lifts the slightly smaller wrapped box. “A present inside a present?” she asks before the note attached to the ribbon catches her eye.
Holding it, she reads aloud, “Big or small?” She smiles. “Big or small what? Usually, our questions contain more details than that.”
“I can’t tell you, but you have to answer to open the next present.”
Her grin goes wide. “Okay, big. The bigger, the better, right?” she says, eliciting a laugh from me.
She takes the note off the ribbon and opens the next box. Once the paper is off, she removes another box, smaller in size, and reads the note attached to its ribbon, “Spring or fall?” She thinks out loud, “Hmm…that’s a tough one. You know how much I love the fall, yet spring symbolizes new beginnings, which I feel is what we got. You know?” She pauses for a moment. “I’m going to have to go with fall. There is nothing more beautiful than a warm autumn day, right?”
I smile and nod my head toward the gift, pressing her to open the next box. She repeats the process of removing the ribbon and tearing off the paper.
She pulls out a smaller wrapped box and immediately reads the piece of parchment attached to the bow, “Inside or outside?” She lifts her gaze to meet mine. “Outside. Always outside,” she answers before opening the box to discover another.
“Under a tree or on the beach?” she reads out loud. “Another tough one. I don’t know. I love the beach, but I love sitting under our tree, too.” She holds the note between her fingers, contemplating her choice. “I’m going to go with under a tree.” She smiles at me.
She repeats the gift-opening process another time and starts crying when she holds the smallest gift so far, the wrapped cube in the palm of her hand. Tears trail down her cheeks as she stares at the question attached to the bow.
“Read it,” I urge softly.
Her voice breaks when she speaks, “Diamonds or pearls?” Her blue eyes shine up to mine when she lifts her face to meet my stare.
“What’s your answer?” I ask, my voice low.
“Diamonds,” she whispers.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because they’re forever.” She bites her lip as she looks at the box in her trembling hand.
“Open it.”
She removes the ribbon and paper to find an even smaller box inside. Her chest expands with a sob, and her head dips to her chest, her body shaking with her tears.
My chest aches as my eyes fill with unshed tears. “Read it, Lil.” My voice quivers.
She sniffs and inhales a deep breath. “Yes or no?” Her voice trembles.
Her gaze lifts to mine once more, and I look into her eyes, which radiate love.
“And?”
She sobs. “Yes. Always and forever, yes, Jax.” Tears course down her face.
“Okay, open it.” I watch as her shaky fingers untie the last bow.
She pulls out the ring box, and I take it from her.
Getting on one knee, I say, “I’ve made a lot of choices that tore us apart and sent us on different paths. From now on, no matter where this life takes us, whenever there is a question, the answer will always be you. Lily Anne Madison, I’ve loved you my entire life, and I will love you forever. You are my everything. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Little Love, will you marry me?”
Lily adamantly shakes her head. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
She jumps into my lap. I lower my knee to catch her as she wraps her arms around my neck. She cries into my neck, and I hold her as I cry into her shoulder.
There has never been another person more perfect for someone else as Lily is for me. The overwhelming relief that Lily will be mine forever causes a deep ache to invade my chest.
Some say love shouldn’t be painful, but I say that if you love someone with the intensity that I have for Lily, it always is. There isn’t a stronger emotion in this world than love. It is a force so powerful that when it is experienced in its purest form, it is a joy so fierce that it radiates from the heart, exploding from every pore. It demands to be felt, and it hurts, but it is the most amazing pain in the world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I’ve been lucky enough to love two women in my life.
One taught me how to love unconditionally, how to laugh, and how to feel the most incredible