the pretend engagement ring he purchased before. This ring is huge! One massive diamond in the center with dozens of little ones surrounding it. The band is gold and shining like it’s never even been worn. It’s beautiful and breathtaking and exciting. But what do I say?
I’ve been so focused on our ending that I never even imagined that this could happen. I thought my feelings were one-sided and that his were nothing more than an act. But I was wrong. So wrong. He loves me!
Twenty-Four
Matthew
Time has stopped. Everything is frozen in this moment as I watch her stare at the ring with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. I have no idea what’s going through her head, and that scares the living shit out of me. This whole week—this whole month—has been leading up to this one moment. I think my heart and lungs stop working as I anxiously await her answer.
I can’t say I’d blame her for turning me down—not after the lies and manipulation I used to get her here—but I can only pray she sees past that. That was a desperate act from an even more desperate man. I did whatever I needed to do to get her here, and as much as I hate the way I did it, I could never regret it.
“Poppy,” I say her name and her eyes pop up to lock on mine. “Will you marry me?”
She shakes her head, her mouth still hanging open. “I . . . I don’t know.”
“Do you love me?” I ask, leveling my eyes on her.
Her mouth closes and her eyes fill with tears as she nods her head.
I breathe a sigh of relief. “I love you too, and I need to know that you’re mine for the rest of my life.” I get up and walk around the table to her side, falling down on one knee, still presenting the ring to her. “I need you by my side. I need you every day for the rest of my life. I will spend my life proving to you day after day that I’m the man you helped me become—that I’m the man you’ve fallen in love with. Will you please, please marry me?” My eyes fall closed, anxiously waiting.
There’s a long pause as she thinks, and I refuse to open my eyes for fear of seeing the word NO stamped all over her face. If she says “no,” I don’t know what I’ll do or how I’ll move on. I’ve never been in love before—not like this. I don’t know how to heal from heartbreak. My best guess is that I wouldn’t. I’ll never recover if I lose her.
“Yes,” she breathes out. She said it so softly that I almost didn’t catch it.
My eyes pop open to study her face. There are still unshed tears in her eyes, but she’s wearing a soft smile.
“Yes,” she says again, a little louder this time.
My own smile breaks free and I take off the pretend engagement ring and replace it with the real one. I pull her into my arms and kiss her. I kiss her until I can’t breathe anymore, and then I continue to kiss her. I don’t need air if I have her.
I plant both knees on the deck and pull her against me, falling back to sit with my legs stretched out and her sitting on top of me. Her arms are around my neck as she kisses me in a way she’s never kissed me before. She was holding out before, because now I can feel every ounce of love she has for me. It’s pouring out of her and raining down on me like I’ve been trapped in a tropical storm without any shelter. She is the storm. My storm.
Dinner has been completely forgotten as I push myself up with her in my arms. I carry her into the house, but my need to be inside her now is too great to make it all the way to the bedroom. I press her back against the wall right inside the door I didn’t care enough to close. My hands move up her loose skirt and find her panties. With one firm yank, they’re ripped and falling to the floor. I reach between us, freeing myself from my shorts. Only seconds later, I’m sliding deep into her core.
She lets out a sound of both joy and relief, and it makes my cock twitch inside her. Her heat and tightness welcome me—almost