath. I was too stunned to speak.
“Saffron. I’ve wanted you for a long time. You were tied to me, and for some stupid reason, I refused to engage with you. In fear of falling in love with you. I didn’t know it then, but now that it has happened, I cannot believe I was that stupid. I love you, Saffron Channing, and I want you to spend the rest of your life with me. To actually spend your life with me and not in the sham marriage we were in. I want a do-over. Sign the divorce papers and marry you again because you deserve a real marriage. And if you don’t love me then—”
I fell down to my knees in front of him. “I love you. I love you, Tyler Hawthorne.” And took his face in my hands and kissed him deeply, showing him how much I love him.
“I love you too,” he said and took out the ring and put it on my finger. I could not believe it. I was the luckiest woman in the world. The night sky lit up with fireworks that expressed what I was feeling in my heart. Joy. Happiness.
The End.